Gavin Stone Provides Quality Innings in Uncertain Times for Dodgers Pitchers

The calendar will soon flip from August to September and while the Dodgers have the best record in baseball after Sunday’s 3-1 win over Tampa Bay before a sellout crowd of 52,464 at Chavez Ravine, their rotation raises enough questions to raise serious doubts about their championship worthiness.

Will ace Tyler Glasnow (elbow) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (shoulder) return from injuries in time to lead a playoff pitching staff? Can Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler, both struggling to return from major surgeries, be counted on as late starters? Will the inconsistent Bobby Miller regain his 2023 rookie form?

In Gavin Stone, the Dodgers may have found at least one answer.

Read more: Shohei Ohtani can’t save Dodgers from pitching woes, winning streak ends

The right-handed rookie surrendered one run and three hits in seven strong innings Sunday, striking out seven, walking two and making just one major error. He hit a first-pitch sinker that Jonny DeLuca drove over the left-center field wall for a solo homer to tie the score in the seventh inning.

Stone struggled during a five-week stretch from early July to early August, going 0-3 with a 6.91 ERA in six starts, allowing 45 hits, including eight home runs, in 27 ⅓ innings.

But Stone appears to have regained his dominant form from the first half. In 19 innings of his last three starts, he has surrendered just two earned runs and eight hits, two of which are home runs. He struck out 23 and gave up four hits, lowering his ERA to 3.33 from 3.71 on August 7.

Stone played no part in the decision, as the Dodgers broke the 1-1 tie in the eighth inning when Shohei Ohtani was hit in the left wrist by a 92-mph sinker from left-hander Richard Lovelady and Mookie Betts hit a first-pitch slider over the left-center field wall for a two-run home run and a 3-1 lead.

The Dodgers improved their season record to 78-53 and maintained their three-game lead over Arizona in the National League West.

Stone retired the first 10 batters of the game before giving up a one-out single to Brandon Lowe in the fourth inning. However, he caused Junior Caminero and Josh Lowe to both pop up to first base to end the inning.

Stone walked two batters in the fifth inning, including DeLuca as the leadoff hitter, but he was unscathed thanks to the help of Kiké Hernández, making only his sixth start of the season in center field.

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Ben Rortvedt followed DeLuca’s walk with a drive into the gap in left-center, but Hernández ran the ball down and made a lunging catch before hitting the wall for the first out, likely saving a run. José Caballero lined out to third, Taylor Walls walked and Jose Siri grounded out to first to end the inning.

Hernández led off the fifth inning with an 88 mph cut-fastball from Rays left-hander Jacob Lopez over the wall in left-center field for his ninth home run of the season and a 1-0 Dodgers lead.

Caminero doubled off the left-field wall with two outs in the sixth inning, but Stone retired Josh Lowe with an 88-mph changeup to end the inning.

Stone tried to beat DeLuca to it with a first-pitch, 93-mph sinker in the seventh, but DeLuca pounced and hit a 380-foot liner over the wall in left-center for his fourth home run of the season and a 1-1 tie.

Blake Treinen pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Dodgers and left-hander Anthony Banda added a scoreless ninth inning for his second save, throwing away a 98 mph fastball from Caballero for strike three to end the game.

Return involvement?

Tony Gonsolin, a year removed from Tommy John surgery, pitched from the Dodger Stadium mound Sunday morning with an eye toward a possible September comeback. The right-handed pitcher has thrown three live batting practice sessions in Arizona and will resume live BP sessions there this week.

“Ideally, hopefully I can come back this year,” said Gonsolin, who went 16-1 with a 2.14 ERA in 24 starts in 2022 and 8-5 with a 4.98 ERA in 20 starts in 2023. “But first and foremost, I have to feel healthy. I have to make sure I can handle the baseball.”

Manager Dave Roberts said the door is “kind of open” for Gonsolin to return, and if he does, it will likely be as a long reliever.

“I think that’s a good mindset for Tony to be shooting for something this year, and if things go well, great; if not, we can move on to ’25,” Roberts said. “Talking to (Dodgers director of player health) Ron Porterfield, who’s overseeing the rehab, the control has gotten a lot better. The fastball is 92-94 mph, so you can expect to see an increase in velocity. He’s using all of his pitches. All of that stuff fits in with some optimism.”

Short jumps

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, out since June 16 with a rotator cuff injury, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Monday and begin a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City at Round Rock, Texas, on Wednesday. … Reliever Brusdar Graterol (right hamstring strain) threw a bullpen session on Saturday and is expected to begin a rehab assignment next week. … Jack Flaherty and Buehler will be rotated in the rotation, allowing Buehler to get an extra day of rest. Flaherty is scheduled to start Tuesday night against the Baltimore Orioles and Buehler is scheduled to start Wednesday night.

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.