Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — “Audition Week” continues at Dodger Stadium. This time it was Gavin Stone and Ryan Yarbrough who were on display, hoping to turn in good performances to secure a spot on the postseason roster. Yarbrough’s flexibility almost assures his position in the Dodgers pen, but Stone is really a longshot at best for October. And, after Saturday’s performance (not bad, but not great) in the Dodgers’ 5-1 loss to the Giants, it would seem that Stone had done nothing to change that assessment.
It was a couple of swings that did Stone in on Friday. Mike Yazstremski hit a two-run dong in the top of the fourth, and Thairo Estrada touched Stone for a solo shot in the sixth. That accounted for three of the Giants’ five runs on the the night. The other two were on account of a third home run ball, this one surrendered by Ryan Yarbrough in the ninth to Tyler Fitzgerald. It was Fitzgerald’s first career home run and it pretty much put the game on ice for the Giants.
Meanwhile, it was pretty much only Freddie Freeman who had anything to smile about at the plate on Friday. Freeman’s first inning single to right was his 200th hit of the 2023 campaign, marking the first time in Fab Five Freddie’s career that he’s reached that plateau.
“I’ve always had sights set on it,” Freeman said. “Two hundred just means that you’re in there a lot, you’re healthy, you’re playing every day, and you had a pretty good year. So 200 is definitely pretty cool.”
In addition to that single, his 201st hit of the year drove in the Dodgers’ only run of the night in the bottom of the eighth. With the score still 3-0 and the bases loaded, Freeman’s two-out single scored James Outman and reloaded the bases for Will Smith. Unfortunately Smith grounded weakly to first and the Dodgers’ threat was over.
Still, it was another great night at the plate for Freeman, who has been the model of consistency in 2023. He won’t win the MVP, but he’s sure to get at least a few votes for that postseason award.
“I think this season, as a whole, it’s unprecedented,” said manager Dave Roberts. “If you look at the hits, the average, the home runs, the doubles, the stolen bases by position. … It seems like every night, we’re always tipping our cap to Freddie on some accomplishment, and that’s fantastic.”
With nine games to go, the Dodgers will have to go 6-3 to reach the 100-win plateau. They’ve already reached that mark four times since 2017, but if this version of the Dodgers could do that it would probably be the most remarkable of the entire bunch, given the obstacles that the team has had to face.
Clayton Kershaw takes to the mound once again on Saturday for the third game in the series. Kershaw was lifted after four in his last start, so he sure to want to stretch out a bit more as he continues to regain strength after his IL stint. A good start on Saturday would go a long way to calming Dodger fans’ jangly nerves about the October rotation. We’ll see what he has in store for us as he take to the Dodger Stadium mound for what could be the final regular season start of his career.
