Steve Webb
Game 17, 4/13/2024: Dodgers 5, Padres 2
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — It finally happened on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium. Gavin Stone finally pitched like we all knew that the prized prospect was capable of. After being nearly unhittable in Spring Training and winning a spot in the rotation outright, Stone stumbled out of the gate, posting a 9.00 ERA in his first two starts. But on Saturday, he looked very much like the pitcher we were hoping for, taking a perfect game into the sixth inning before running out of gas in the seventh. The great performance enabled the Dodgers to beat the Padres on a relatively modest night, offensively speaking. In the end, it was a 5-2 win over San Diego, and a gigantic step forward in the career of the Dodgers’ youngest starter.
Though the fans got treated to a beauty of a game once it finally got underway, their patience was tested by a rare Dodger Stadium rain delay at the outset. Orginally scheduled for a 6:10 first pitch, Mother Nature wouldn’t let things get started for over two and a half hours, so the teams didn’t take the field until after 8:30. However, that fact might have inadvertently helped Stone, as the Padres were swinging early and often at the beginning of the game, making for quick outs and efficient innings.
Stone had all his pitches working on Saturday, but especially his devastating changeup, which kept Padres hitters off-balance all night. The Padres, who’d smashed four homers the night before, looked overmatched in this one, making weak contact most of the time, but whiffing plenty as well. It wasn’t until Kyle Higashioka‘s single with two out in the sixth that Stone gave up a hit. After that first hit, the Padres did touch him up for a couple of runs before he left the game with two out in the seventh, but all in all, it was the absolute best start of Stone’s big league career: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K.
“This is what can happen when you pitch with conviction,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game. “He was on the attack from pitch one, flooding the zone, making those guys uncomfortable and using his entire pitch mix … and we needed it. We needed length. We needed to put up zeros, and he was fantastic all night.”
Indeed, the most impressive part of Stone’s performance was how he maintained his composure in the top of the fifth when noted douchebag Jurickson Profar attempted to break up the perfect game with a drag bunt before pulling his bat back and taking the first pitch for a ball. Stone’s next pitch, a 92-mph cut-fastball, was up and in and nearly hit Profar, who exchanged words with Dodgers catcher Will Smith. Both benches and bullpens emptied, with players converging at home plate, but no punches were thrown. Stone got Profar to fly out to center field and retired Ha-Seong Kim to end the inning and keep his perfect game intact.
“I don’t know what happened,” Smith said of the Profar at-bat. “He took offense to a cutter inside. He was staring at Stoney, and I felt like I needed to say something and stand up for Stoney. I thought the whole thing was silly, stupid, whatever you want to call it. I don’t really know why [he’d think] we were trying to hit him there. It was weird.”
After the benches settled down, the Padres did score a couple of runs, but the Dodgers were able to put the game away in the bottom of the sixth with a three-run frame that gave the team a little breathing room going into the final innings. After only scoring one run against knuckleballer Matt Waldron, the Dodgers had much better luck against reliever Tom Cosgrove. Max Muncy led off the frame with an HBP to take first. He moved to second when Kiké Hernández singled with one out. Gavin Lux then sneaked a ground ball through the right side to plate Muncy and break the 1-1 tie. Mookie Betts then came through with one of his three singles on the evening to score Hernandez. Finally, Shohei Ohtani hit a long out to center field that scored Lux, and the Dodgers were up 4-1.
The two teams traded runs in the seventh, but the Dodgers’ pen of Michael Grove, Daniel Hudson, and Evan Phillips were able to close the door and secure the Dodger win. It was an unusual game, and a welcome change because it was a game in which the “Big Four” of Betts, Ohtani, Freeman, and Smith didn’t score any runs. In fact, it was the bottom five guys in the lineup who each scored one run apiece. See what good things happen when the bottom of the lineup decides to show up? You can win a game on just eight singles. You don’t want to live that way, but it’s nice to know it’s there if you need it.
But the hero of the night was without a doubt Gavin Stone. It was such a big step for him in his career. Hopefully, the increased confidence will lead to better results, as with Walker Buehler‘s return imminent, he needs to do everything he can to fight for his spot in the rotation.
“I feel like there’s a big difference from this year to last year on how I feel on the mound,” Stone said of his performance. “Just pound the zone with all my pitches and be as confident as I can with all my pitches and keep the ball low.”
More of this please, Mr. Stone.
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