Gavin Stone reminds Dodgers why he could be the best alternative to Yoshinobu Yamamoto

DENVER–

Following Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s shoulder injury last week, the Dodgers did not feel the need to identify a new No. 2 starter.

They didn’t necessarily rely on anyone else in their rotation to elevate their game.

“These (other) starters,” manager Dave Roberts said, “just need to go out there and be themselves.”

Still, recent history suggests that the Dodgers will, at some point, need someone to fill Yamamoto’s role at the top of the rotation. Few teams can succeed in the playoffs without at least a few legitimate frontcourt options. Too often in their recent October failures, the Dodgers have lacked elite-level pitchers.

This week, the team looked at its best internal choices for handling such a task.

And on Thursday, in a 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies, Gavin Stone showed a glimpse of the dominance that could make him their current top option.

Stone’s final line Thursday — in a game where the Dodgers got homers from Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith and Freddie Freeman, as well as three hits from Teoscar Hernández — wasn’t overwhelming.

He pitched 5 ⅓ innings. He allowed two points. Both scored after leaving the game in a bases-loaded jam in the sixth.

Over the first five rounds, however, Stone once again displayed his newfound dominance, cementing his status as a potential front-line weapon.

“I think for any starting pitcher, you just have to evaluate: do they have the weapons to be left out, to come out immediately, to be effective, to command the baseball, to get an out when you need it, and can you sail in three times in the lineup,” Roberts said. “He checked all those boxes, and to me, he’s only getting better.”

When Yamamoto went down last weekend – his rotator cuff strain isn’t expected to end his season, but casts doubt on his ability to be an ace-caliber weapon at the moment – ​​immediate questions arise. have been raised about what this would mean for the Dodgers. ‘ long-term launch plans.

Their rotation was still led by Tyler Glasnow, an early-season Cy Young contender with a 3.00 ERA and MLB-leading 125 strikeouts.

But beyond that, it was unclear who might emerge as a true No. 2 option – in case Yamamoto doesn’t return to form (or health) before the end of the season.

Walker Buehler, the club’s former ace, struggled in his return from Tommy John surgery, even before landing on the injured list with a hip injury. Bobby Miller, a playoff starter as a rookie for the Dodgers last year, had his season sidetracked by a shoulder injury, then allowed five runs in his return to the rotation on Wednesday.

Clayton Kershaw is on the cusp of his own return, remaining on track for a late July/early August activation after pitching three innings with single-A Rancho Cucamonga during a rehab assignment Wednesday.

“He overcame all that,” Roberts said of Kershaw. “I hope it continues.”

But relying on a 36-year-old veteran who had just undergone his first career surgery was a risky proposition.

Early prospects of a relatively weak trade market for entry-level pitchers also don’t provide many obvious external targets.

That’s why Stone’s ascension has been so well-received, giving the Dodgers not only another productive regular-season pitcher, but one who has increasingly shown some October-worthy stuff in the process.

An All-Star selection may not be out of the question either.

“I wouldn’t have bet on it at the start of the season,” Roberts said. “But the way this has gone for three months, if it happened, man, it would definitely be well deserved.”

Indeed, in 14 starts this season, Stone now has a 3.04 ERA, the 13th best in the National League. He has eight wins, behind Luis Gil of the New York Yankees for the MLB rookie lead.

Even though the Dodgers have insisted they don’t need him, he emerges as their best option to replace Yamamoto in the rotation hierarchy.

“He’s kind of becoming one of those guys,” Freeman said, “where you have a good chance of winning every time he’s out there.”

The 25-year-old was unaffected by the mile-high altitude on Thursday, slightly changing his typically lead-heavy pitch mix by opting more for a four-seam/changeup combination.

Until the sixth inning, he rarely faced stress on base, retiring 12 of his first 14 batters before stranding two runners in the fifth.

“Throughout the first five innings, I thought the command was amazing,” Roberts said.

Stone finally came out after issuing two walks and a single in the sixth, when Roberts felt he “kind of hit a wall” at hitter-friendly (and high-altitude) Coors Field.

However, the outing was also Stone’s fourth in his last five starts with at least six strikeouts – he hadn’t previously done so since his season debut in late March – a promising sign for a pitcher whose success formerly depended on limiting contacts.

“It’s probably just the work (pitching coaches) Connor (McGuiness), Mark (Prior) and I did during the bullpen and all that,” Stone said of his growing swing and fielding abilities. missed. “Just execute some pitches a little better.”

His ability to complete a changeup with sliders, cutters and sinkers also continues to be a boon, mitigating the issues he faced during a rocky debut season last year when he didn’t largely consisted of only three throws.

“I think last year he was searching, searching — finding himself in the big leagues,” Roberts said, reflecting on Stone’s 9.00 ERA in 2023. “This spring, he just had a different demeanor about him. And that definitely carried over into the season.

There are still a myriad of boxes Stone needs to check between now and the playoffs. Many steps await him on the path to October success.

Nonetheless, his production was a blessing to the Dodgers’ struggling pitching staff.

Unless Yamamoto returns at full strength, someone will need to bolster the club’s rotation.

And of all the options available at this point, Stone may seem like their best bet.