LOS ANGELES Ryan Pepiot was the only person in either dugout who had seen the most of Gavin Stone as he took the mound on Sunday afternoon. Despite being chosen a year apart, the two right-handed changeup artists entered the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system at the same time and were both seen as premium prospects. Although they have different builds, their arsenals and performance histories have generally been similar to one another, even now that they have all had somewhat of a breakthrough season.
Since his unexpected addition on Opening Day, Stone has established himself as the sole reliable member of the Dodgers rotation, going the entire game without skipping a start. He has made 24 starts and his ERA is 3.33.
As the hero of the Dodgers’ December acquisition deal for Tyler Glasnow, Pepiot, who is currently with Tampa Bay, has a 3.65 ERA in 19 starts.
Pepiot’s viewpoint was influenced by his shared history with Stone when, this past weekend, he was watching Stone pitch seven innings of one-run ball in the Dodgers’ 3-1 victory at Dodger Stadium with his Rays.
Over the previous few months, Stone’s toolkit has grown, which is why Pepiot chastised his former comrade when they got back together.
“Hey, man, you have enough PitchCom buttons now to call everything you own?” Before Stone used six different options in his 80 pitches on Sunday, Pepiot made a joke.
The Dodgers won, 3-1. They are 78-53. The division lead remains three.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 25, 2024
Gavin Stone was great. Mookie Betts had the big swing late. Anthony Banda hit 98 mph to end it. Dodgers will have an off day before the Orioles come to town.
Time of game: 2:03.
Stone changed his pitches following his terrible major league debut. In addition to his characteristic changeup and riding four-seam fastball, he also possesses a slower curveball to steal strikes when the changeup fails, a more reliable slider, a cutter he uses against lefties, and a sinker versus righties. And a sweeper thrown in, too. He is more difficult to hit because of this and his increased velocity (94.9 mph, up 0.9 mph from a year ago).
After experiencing a mixed first impression with the majors, Pepiot notices something else that reflects his own growth.
“My first year, I didn’t throw very many strikes,” Pepiot said after walking 27 batters in his first 36 1/3 big-league innings. “But it took that experience. Stoney, his first few in the big leagues were tough, but then he had a stretch where he threw the ball really well. I think him realizing how things went at first and then going out there and having success when he was in the zone, was filling it up, and knowing that his stuff plays, I think just that little confidence boost.”
Stone is walking less often. Despite not having strikeout statistics that would typically be consistent with Stone’s domination in the minor leagues (though he did strike out seven on Sunday), he is targeting the strike zone with his wide arsenal. For him, it has performed better in the bigs.
“It’s not a straight path for anybody,” Pepiot said. “I just think having those extra pitches has helped him a lot, and him just being able to go out there and command the zone, fill it up with 97 on a riding fastball, and a sinker, throwing the cutter too and he’s got the slower curveball to slow things down and he’s got the elite changeup. That’s a recipe for success to be a starting pitcher in this league for a while.”
It wasn’t until shortly after 11:05 a.m. that Shohei Ohtani strolled into Dodger Stadium clubhouse for Sunday’s 1:10 p.m. start, much to the glee of one Joe Kelly, who barked out to him.
“Show and go!” Kelly said, or, Sho and go.
Ohtani has had a hectic weekend, and he is obstinately devoted to his sleep. He achieved his goal on Friday of hitting 40 home runs and stealing 40 bases before September arrived, putting even more impressive numbers (45-45? 50-50?), which neither had been accomplished before, within reach.
Then on Saturday, following his second ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction on his right elbow, Ohtani ascended the mound and threw his first bullpen session. Ohtani had a good outcome from that session. Ohtani is still supposed to build up to the point where he faces hitters before being shut down as a pitcher until 2025, manager Dave Roberts reiterated on Sunday.
What comes next, then? Pursuing 50-50 is still feasible. Based on Sunday’s play, he is expected to hit 51 home runs and steal 49 items.
Next, there are a few historical leverage statistics. Ohtani hit just his 16th home run of the season with runners on base and his third with runners in scoring position with a walk-off grand slam to seal the 40-40 victory. As of Sunday, his season OPS when there were runners in scoring position was still only.696, a far cry from his lifetime OPS of 1.063 when he was in those situations when playing for the Angels.
At first glance, the underperformance seems to be a one-time event. With runners in scoring position, he is not striking out more frequently than he did before. Ohtani’s performance on balls in play appears to be lower this season than it was in previous seasons, according to the small-sample statistics.
“I think that he knows, we all know, what he’s capable of with runners in scoring position,” Roberts said Saturday. “I would be willing to bet that it’s only going to get better, and last night was a case in point. But I think for me, it seems just some talent here, just continue to do what he’s been doing, taking good at-bats, and let the talent play.”
In the eighth inning on Sunday, Rays reliever Richard Lovelady nailed him with a sinker that nearly took his life. After negative initial scans, the star is thought to be in good condition.
A bullpen wild card (or two)
Although the Dodgers’ bullpen is among the best five in the majors by ERA this season, trends on the margins merit more examination. Their 4.23 FIP points to a small amount of regression. Their rate of home run surrender is the seventh highest among all MLB bullpens. Even though the Dodgers have three of the twelve Dodgers to record saves—Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips, and Daniel Hudson—a troika of late-inning options that could handle the ninth inning, they are depending on some sustained performance from spots they were not expecting to just a few months ago.
It is amazing what the Dodgers have gotten out of Hudson, considering that he had barely pitched the previous two seasons and had finally settled for a minor-league contract this winter. In his 37th season, Hudson has a 2.61 ERA and has been perfect from start to finish. In addition, he was on pace to pitch his most since 2019 as of Sunday, having already tied the record with 51 2/3 innings in 2021. Roberts gave Hudson a bit of a reset this past weekend in part because of this.
Blake Treinen has made a respectable 37 appearances (2.70 ERA) with them thus far. The right-hander essentially missed 2022 and 2023 due to shoulder issues, which eventually necessitated surgery. Ryan Brasier was just brought back. Alex Vesia’s comeback campaign has been impressive. Anthony Banda has surprised everyone.
They could now see two wild cards being added to the mix. The fact that Brusdar Graterol is still in the lineup for the Dodgers only weeks after being helped off the mound is still astounding. On Saturday, however, Graterol threw a bullpen session. He is traveling well. Next week, he might begin a rehab assignment.
“I’m still counting on him,” Roberts said.
What is even more unexpected is that Tony Gonsolin’s 2024 season may not be finished. Gonsolin had Tommy John surgery on September 1, 2023, just over a year ago, but on Sunday morning, he returned to Dodger Stadium and threw in front of Dodgers staff. He has been pitching his fastball, which sits between 92 and 94 mph, to batters in Arizona. Gonsolin stated that he had not anticipated how quickly it would go, particularly after straining his hamstring during spring training. If things go well in his upcoming live sessions, he might be assigned to a recovery program.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Gonsolin said.
The door “is slightly open” for him to return as a reliever, Roberts said.
(Photo of Gavin Stone: Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)
