The Los Angeles Dodgers opened up their thee-game set against the Seattle Mariners on Monday, shutting them out in a 3-0 win at Dodger Stadium.
A massive part of that victory was the work from right-hander Gavin Stone, who provided the Dodgers with seven shutout innings, racking up 10 strikeouts. The 25-year-old made a key point to get strike one against Mariners hitters, leading to his terrific night.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Stone said. “Getting ahead was definitely key. They’re a team that swings a lot, so getting ahead was huge.”
Stone showcased a deep pitch arsenal, giving them fits. This played right into the game plan to keep the Mariners off balance, as they carry one of Major League Baseball’s worst collective batting averages.
“Like I said, Willy did a great job calling pitches, so I was just leaning on him,” Stone said. “He was great.”
Over his last two starts against the Mariners and the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 13, Stone is 2-0, with an 0.75 ERA, 2.33 FIP, 0.58 WHIP, with 16 strikeouts in 12 innings pitched.
Stone brought out seven different pitch types, his butterfly changeup, four-seam fastball, sinker, slider, curveball, sweeper, and a cutter. He stymied Seattle, registering a 57.1% whiff rate over 24 batters faced.
Gavin Stone made mechanical adjustments to spark turnaround
Prior to this two-start run, Stone seemed to get away from the basics of what made him one of the top arms in the National League. The Dodgers and their pitching staff worked with him, seeming to get back on track.
“Just delivery, Stone said of a main emphasis to the turnaround. “Working on the delivery, working on direction, that’s huge. Not spinning off.”
Stone noted that changes to his delivery needed some tightening up, and an important evaluation process led to what we’re seeing right now.
“Huge,” he said. “Cleaning up some things with the delivery, Mark (Prior) and Connor (McGuiness) did a great job, so that’s been a lot of help.”
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