The Gavin’s got it done for the Los Angeles Dodgers as they defeated the Seattle Mariners, 3-0, to open the homestand.
Gavin Stone turned in arguably the best start of his career, leading to a pitcher’s duel between the two young starters with Bryan Woo also tossing a gem for the Mariners.
Stone pitched seven innings, giving up no runs on just two hits with a career-high 10 strikeouts compared to only two walks. Stone’s previous high in strikeouts was seven, which he has done three times in his career.
Stone’s 10 strikeouts are the ninth time a Dodgers’ starter has reached the double digit mark this year.
The right-hander reached seven today in his first three innings pitched before his strikeout rate dropped the next few innings. Still, it was a phenomenal outing for Stone, who seems to be getting back on track after a rough stretch over the past month.
The 25-year-old also turned in a strong outing his last time out, going five innings with just one run allowed and three hits given up.
Bryan Woo nearly matched Stone, except he did it with weak contact instead of a high strikeout total. Woo pitched six shutout innings while giving up just one hit, walking five and striking out two to start his night off.
Woo has been having a fantastic season as he entered the game with a 2.06 ERA across 74.1 innings, and nothing changed this time out against a high-powered Dodgers lineup, that is, until the seventh inning.
Woo went back out for the seventh, and unlike Stone, he was unable to keep the opposing hitters at bay any longer.
Gavin Lux broke the shutout with a home run, putting them up 1-0 and continuing his recent tear at the plate.
Woo followed by hitting Will Smith with a pitch, and that ended his day. However, Yimi García entered and gave up a home run to Max Muncy in his return, adding one more run to Woo’s final line and ending his day with 6.1 innings pitched and two runs allowed.
After Stone, Joe Kelly worked a scoreless eighth and Evan Phillips recorded the save.
Justin Turner returns to face Dodgers
Justin Turner made his return to Dodger Stadium for the first time since leaving the Dodgers prior to the 2023 season.
“First time coming back after a few years, it’s definitely exciting,” Turner said. “This place is very special to me. Nine years of my career here on a lot of really good baseball teams, won a championship in ’20, just looking forward to seeing a lot of the fans and hopefully put on a good show for them.”
He was greeted by loud cheers and a standing ovation from fans, and the Dodgers also had a video tribute for him during an on-field ceremony. In addition, the Dodgers made a donation of $10,000 to the Justin Turner Foundation and presented him with a framed photo of some of Turner’s top moments in Dodger Blue.
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