Inside The Dodgers

Dave Roberts Says Surprise Dodgers Starter Deserves to Be All-Star

Maren Angus-Coombs

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
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History has shown the Los Angeles Dodgers that they need multiple frontline starting pitchers to be successful in the playoffs. The Dodgers have come up short more than once because they were lacking in that department.

With another dominant outing in a 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday, Gavin Stone is quietly becoming one of the team's best options.

He pitched 5.1 innings and gave up two runs. Both runs scored after Stone left the game in a bases-loaded jam in the sixth. Manager Dave Roberts believes he's getting better with every start.

“I think for any starting pitcher, you just evaluate: Do they have the weapons to get left out, to get right out, to be efficient, to command the baseball, to get a strikeout when you need to, and can you navigate three times through the lineup,” Roberts said. “He’s checked all those boxes, and for me, he’s only getting better.”

When Yoshinobu Yamamoto went down with a strained rotator cuff, there was no panic in the clubhouse. There was speculation from various media outlets about the long-term pitching plans. If there was any doubt, Stone has answered the call.

He has been so impressive that an All-Star nod might be in his future. That's something Roberts didn't plan on happening coming into this season.

“I wouldn’t have bet on it coming into the season,” Roberts said. “But the way it has played out for three months if that happened, man, it would certainly be well-deserved.”

Through 14 starts, Stone has a 3.04 ERA, the 13th-best in the National League. He has eight wins, trailing only Luis Gil of the New York Yankees for the MLB rookie lead.

Stone's production has been a blessing for a banged-up rotation. He seems to have found himself after struggling to get through an up-and-down debut season last year that saw his ERA reach 9.00.

There is still a lot of baseball left to play, but if Yamamoto doesn't return at full-strength, Stone is looking like the next-best alternative.

The MLB All-Star Game is July 16 in Arlington, Texas.

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Maren Angus-Coombs

MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State and has been a sports writer since 2008. Despite growing up in the South, her sports obsession has always been in Los Angeles. She is currently a staff writer at the LA Sports Report Network.

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