MLB
Dodgers confirm starting rotation in Seoul
Given the injuries to Emmet Sheehan and Walker Buehler, manager Dave Roberts confirmed who will be the fifth starter.
The Los Angeles Dodgers arrived in South Korea last week for Opening Day of the 2024 Major League Baseball season where they will face the San Diego Padres in the first games. Expectation is high for the Los Angeles franchise with recent arrivals Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto - stars who make the team candidates to win the 2024 World Series.
Injury setbacks
With almost the entire team at his disposal, the only question for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was who was going to be the fifth starter in the pitching rotation in the first games. With Walker Buehler and Emmet Sheehan both still recovering from their respective injuries, Roberts had to choose between Gavin Stone and Michael Grove.
Both pitchers had good performances in the Cactus League at Camelback Ranch and prior to the season opener against the Padres on 20 March, Roberts confirmed that for now Stone will be the fifth starter in the rotation. Which means Grove will be part of the bullpen at the start of the season.
Roberts confirms fifth starter
The Dodgers manager said, “I think with Gavin, like a lot of our young pitchers, just kind of sharpening up the command. I use that word a lot because it’s important. For Gavin Stone in particular, the low dart, the fastball down at the knees, the changeup off of that, the cutter to the lefty. I just think for me, there’s just a lot less arm-side misses. He’s been able to repeat his delivery. So for me, that shows a lot of growth for him”.
Gavin Stone pitched 9.2 innings during the preseason and finished with a 0.93 ERA with nine strikeouts. The right pitcher is improving and adding speed to his pitches, something that the Dodgers’ coaching staff has noticed. Roberts is confident in Gavin Stone’s potential even though he did not have good performances last year, but he has worked hard in the preseason to correct his mistakes.
The games between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres will be played on Wednesday, March 20 and Thursday March 21 with the first pitch for both games at 6 a.m. ET / 3 a.m.PT. Both games will be broadcast live in the United States by ESPN and MLB.tv while Diario AS USA will be covering both games live.