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“Gavin Stone goes the distance in an era when nobody does.”

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Remember those words, folks. They were spoken by SportsNet LA’s Joe Davis following Wednesday’s 4-0 complete game shutout of the Chicago White Sox by 25-year-old Dodgers right-hander Gavin Stone in front of a sold out Guaranteed Rate Field crowd of 36,225, and you may never hear them again in an era where complete games are extremely rare and complete game shutouts even moreso.

Stone’s brilliant performance was the Dodgers first shutout and first complete game since Walker Buehler did so on April 25, 2022, when he blanked the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-0. It was also the first shutout by a Dodgers rookie since Hyun Jin Ryu did so against the Angels of Anaheim on May 28, 2013 by a score of 3-0.

“It was sweet. It was the first time… second time I ever went out for the ninth,” Stone told SportsNet LA’s David Vassegh following his specular outing to go a team-best 9-2 on the season and lower his ERA to a team-best 2.73. “But no, that’s really cool, and then to just close the game down, that was sick. That was sweet.”

“He looked like the Bulldog tonight,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said postgame, in reference to former Dodger great and current SportsNet LA broadcaster Orel Hershiser. “That was really fun to watch.”

Although Stone went the complete nine, the game was essentially over six pitches into the top of the first inning, when Dodgers superstar designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hit a 3-2 cutter from White Sox right-hander Erick Fedde, sending it 437 feet into the seats in right-center field to give Stone and the Dodgers a 1-0 lead before the seats were even warm. It was Ohtani’s team and National League-leading 25th home run of the season and his team-leading 61st RBI of the season. It was also his 10th consecutive game with an RBI to set a new Dodgers franchise record.

Well done, Gavin, Shohei, et al. Keep your foot on the gas!

Play Ball!

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