We are here with mister reliable and also a winner, the only ten game winner in the Dodger rotation and that is the one and only Gavin Stone. Thanks a lot for the time.
Appreciate it anytime day.
Oh yeah, back in Saint Louis a team that you grew up rooting for. What's it been like being at Busch Stadium as a major league player?
Yeah, it's a lot different feel.
As a kid, it just seemed just so surreal and like so magical. I mean it still does, but like it just seems so much bigger, but being down here and stuff.
Like, it's cool. It's a lot cooler from down here.
It's shows a lot of years of experience and hard work.
How many Cardinals games did you get to? I probably went to about four or five growing up. That was probably like seven the first time I came.
But yeah, last time I was here was twenty seventeen.
So you got a better seat these days than when you were a kid. Where would you sit here at Bush Stadium?
I think the first time I actually said the top in left field. Once I sat behind home plate, like second deck. Once I sat up here in the second deck just behind third base.
But Yeah, it was awesome.
We actually had a U Trip World Series here and we got to walk around the field and stuff like they usually like they do sometimes and so yeah, I remember that.
Yeah, it was awesome, and it's awesome being back here.
Since you're not pitching in this series, have you been able to take it in more than you would have?
Yeah, it's been it's been nice not having to, you know, worry about pitching here and then just getting to focus on seeing family and friends and stuff.
It's been nice.
Oh yeah, how many family and friends did come to visit you?
Yeah, there was a lot, a lot of my buddies, came, a lot of friends and family from around the area.
So yeah, it's been cool.
So it's out there now your favorite player growing up with David xteyn. But I was surprised to hear when you started to gravitate towards pitching, Joe Kelly was your favorite player. What's it like being teammates with Joe? Is he everything that you thought he would be?
Oh? Yeah, Joe's my favorite pitcher ever.
And yeah he's he's more than what I thought he'd be.
He's even crazier.
And so to actually get to like play with him and see what he's like. He's one of a conference, sure, and so it's been it's been an honor, you know, to get to be on the same team as him.
I don't know about you, but it feels like whenever I'm least expecting it, he sneaks up on you and completely rattles you.
Yeah, he does, he does. He's a good yeah though, he's a great guy. Yeah.
What's the one thing that you love that Joe Kelly did? Was it the way he had mount presence and was aggressive in the strike zone? What what made you gravitate towards Joe?
Yeah, all of that, like just his mentality in general, in the way that he you know, I guess really was just throwing slow as a starter or slower as a starter and then just kindle all that velo you know, so quick, and so to see that just really gave me confidence of, you know, like I have a chance, like I can work to throw hard like that too.
And like I said, just to be on the team with him is pretty cool.
Keevin, you're the Dodgers only ten game winner. What does that mean for you as far as being the most reliable starter as well? Because Kershaw always talks about the wins are a product of him being out there. You've made twenty two starts, twenty three tomorrow. It's turned into a really good year.
Yeah.
I mean every time I get the ball, I'm just trying to go out there and get a win for us. You know, we need them really bad right now, So any chance I can get that's my goal.
But it's all about just having fun.
It's a lot of fun out there, and so when you have a defense as good as ours, it makes it a lot easier to get those wins in an offense when you got you know, Mookie Freddy's show, Hey at the top, so they make it a lot easier, definitely.
But yeah, it's been pretty.
Fun being a rookie with those type of veterans that you describe playing behind you. What's it like. Do you feel like you have more confidence because you know you have guys behind you?
Yeah?
Absolutely, I mean our lineup is unbelievable and so it makes it a lot easier to kind of just work in and out of the zone. Yeah, it's really cool, you know to look back and see those guys behind me.
We know that Gavin Stone put in a lot of work during the off season. You came to spring training a more refined picture. Can you take us through the evolution of this season? How have you gotten better as the season has gone forward.
Yeah, I mean I think it's just been trying to stay consistent as possible.
You know, last year it just wasn't as consistent.
So that was really the main focus, you know, throughout the long process of the season, and Connor Mark, you know, we have great guys to kind of just help and keep everything the same, and so yeah, that's.
That's really just been It's just trying to stay consistent.
And just trusting My routine today is krushaw day. I've seen you out there watching his bullpen sessions. What's it like to see one of the greatest pictures? Do the behind the scenes work for days like today?
Yeah, that's how you learn, honestly, That's how I like to learn, is just to.
Watch these guys and see how they.
Go about their you know, daily work throughout the year, at different parts of the year, at different times during the day. And so yeah, just to get to be you know, like same with the same old Joe, Like he's Hall of Famer and so to get to be on the same staff as him is really cooling to get.
To learn from him. You know, I'm trying to pick up as much as I can.
What have you learned about how he approaches his work in between starts, as far as cruise shot goes.
Yeah, I mean, he doesn't take any days off, and I think that's really the key. Uh, He's always one of the first people here. He's always, I mean, he's always you can tell he loves the game. He's always, you know, doing something out here on the field. And so to see that and admire that, it's it's pretty cool.
Earlier on this road trip, Like you said, he's watching the game. He came up with a big assist when Joey Ortizmi's second base was that Sutter a wake up call for everybody to pay attention to what's going on in the game, even though you may not be playing.
Oh yeah, absolutely, And Chris is the best at it.
He's he's locked in every game and yeah, and you can tell he's out here watching, observing and stuff like that. And so he's probably the only one that picked up on that, because I don't even think I mean, dog might not even picked up on it.
But yeah, Chris comes from sprinting down the dugout. That's a big victory. Oh that was huge. Yeah that was huge. But yeah, that's just the kind of guy he is.
He always talks about change up envy going back five or six years. Has he talked to you about your changeup?
Not a lot.
I mean I ask him like every now and then how it feels and stuff, and like what his grip is. But I think he just knows that it's more of a secondary pitch and so he's not trying to make it nasty.
But it's still a great bitch.
I think he's I think he'll I think it'll be good at the end of the year too, so we'll.
See you feel like he's not giving it enough.
Du Yeah, I mean he's used in good counts past two games and it's worked.
So love it.
Can't wait to see the change up of Gavin Stone tomorrow night at stadium. Appreciate the time and man, you're an easy guy to root for. I tell people that all the time. You're a great young man and certainly have the foundation to be great.
Thank you appreciate it.
Dev Yeah, winning is what it is with Gavin Stone. That's the bottom line because stone Cold said so.