Stone stepping up with Dodgers in need of arms

DENVER — Even with a quick glance at the Dodgers’ injury report, the amount of talent sidelined for Los Angeles is pretty glaring.

Mookie Betts, Clayton Kershaw, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Walker Buehler and Max Muncy are among the most recognizable names in the sport, and none of them are available for the Dodgers right now. Likewise for relievers such as Ryan Brasier and Joe Kelly, who figured to be high-leverage arms coming into the season.

But with high-profile names sidelined, the Dodgers have challenged some of their depth pieces to take advantage of the added opportunities. Players like Miguel Vargas, Miguel Rojas, Andy Pages and Gavin Stone are among some of the players who will get more responsibility over the coming weeks and months.

So far, the Dodgers have gotten exactly what they hoped. That was on full display on Thursday as Stone, Pages and Vargas played significant roles in a 5-3 win over the Rockies at Coors Field.

“Just a lot of quality things, when you lose a couple guys that we were going to lean on all year, to step up like we did in this series,” said Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, who hit a solo homer in the fourth inning, “That’s good for us.”

With Yamamoto and Buehler on the injured list, the Dodgers are going to need the rest of their starters to step up in their absence. Nobody has done that for the Dodgers this season more than Stone, who is putting together one of the best rookie seasons in the Majors.

In his first taste of Coors Field, Stone fared well, allowing two runs over 5 1/3 innings while matching his career high with seven strikeouts. Stone, who made the rotation out of Spring Training, is 6-1 with a 2.39 ERA over his last eight starts.

“I feel like [at Coors Field] you just have to throw your normal stuff and put it in good spots,” Stone said. “I was doing that for most of the day. When runners got on, that’s when pitches started to get away from me a little bit, but it was a good day overall.”

Both manager Dave Roberts and Freeman said they saw a shift in Stone’s mentality during Spring Training. Coming into last season as one of the top pitching prospects in the sport, Stone struggled in his first taste of the Majors. His worst start came against the Rays, when he allowed seven runs on 10 hits on May 28. He got optioned after the game, not making another big league start until September.

Since then, however, Stone has turned himself into one of the most reliable pitchers in a talented Dodgers’ pitching staff. A couple more strong outings and Stone could be making a case for his first All-Star Game selection in a few weeks.

“I think today, early on in the first five innings, I thought the command was unbelievable,” said Roberts. “He’s been nothing but phenomenal for us, and he’ll be ready for the next one.”

Offensively, Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith and Freeman provided the power, each hitting a solo homer off left-hander Ty Blach. But they also got some help from Vargas, Pages and Chris Taylor, who each chipped in with at least one hit. For all three, as well as Rojas and Kiké Hernández, the loss of Muncy and Betts has opened up more opportunities.

Over the next few months, the Dodgers will continue to evaluate their roster with a large focus on October. It’s an opportunity that wouldn’t have come up without key guys going down. The Dodgers passed their first test in Colorado.

“We have a great group of guys here that just try to put together quality [at-bats] every single day,” Freeman said. “If you don’t do it, we have faith in the next guy, and we did that this series.”