The calendar will soon turn from August to September, and though the Dodgers have baseball’s best record following Sunday’s 3-1 victory over Tampa Bay before a sellout crowd of 52,464 in Chavez Ravine, their rotation is filled with enough questions to raise serious doubts about their championship worthiness.

Will ace Tyler Glasnow (elbow) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (shoulder) return from injuries in time to front a playoff pitching staff? Can Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler, both struggling in returns from major surgeries, be counted on down the stretch? Will the inconsistent Bobby Miller regain his 2023 rookie form?

In Gavin Stone, the Dodgers may have found at least one answer.

The rookie right-hander gave up one run and three hits in seven strong innings Sunday, striking out seven, walking two and making only one glaring mistake, grooving a first-pitch sinker that Jonny DeLuca lined over the left-center field wall for a score-tying solo home run to lead off the seventh.

“When he’s getting strike one, he’s efficient, getting swing-and-miss, soft contact, that’s who he is, who we’ve come to know and appreciate, and we needed every bit of it today,” manager Dave Roberts said of Stone. “Gavin has done a good job kind of going through the highs, some lows, and trying to reset.”

Stone struggled during a five-week stretch from early July to early August, going 0-3 with a 6.91 ERA in six starts in which he yielded 45 hits, including eight homers, in 27 ⅓ innings.

But Stone appears to have regained his dominant first-half form, giving up only two earned runs and eight hits, two of them homers, in 19 innings of his last three starts in which he has struck out 23 and walked four to lower his ERA from 3.71 on Aug. 7 to 3.33.

“I don’t know the answer,” Roberts said, when asked how Stone, who went 9-2 with a 2.73 ERA in his first 15 starts this season, could be so bad for a month. “I don’t know if some of it was fatigue or if it was a little bit of you’re pushing to be an All-Star. I don’t know if some of it is the league making adjustments on him.

“But I know that he believes his stuff plays, and when he can get ahead and mix and match, keep guys off balance, he can still strike guys out and still go deep in games.”

Stone did not figure in the decision because the Dodgers broke a 1-1 tie in the eighth when Shohei Ohtani was hit on the inside of the left forearm by a 92-mph sinker from left-hander Richard Lovelady and Mookie Betts lined a first-pitch slider over the left-center field wall for a two-run homer and a 3-1 lead. X-rays on Ohtani’s forearm were negative.

Shohei Ohtani holds his wrist after getting hit by a pitch in the eighth inning against the Rays on Sunday.

(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

Advertisement

The Dodgers improved to 78-53 on the season and maintained their three-game National League West lead over Arizona and a 4 ½-game lead over San Diego.

Stone retired the first 10 batters of the game before giving up a one-out single to Brandon Lowe in the fourth, but he got both Junior Caminero and Josh Lowe to pop out to first to end the inning.

Stone walked two in the fifth, including DeLuca to open the inning, but he escaped damage with the help of Kiké Hernández, who was making only his sixth start of the season in center field.

Ben Rortvedt followed DeLuca’s walk with a drive to the gap in left-center, but Hernández ran the ball down and made a lunging catch before crashing into the wall for the first out, most likely saving a run. José Caballero lined out to third base, Taylor Walls walked, and Jose Siri grounded out to first base to end the inning.

“I had a pretty good read off the bat, and I was trying to create an angle where the ball wouldn’t get in the sun for me,” Hernández said of his catch in the gap. “At that point, I was just trying to feel the warning track, feel the ball and throw the glove out there at an angle where I was going to be able to catch the ball, and it wasn’t going to come out when I hit the wall.”

Hernández then led off the bottom of the fifth by lining an 88-mph cut-fastball from Rays left-hander Jacob Lopez over the wall in left-center for his ninth home run of the season and a 1-0 Dodgers lead.

Caminero doubled off the left-field wall with two outs in the sixth, but Stone struck out Josh Lowe swinging with an 88-mph changeup to end the inning.

Stone tried to get ahead of DeLuca with a first-pitch, 93-mph sinker in the seventh, but DeLuca pounced on it, sending a 380-foot liner over the wall in left-center for his fourth homer of the season and a 1-1 tie.

“I just threw it over the middle of the plate, and he put a good swing on a pitch to hit,” said Stone, who threw 53 of his 80 pitches for strikes and induced 13 swinging strikes. “After you give up a home run like that, you just gotta refocus and get back in the zone.”

Kiké Hernández rounds second base after hitting a solo home run in the fifth inning against the Rays on Sunday.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Advertisement

Blake Treinen threw a scoreless eighth inning for the Dodgers, and left-hander Anthony Banda added a scoreless ninth for his second save, blowing a 98-mph fastball by Caballero to end the game.

It’s far too soon to be formulating a playoff rotation, and there are too many variables that could alter the Dodgers’ pitching plans heading into October, but if Stone is called upon to pitch in the postseason for the first time, Roberts believes the 25-year-old will be up to the task.

“I think if he were to be in that position, I think he would thrive,” Roberts said. “I think he’s got a good heartbeat. He doesn’t scare off. He has the ability to command the baseball. I don’t think emotions would get to him. We’re evaluating who the best 26 players are, and right now, he’s earning that right.”

Baltimore Ravens offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris died early Sunday, the team announced. He was 70.

D’Alessandris was hospitalized last week due to an acute illness. The team said at the time that he would require treatment for an extended period of time.

“Our hearts ache with grief and sadness upon learning of Coach Joe D’Alessandris’ passing early this morning,” the team said.

“’Joe D.’ lived a life of boundless faith, love, devotion and inspiration. As a husband, father, grandfather, friend and coach, Joe made every individual he encountered truly feel like they were the most important person in the world.

“Anyone fortunate enough to have spent time with Joe was forever touched by his genuine and uplifting nature. He had the amazingly rare ability to connect with people in a way that deepened respect, empathy and kindness – further spreading those important virtues into the everyday life of the world.

“‘Force multiplier’ is a football term sometimes used to describe an individual who makes everyone around him better. As a coach, he was certainly that. But far more importantly, it’s also a proper characterization of Joe D’Alessandris as a person – someone who undoubtedly created a legacy of love and impact that will live on forever.

Offensive line coach Joe DAlessandris of the Ravens works with players before the game against the Carolina Panthers at M&T Bank Stadium on Nov. 20, 2022, in Baltimore. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

COWBOYS’ ALL-PRO CORNERBACK DARON BLAND TO MISS CHUNK OF SEASON AFTER RECORD-SETTING 2023 CAMPAIGN

“We extend our heartfelt condolences to Joe’s family – particularly his three incredible daughters – during this somber time. Now reunited with his late and precious wife, Toni, we know they are smiling down from above and blessing everyone they dearly love.”

D’Alessandris was a longtime coach in pro and college football. He started as a graduate assistant at Western Carolina in 1977 and got his first full-time job as offensive line coach at Livingston (now West Alabama) in 1979. He worked his way up the organizational ladder for several years.

He got his first assistant offensive line coach NFL job in 2008 with the Kansas City Chiefs. He then made his way to the Buffalo Bills, San Diego Chargers and later the Ravens in 2017.

“Coach ‘Joe D.’ was a man of integrity and a man of faith,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said in a statement. “He made us all better. He was our reader at team Mass, and he was loved by all here. 

Offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris of the Ravens instructs before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at M&T Bank Stadium on Nov. 5, 2023, in Baltimore. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

“He was a great coach and a good man – the kind of person who you are honored to have as a friend. He raised three incredible, beautiful daughters, and he was a most loving husband. His grandkids also adored him. I admired him, loved him and am going to miss him, because ‘Joe D.’ was a joy. Toni has him back now. May God bless ‘Joe D.’ forever.”

D’Alessandris’ career also spanned two stints in the Canadian Football League and two years in the World League of American Football.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Rams linebacker Ernest Jones IV could soon be on the move — to another team.

The Rams informed Jones and his agents that they are open to trading the team captain and that his representatives can speak with other teams regarding a trade and a new contract, people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly said Sunday. They requested anonymity because a deal has not been made.

Jones, 24, has started since midway through his rookie season in 2021, and helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI.

Last season Jones made a team-best 145 tackles, including 4½ sacks, as the Rams exceeded expectations, finished 10-7 and made the playoffs.

Though he plays a position the Rams have not considered a premium, Jones appeared primed for an extension, especially after star defensive lineman Aaron Donald, the pillar of the defense, announced his retirement.

But as Jones, a third-round draft pick in 2021, entered the final year of his contract, the Rams shied from offering him a deal. Last spring at the NFL owners annual meetings general manager Les Snead indicated the team would let Jones play out his contract.

“There’s always risk if a player plays well and goes to the market,” Snead said. “We felt like that it was better for us to use current resources on making additions to the current team.”

At the beginning of offseason workouts, Jones sounded as if he would use the situation as motivation.

“I’m a big believer in Jesus Christ, so I know at the end of the day I’m taken care of,” he said. “As long as I continue to walk around here and play football at a high level, at the end of the season I’ll have the opportunity to take care of my family in the ways that I want to.

“But from hearing [the Rams] aspect, that they want to see me another year, that’s exciting for me. I’ve been doing nothing but proving myself my entire life…. I’m looking forward to this opportunity to lead this team but also looking forward to it from a personal standpoint that’s — play some good ball, you set yourself up real nice.”

The Rams, who play the Detroit Lions in a Sept. 8 opener, must trim their roster to 53 players by Tuesday at 1 p.m. PDT.

Christian Rozeboom, Jacob Hummel, Troy Reeder and undrafted free agent Omar Speights are other inside linebackers contending for spots. Snead said Saturday during the Rams’ 17-15 preseason defeat by the Houston Texans that Speights had made the roster.