Untimely errors and miscues doomed the Los Angeles Dodgers in a second straight loss to the Miami Marlins, but not all was lost as Tony Gonsolin enjoyed his best outing of the year.
The 27-year-old allowed just two hits in a season-high 5.1 scoreless innings and collected three strikeouts against one walk. “I felt good to go out there and give our team a chance to win and get into that sixth inning,” Gonsolin said after the game.
The right-hander added that Tuesday’s start against the Marlins was the first time he felt like himself this season but noted his velocity could have been better. “Yeah, I definitely felt more like myself, Gonsolin said. “Velo was down still a little bit, but that will come back with time.”
Behind the plate for the Dodgers on Tuesday was Will Smith, who felt Gonsolin had everything working against the Marlins. “Yeah, he pitched really well,” Smith began.
“He was attacking the zone, he was going after guys, his offspeed was really good. A couple loud outs, but outs and yeah, it was a really good outing for him, 5.1, that was good to see.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts agreed with Smith’s assessment and believes Gonsolin’s start against the Marlins was his best all season. “I believe so,” Roberts said.
“I thought he had a good one I think at Dodger Stadium but this was yeah, this was probably the best as far as consistent strike-throwing, the command of the secondaries, fastball command, really good and really something for Tony to build on for his next turn.”
Roberts: Gonsolin will be ‘big’ for Dodgers starting rotation
After missing the first two-plus months of the regular season, Gonsolin has emerged as a key contributor in the Dodgers starting rotation. Roberts expects that to remain the case going forward, especially given the circumstances with Trevor Bauer and the team only having four starters at the moment.
“Certainly,” Roberts answered when asked if Gonsolin will continue being an important member of the rotation. “He was a big part of things initially and just kind of the way things have played out, he’s gonna be big for us.
“So now to get to that 75-pitch threshold and now you’re looking at six and 90, so you feel confident that we can stretch him back out and not compromise anything. So he’s gonna play big for us.”
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and more!
