The Los Angeles Dodgers closed out their road trip with an 8-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Mother’s Day, led in part by Tony Gonsolin turning in his best start of the season.
The right-hander gave up three hits and collected four strikeouts against two walks over five shutout innings. He allowed only two baserunners to reach scoring position.
Gonsolin improved to 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA, 2.87 FIP, 1.06 WHIP and 11.8 strikeouts per nine in 16 innings across three starts this season since returning from the 15-day injured list.
Gonsolin said after the game that he has been pleased with his pitch velocity and movement thus far, via Jack Harris of the L.A. Times:
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Gonsolin said, noting that “the shapes and the velos and everything around my stuff have really come around” after spending much of the last two years rehabbing from his Tommy John procedure.
Gonsolin has been a pleasant surprise since rejoining the Dodgers rotation at a time in which several key starters are out due to injury.
The 30-year-old has seemingly picked up from a career year in 2022 before struggling the following season and ultimately undergoing Tommy John surgery.
“He gets Ws, he’s got the track record, he’s an All-Star, he’s won a lot of games, he knows how to pitch deep in games, and he has a bunch of weapons and command,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently said of Gonsolin.
“I really do have come to the point where I expect that out of him when he takes the baseball.”
Tony Gonsolin pitching through elbow injury was ‘mutual benefit’
Just before undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2023, it was revealed that Gonsolin had been pitching through right elbow discomfort for six weeks. He said at the time he felt the need to continue making starts due to the Dodgers dealing with a rash of injuries.
Gonsolin was in the first of a two-year, $6.65 million contract extension he had signed before the 2023 season to avoid arbitration. The deal included various performance bonuses for starts, which he reached to add $2 million to his 2024 salary.
“I think it was more of a mutual thing, because he had a contract that was set up where he was rewarded financially for it, knowing he was going to miss the next year,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “So it was more of a mutual benefit.”
Gonsolin wound up earning $5.4 million in 2024 despite missing the entire season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He will make the same salary in 2025 after signing a one-year contract to avoid arbitration for the second time.
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