After struggling in his last few outings, Tony Gonsolin made some progress during his final start before the All-Star break.
Gonsolin pitched 6.2 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and one walk. Gonsolin allowed two home runs, including one three-run shot to Mickey Moniak, but he was overall happy with his performance in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 11-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels in the opener of the Freeway Series.
“Take out the four runs on a couple pitches, and I’m very pleased with the outing overall,” Gonsolin said. “I felt like I was really efficient, I attacked the zone and attacked hitters. And our hitters picked us up today. It was great.”
Gonsolin has dealt with some issues recovering between starts, which may have contributed to poor outings recently, but he doesn’t believe feeling better had anything to do with his success.
“I think it was more mindset, honestly,” Gonsolin said. “Just being aggressive and not trying to tiptoe around the edges.”
It wasn’t a perfect outing by any means, but it was just what the Dodgers needed as Gonsolin pitched into the seventh inning and limited the damage overall.
“I feel like we got ahead early and I kind of let them back in the ballgame,” he said. “But I just tried to stay out there, keep pitching and try to keep us ahead in the game.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts previously said he expected Gonsolin to get back on track, and was thrilled with the start the right-hander turned in on Friday. “This is what we’ve been waiting for, for quite some time,” Roberts said.
“I think three or four starts. Velocity, great. I think he left a curveball arm side to Moniak for the home run, and then he yanked a fastball to Moustakas. But outside of that, he was very efficient. Getting into the seventh inning, it’s been a while since we’ve done that, so that was good to see.”
Tony Gonsolin’s struggles attributed to ineffective slider
Prior to his start against the Angels, Gonsolin had given up a combined 15 runs in just 14.1 innings pitched over his last three starts, with opponents batting .304 against him during that stretch. Roberts believed Gonsolin’s woes stemmed from his slider not being effective.
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