The Los Angeles Dodgers’ offensive struggles continued Thursday as they mustered just four hits in a 2-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
While the lineup left a lot to be desired, the same can’t necessarily be said for Tony Gonsolin, whose return from the 10-day injured list was a relative success. He went the targeted three innings, allowing just one run on three hits with three strikeouts against two walks.
“It was a lot of fun being out there,” Gonsolin said. “I was able to go out there throw strikes, compete a little bit. Ideally, try to go a little deeper in the game, but it feels good to get that first one under my belt.”
Gonsolin, who missed the previous six weeks with right shoulder inflammation, was encouraged with his health coming out of the start. “I definitely feel great, even post the game, I feel good,” he said. “We’ll see how it bounces back [Friday] and figure it out from there.”
Despite the long layoff, Gonsolin flashed a lively fastball that touched 96 mph at times. “It felt great. I tried not to look at the gun too much but definitely did after that first pitch,” he said.
“Kind of wanted to see where I was at. As I got more comfortable, I felt like it was coming out a lot better. It was definitely nice to see 96 (mph), that the velo is there. I felt a lot more comfortable on the mound.”
In what has been a whirlwind season for Gonsolin, he believes he can only go up from here. “It’s been a lot of ups and downs. Battling through this injury, not throwing strikes and all that, definitely had some ups and downs,” Gonsolin said.
“But I think we’re on the climb right now.”
Roberts: Gonsolin to be stretched to four innings in next start
After getting through three innings on 55 pitches against the Cardinals, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts noted Gonsolin will be stretched even further in his next start. “I thought Tony was good,” Roberts began.
“Just kind of building that pitch count up, getting through three innings, I thought was great. The next turn for him he’ll be built up to four (innings) and 60 (pitches). It was good to get him back out there.”
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