The Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t do much to aid Tony Gonsolin in his MLB debut and the end result was a series loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks with an 8-2 defeat.
Matters quickly began to spiral for Gonsolin, as Jarrod Dyson led off the bottom of the first with a bunt single on two strikes. A stolen base and single put runners at the corners, and Tim Locastro then swiped second base.
Joc Pederson’s growing pains then surfaced, with his error allowing the Diamondbacks to take a 1-0 lead. Eduardo Escobar then added to it with a three-run home run before Gonsolin could record an out.
Chris Taylor’s throwing error allowed Caleb Joseph to reach to start the bottom of the second, and that too led to a run. Two batters after Joseph’s double in the fourth inning, Dyson’s RBI double extended the Diamondbacks’ lead to 6-2.
Gonsolin’s day came to an end after four innings, with six runs allowed (four earned) on six hits, to go along with three strikeouts and one walk. One bright moment for the 25-year-old was a line-drive single in his first at-bat.
Arizona plated two more runs against Caleb Ferguson, behind an Ildemaro Vargas double in the fifth. With the Dodgers hoping to preserve their bullpen, Russell Martin was called on to pitch in the eighth inning.
It was a second time Martin took the mound this season, and third case of a Dodgers position player pitching (Kiké Hernandez being the other) doing so in the last two years.
Cody Bellinger largely represented what was a quiet afternoon for the Dodgers lineup. He walked in the second inning and scored on Chris Taylor’s sacrifice fly, and hit a solo home run in the fourth.
The home run was Bellinger’s 26th this season, inching him closer to the Dodgers franchise record for most all-time before the All-Star break. The mark is held by Gil Hodges, who hit 28 in 1951.
Duke Snider tied it in 1955, Gary Sheffield slugged 27 in 2000, and Bellinger and Green (2002) are now tied.
Meanwhile, Alex Verdugo had his season-best eight-game hitting streak snapped, and Max Muncy’s streak of reaching base safely ended at 34 games.
