Tony Gonsolin turned in an encouraging start and the Los Angeles Dodgers added to their dominance against the Arizona Diamondbacks this season with a 4-2 win in the series opener at Chase Field.
After failing to capitalize on Mookie Betts and Corey Seager reaching with nobody out in the first inning, the Dodgers took advantage of baserunners in the second. Will Smith’s leadoff double was followed by an RBI single from Justin Turner, and AJ Pollock’s two-run home run made it three consecutive hits to start the inning.
That also capped off a nice stretch for Pollock as he made a leaping catch at the wall in the bottom of the first. However, L.A. largely went quiet from there and it allowed Arizona to chip away at their deficit.
That started with a Kole Calhoun solo home run in the bottom of the third inning and continued in the fifth when a strikeout-wild pitch came across to score on a two-out RBI single from Josh VanMeter.
Sandwiched in between that was Gavin Lux taking an extra-base hit and likely RBI away from Calhoun in the fourth inning. Lux’s running catch was his first career putout in center field and resulted in an inning-ending double play.
Heading into the game Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said six innings and 90 pitches was more or less the target for Gonsolin. He wound up going five, throwing 68 pitches, allowing two runs and tying a season high with seven strikeouts.
Perhaps most notably, Gonsolin did not issue any walks, which supported Roberts’ expectation of improved command moving forward.
Smith helped the Dodgers get a run back in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly, and the bullpen continued to take it from there.
Alex Vesia stranded two runners, Corey Knebel struck out a pair in the seventh inning, Blake Treinen left the tying runs in scoring position and Kenley Jansen converted his 35th save of the season.
Jansen was aided by Chris Taylor making an impressive diving catch followed by a sliding grab, which certainly tested the health of his lingering neck injury.
Dodgers keep pace with Giants
After the Colorado Rockies gave the Dodgers fits throughout a three-game series, they fell to the San Francisco Giants on Friday night. L.A. picking up a win in Arizona helped them remain one game back of first place in the National League West.
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!
