The first meeting of the season between MLB’s two top scoring offenses resulted in a pitchers’ duel as the Los Angeles Dodgers shut out the New York Mets, 2-0, led by a strong outing from Tony Gonsolin to end their three-game losing steak.
Gonsolin pitched six scoreless innings while only giving up two hits and adding five strikeouts to one walk. It was the right-hander’s fourth consecutive start pitching six innings after he made it a point of emphasis to go deeper into games and received some help from Clayton Kershaw.
Gonsolin has said he’s been pitching with more confidence lately following a fantastic month of May where he went 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 31 strikeouts and eight walks across 28 innings over five starts.
Additionally, with his start Thursday, Gonsolin became the National League’s qualified ERA leader, posting a 1.59 ERA in his 10 starts.
Taijuan Walker matched Gonsolin for the first four innings, but the Dodgers were finally able to get on the board in the fifth.
With three consecutive one-out singles from Chris Taylor, Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts, the Dodgers took a 1-0 lead. But they weren’t able to drive in Lux or Betts after the Mets turned an unconventional double play a ball hit by Freddie Freeman.
Trea Turner opened the sixth inning with a double and Justin Turner hit a two-out RBI double to drive him in, giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. That also ended up chasing Walker from the game as rookie Colin Holderman came on in relief and struck out Cody Bellinger.
Brusdar Graterol and Daniel Hudson pitched the seventh and eighth, respectively, and both threw a scoreless inning.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts guaranteed Craig Kimbrel would pitch in one of their first two games against the Mets as part of their plan to get him more usage, and he kept his word by giving him a save opportunity in the series opener.
The veteran closer has struggled this season due to some mechanical issues, but in his first outing after making adjustments, he was able to shut the door with a perfect inning.
Trea Turner keeps hitting streak alive
Turner’s double in the sixth inning advanced his hitting streak to 25 games. He previously had a 27-game hitting streak this season before it was snapped in a contest against the Cincinnati Reds on April 17.
While he seems to have a knack for hitting streaks after winning the batting title last season, it’s not something he thinks about often.
“Yeah, I start getting asked about it every day,” Turner answered when asked if the hitting streak has crossed his mind. “Eventually it goes away. I go 0-fer and it’s not talked about for a while. It’s just a cycle.
“It happened earlier this year, but I don’t care. It’s going to end eventually. Like I’ve said before, it’s a lot of luck with spacing out the hits perfectly. You could go 4-for-4 one night and 0-for-4 the next day and it’s over.
“It’s just luck, but it feels good to contribute each and every day.”
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