LOS ANGELES ― Trayce Thompson has not had a front-row seat for most of Tony Gonsolin’s professional career. When Thompson’s first tour of duty with the Dodgers’ organization was peaking, in June 2016, Gonsolin was an outfielder at St. Mary’s College until he was chosen by the Dodgers in the ninth round of that year’s amateur draft.
Forgive Thompson for extrapolating too much after Friday’s game, in which Gonsolin threw 7 ⅔ innings in a 5-1 Dodger win over the San Diego Padres.
“I’ve seen two starts now,” Thompson said. “It’s almost like he’s guaranteed to go eight (innings) every night.”
In fact, Friday marked only the second time Gonsolin even completed seven innings in a game; the first was a Sept. 2020 start in San Diego. The right-hander has since transformed himself into one of the National League’s best pitchers, an honorific that should soon guarantee Gonsolin a roster spot when the All-Star Game comes to Los Angeles July 19.
Gonsolin struck out a season-high eight batters, allowed four hits and didn’t issue a walk. He seemed reluctant to hand over the baseball to Manager Dave Roberts after striking out C.J. Abrams with his 92nd pitch.
Yet by then, the final outcome was nearly clinched. Gonsolin’s record improved to 10-0 and his earned-run average shrank to 1.54, with enough innings to qualify for the lowest ERA in baseball. He allowed one run, on a fifth-inning home run by Trent Grisham that reached the loge level in right field.
The Dodgers struck out a season-high 17 times, but won thanks to two solo homers against left-hander Blake Snell (0-6) and a few insurance runs against the Padres’ bullpen.
Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger cleared the fence before the announced crowd of 48,076. Bellinger’s 11th home run of the season put the Dodgers ahead for good at 2-1 in the sixth inning.
In the seventh inning, Trea Turner legged out an infield single, stole second base, and scored on a double by Freddie Freeman. With left-hander Tim Hill on the mound in the eighth inning, Chris Taylor singled and Thompson doubled to kick off a two-run rally.
That gave the Dodgers a four-run lead going into the ninth. Roberts called on closer Craig Kimbrel to record the final three outs in a non-save situation. He did, and the Dodgers (48-28) widened their lead on second-place San Diego (46-33) to 3 ½ games in the National League West.
Thompson went 2 for 4 with two doubles ― his first extra-base hits here as a Dodger since July 2017. Turner struck out in his first three at-bats but finished 2 for 5 with a pair of singles.
Thompson’s start was his first at Dodger Stadium since he was acquired from the Detroit Tigers for cash on June 20. He’s 9 for 28 (.321) with four extra-base hits and five RBIs in 10 games since.
“It’s pretty surreal,” Thompson said of his second tour of duty with the Dodgers. “It’s easy when a lot of my close friends are on this team, a lot of people I spent a lot of time with. It’s surreal. I’m just excited for the opportunity and try to make the most of each day.”
The story Friday was Gonsolin, who had struggled to command the strike zone even while maintaining a sub-2.00 ERA for most of the season. His inability to pitch deep into games regularly left him short of the innings necessary to qualify for the ERA title and, more importantly for the Dodgers, sometimes taxed the bullpen on the days Gonsolin started.
Gonsolin said he is a more confident pitcher now, which makes him less hesitant to pound the strike zone early in at-bats.
“He was outstanding tonight,” Roberts said. “He had his entire mix working. The split, change; obviously there’s a heavy left-handed lineup. Fastball command all night long. He was getting a lot of early swings, early contact that allowed him to get to the eighth inning. Where we were at with the ’pen going into tonight, it’s much needed.”
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