Steve Webb
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA — Tony Gonsolin made another step toward returning to the Dodgers roster on Saturday, as he made a rehab start with Low-A Rancho Cucamonga. The Cat Man has been nursing a sore shoulder all summer, and hasn’t pitched since his last start with the Dodgers, which came way back on July 30. In that appearance, Gonsolin lasted just 1.2 innings against the Diamondbacks and didn’t look great. He went on the IL shortly thereafter and has been there ever since.
Gonsolin’s had a rough go this season
It’s been a bit of a lost season for Gonsolin. He didn’t make his first appearance until June 9 because of the same shoulder issue. In the ten appearances with the Dodgers in June and July, he made nine starts, but was uncharacteristically wild, using up his pitch count very quickly and never going too deep into the game. The deepest he got into a game was 5.1 innings, which he managed twice in July. All of his other starts were considerably shorter. Still, Goose was able to pitch around a lot of self-imposed traffic, and though his WHIP was a way-too-high 1.46 this year, his ERA was a very respectable 2.78.
Quakes start goes pretty well
As for his start with the Quakes, he did all right. He pitched 2.1 innings on Saturday against the Lake Elsinore Storm, and allowed one run on three hits. During the 41-pitch outing, Gonsolin did walk one of the Storm, so it looks like the control still needs a bit of work, but hopefully before too long he will be ready to fill up that five hole in the rotation. Plus, soon Clayton Kershaw should be back to the big club, as he makes his first rehab start with Oklahoma City later this week.
So, reinforcements are on the way. It’s quite amazing how well the Dodgers pitchers have filled up these gaps in the rotation caused by the injuries to May, Gonsolin, and Kershaw, not to mention the absence of Trevor Bauer since late June. The pitching depth of this organization is really something to behold.
