Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — It is a truth universally acknowledged that Blake Snell is the Dodgers’ kryptonite. Whatever his struggles against other teams, Snell always seems to save his best performances for battles against his former World Series opponent. And Friday was no different. However, the Dodgers had an antidote for the left-hander in this game. We had an ace of our own, Tony Gonsolin.
I know it’s funny to think of Gonsolin as the Dodgers’ ace, but that is simply a fact right now. Gonsolin pitched an almost flawless outing on Friday, going 7.2 innings and allowing just one run. The Dodgers outlasted Snell and scored late in the ballgame to push the team to a 5-1 over the San Diego Padres.
Lots of zeroes on the scoreboard, lots of K’s in the scorebook
Both Gonsolin and Snell had it going on in this game, keeping hitters off balance and looking bad all night long. Snell struck out 12 Dodgers in his outing, but it came at a cost. The lefty expended so many bullets getting those strikeout that his pitch count became elevated and he had to exit the game after just five innings of work.
Gonsolin, on the other hand, struck out fewer Padres (only 8) but was much more efficient. For the first time in his career, he got into the 8th inning of a ballgame, and if it hadn’t been for a Trent Grisham single in that inning, would have walked off the mound with eight complete. It was a masterful performance. But it was the kind of night we are used to seeing from Gonsolin, so we shouldn’t be surprised.
Muncy and Grisham trade solo shots
While Snell was on the mound, runs were at a premium for the Dodgers. They had a couple of scoring chances early on the the game, but couldn’t get a key hit (a familiar problem lately). However, they did manage one run off Snell. In the bottom of the second inning, Max Muncy teed off on the first pitch he saw, drilling a solo home run into the right field seats. It was the third straight game that the struggling Muncy has hit the ball very hard. A good sign that he might finally be working things out at the plate.
The score stayed 1-0 until the top of the fifth, when Trent Grisham had a monstrous home run down the right field line. Gonsolin really only threw a handful of bad pitches all night, but Grisham obliterated this one, hitting a 2-0 four-seamer deep into the LA night. It was a 428-foot missile, leaving the yard at 109 mph.
Belli breaks the tie
However, once Blake Snell had left the game, the Dodgers’ offense got to work. Craig Stammen came in out of the pen to relieve Snell, and for the first two batters at least, it looked like same old, same old. Stammen struck out both Chris Taylor and Trayce Thompson. However, Cody Bellinger, the third hitter of the night for Stammen, was a different story. On a 1-1 count, Stammen left a cutter out over the plate and Bellinger made him pay dearly. He smashed the ball to deep right field. It landed among the spectators, and the game was tied no more.
Dodgers add on
Now with a 2-1 lead, the Dodgers’ hitters started to show signs of life late in the game. They got a run in the 7th on a Freddie Freeman double that scored Trea Turner, and then got two more in the 8th on a couple of productive outs from Bellinger and Austin Barnes. With production out of Bellinger, Muncy and Barnes in this game, it gives us just a hint of what could be once this lineup is rolling.
Gonsolin finishes strong
Other than the Grisham home run, Gonsolin was stingy with the Padres. He gave up a couple of doubles to Jurickson Profar and the single that finally chased him in the 8th. Other than that, nada. He walked nobody and with his eight strikeouts, Gonsolin was pounding the zone enough that he could get swings early in the count for the other outs. Though when the lineup turned over for a fourth time, Doc pulled Gonsolin out of the game, it looked like he had plenty left in the tank. His final line for the night on just 92 pitches: 7.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K.
Evan Phillips recorded the last out of the 8th, and then Craig Kimbrel came out of the pen in the ninth and pitched a second straight sharp outing to close out the ballgame.
Early start on Fox on Saturday
Saturday’s game will be another Dodger appearance on “Baseball Night in America,” with a national broadcast of the game. Of course, that means the start time has to be adjusted to suit the needs of the network, so Dodger fans need to head to the Ravine early. First pitch is 4:15. Tyler Anderson is back on the mound looking to regain that form that we saw earlier in the year. For the Padres, it will be our old buddy Yu Darvish and his bag of tricks. Sounds like another good pitching matchup.
Cans of Corn…
- Gonsolin continues to state his case to start the ASG. Hard to argue with 10-1 and a 1.54 ERA.
- Bellinger hit his 11th homer on Friday. That makes four homers in the last 15 games. If that pace keeps up, it’s easier to forgive the .200 batting average.
- Is Max Muncy back in a groove? God, I hope so.
- Hope Kimbrel won’t be needed tonight. He’s been used in two straight against the Padres.
- Last night for the first time, pitcher Ian Gibaut was in the Dodger pen. The 28-year-old right-hander had a 3.20 ERA in 17 games, with 19 strikeouts and eight walks in 19⅔ minor league innings before being DFA’ed by the Guardians earlier this week.
