Steve Webb
KANSAS CITY, MO — It started as a pitchers’ duel. It ended as a rout. Tony Gonsolin took a no-hitter into the 7th inning on Friday night while he waited around for the Dodgers’ offense to come to life. When it finally did, it piled it on, breaking a scoreless tie with a five-run 7th and then tacked on another three-spot in the 8th to cruise to their eleventh straight victory, this one over the Kansas City Royals by a final score of 8-3.
Close, but no cigar in the early going
In the early going, there was a lot of frustration for the LA hitters. Three different times, they got good contact on a ball, but only ended up with warning track flyouts. Then, in the top of the fifth, the team let a prime scoring opportunity slip through its fingers. In that frame, the Dodgers loaded up the bases with nobody out on an error, a double from Trayce Thompson, and a walk.
But with the best clutch hitters in baseball coming up, they couldn’t cash in the runs. Trea Turner popped out in foul ground. Freddie Freeman whiffed on some high cheese. And Will Smith flew out to centerfield. Rally extinguished. It looked for a bit like it was going to be “one of those nights.”
Gonsolin perfect through five
Meanwhile, Tony Gonsolin was turning in one of the best starts of his career. Working quickly and efficiently, the retired the first sixteen Royals he faced, most on just a couple of pitches. He walked a couple of hitters in the sixth, but headed into the dugout with a no-hitter intact. He sat down for what would turn out to be a verrrry long wait.
Dodgers get a 2nd bite at the apple
The 7th inning proved to be the critical one in this game. The Royals’ starter in this one, lefty Daniel Lynch, used up a whole mess of pitches but managed to finish his outing with five scoreless innings. Former Red Amir Garrett put a zero on the board in the 6th, and the game went into the late innings knotted 0-0.
And that’s when the dam burst. Righty Josh Staumont came on in relief for KC, and the Dodgers went right to work. Gavin Lux, who entered the game as a pinch hitter, led off with a great at-bat and a single up the middle. Trayce Thompson kept it going with a single of his own. And Mookie Betts drew a walk. And guess what? The bases were loaded. Again. Nobody was out. Again. And the Dodgers had Turner, Freeman, and Smith coming up. Again. It was an exact carbon copy of the 5th inning.
But this time, the Dodgers took full advantage. First, Trea Turner ripped a ground ball through the pulled-in infield for a two-run single. Freddie Freeman doubled to score Betts and send Turner to third. After a Will Smith groundout, new pitcher Luke Weaver wild-pitched another run home. Finally, Justin Turner drilled a line-out to right that was deep enough to score Freeman with the fifth run of the inning. Just like that, 5-0 Dodgers.
No no-no, no shutout for the Catman
The long inning had its effects on Tony Gonsolin. He just didn’t have the sharpness that he’d shown before the 7th. He got the first man out to extend the no-hitter a skosh, but then Vinnie Pasquintino ripped a solid single into right field. A couple of hitters later, the shutout was gone as well when Michael A. Taylor hit a double over centerfielder Trayce Thompson’s head to score the Royals’ first run. After another walk, Tony’s day was over. But it was more than enough to secure Gonsolin’s 14th win of the year. The Catman’s final line for the night: 6.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K.
Trayce with the three-ball
The hitting star of this game without doubt was Trayce Thompson. After getting key hits in the 5th and 7th, he came up again in the 8th with men on first and second and nobody out. He got a sinker low in the zone from reliever Joel Payamps and he just crushed it. 440 feet later, it was 8-1 Dodgers.
Pen finishes up for Gonsolin
Salvador Perez hit an 8th inning homer off Reyes Moronta to give the Royals a couple of runs in garbage time, but after the 7th, the outcome of this one was never really in doubt. The Dodgers are still undefeated in August, and for that matter, undefeated since news of Vin Scully’s death first splashed across the headlines. It would be a fitting tribute if they could show tribute to the Vin with the longest winning streak in Dodgers history. For those of you wondering, the LA Dodger record is 13 in a row, and the franchise mark is fifteen, which dates way back to the Brooklyn Robins in 1924. Given the opponents in the next few games, it’s not so unthinkable, is it?
Heaney gets the ball on Saturday
Andrew Heaney and his flashy 0.64 ERA take the mound on Saturday evening with an eye on propelling the team to its 12th straight victory. He’ll toe the rubber against righty Brad Keller, who has a 4.49 ERA this season. On paper, it’s another Dodger W, but you gotta play them on the field, right? Here we go…
Cans of Corn…
- Gonsolin now seems to be back in a groove after a bit of a hiccup last month.
- Will Smith would have had a two-homer night in Dodger Stadium. But Kaufman is a cavern, so he went 1-for-5 instead.
- Those KC City Connect jerseys are sweet. Feel like the Dodgers kind of punted on the chance to do something special in that regard.
- Since joining the Dodgers, Trayce Thompson is hitting .300 with an OPS of .950. Just remarkable.
- Blake Treinen pitched an easy, 9-pitch 1-2-3 inning in OKC on Friday. There were a couple of hard-hit balls, but he got out of it with no damage. Me likey.
- Brusdar Graterol also threw a scoreless frame in Oklahoma. The reinforcements are getting close.
- On Saturday, there will be a special Kansas City Monarchs throwback night to honor Hall of Famer Buck O’Neill. The Negro League legend was inducted into Cooperstown last month. The Dodgers will participate by wearing some vintage 1955 Dodger visiting grays. Should be a special night.
