Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — After the Max Fried blip on the radar on Tuesday night, the Dodgers quickly returned to their winning ways on Wednesday afternoon. They got an all-around solid performance up and down the lineup, including a lights-out start from Tony Gonsolin, to beat the Atlanta Braves 5-1 in the series finale. They go to 9-3 on the young season, tied with the Mighty Mets for the best record in baseball.
Freddie homers cuz, why not?
Though he insists he’s not on a “revenge tour” of any kind, Freddie Freeman must have been extremely gratified with his good performance in this series. And, he wasted no time in contributing in this one. On the very first hitter of the game, Freeman let his glove do the talking, snagging a hot ground ball off the bat of Ozzie Albies for an unassisted put-out.
Then, in the bottom of the inning, after Mookie Betts led off with a single, Freeman ripped a pitch off Braves starter Charlie Morton into the seats for a home run and a quick Dodgers’ lead. Morton tried to sneak a sinker by Freeman, but Freddie drilled a solid line drive that got out of the yard in a hurry, exiting the field at 112 mph. It was the second home run of the series for Freeman, who collected another three hits on the afternoon. If Braves’ fans didn’t miss him already, he gave them ample opportunity to do so in this three-game set.
Tony Gonsolin shoves
Good as the Freeman homer was, the story of the day was the impressive performance from Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin. The Cat Man delivered perhaps the best start of his career on a day that he was having trouble landing his fastball. Nevertheless, he had Braves hitters off-balance and guessing all afternoon, inducing a ton of weak contact from this usually formidable lineup.
If not for an infield single from Manny Piña, Gonsolin would have had a no-hitter going after six innings. He did walk three, and his control wasn’t what it could have been. But still, a very promising showing for Gonsolin, who lowered his ERA to 0.69 for 2022.
Dodgers add on in the middle innings
After the Freeman blast, the Dodgers continued to add on in this one, bit by bit. They added single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh to get out to a comfortable 5-0 lead. In the fifth, Edwin Rios hit a solo shot, his first home run in a good long time. Then, in the sixth, a suddenly resurgent Cody Bellinger tripled home Will Smith all the way from first. Finally, in the seventh, Justin Turner drove home a run with a two-out single off reliever Collin McHugh. In all the Dodgers had eight hits on the day, and kept the line moving with five walks as well, a vast improvement over their lackluster performance at the plate on Tuesday.
On to San Diego
After Gonsolin went six scoreless, the bullpen came in to keep the Bravos at bay the rest of the way. Brusdar Graterol looked good in a scoreless seventh, and Mitch White came on for the last two innings to finish things off. If not for back-to-back doubles to score a run with two outs in the ninth, the Dodgers would have pitched a one-hit shutout. A very good day for Dodger pitcher.
The team is off tomorrow and then it’s down to San Diego for the first meeting with the rival Padres, who are finishing up pounding on the Reds today. Julio Urias will get the ball on Friday, facing off against new Padre Nick Martinez, who spent the last four seasons with the Rangers. First pitch will be 6:40 pm. After the Padres, it’s on to the desert for a three-gamer with the hapless D-backs. One would think that the Dodgers should be able to come out of this road trip in even better position than they are today.
Let’s go!
Cans of Corn…
- Andrew Heaney, so good in his first two starts, is going on the IL with some shoulder issues. Let’s hope his stay will be brief.
- It looks like Tyler Anderson might get the Saturday start in Heaney’s absence. He did not pitch today. In Gonsolin’s previous two starts, Anderson had been the piggyback guy.
- Zach McKinstry, who’s been swinging a hot bat in OKC, will be taking Heaney’s spot on the roster. McKinstry’s a good guy to have around, especially if Gavin Lux needs to be down with that back pain.
- Cody Bellinger had another two-hit game, with power. He hit a double and a triple today, and now has an OPS of .889. Pretty good start for a guy who’s “washed up”.
