LOS ANGELES — Tony Gonsolin was purring Wednesday while dropping strikeouts into the kitty like he never left.
Cat themes abound for the feline fanatic, who is into a new life of his major-league career after returning from Tommy John surgery in impressive fashion. The outing led the Dodgers to a 12-7 victory over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday afternoon to complete a three-game series sweep and extend their winning streak to five.
Feisty cat meows played over the public address system after strikeouts and organist Dieter Ruehle tapped out gems like “Felix the Cat,” “What’s New Pussycat?” and “Smelly Cat” from television’s “Friends” sitcom.
More puma than domestic shorthair, Gonsolin returned from 20 months away to record nine strikeouts over six innings, giving the starting rotation and its dwindling numbers the roar it needed.
Already down left-hander Blake Snell to a shoulder injury, Tyler Glasnow went on the injured list during the homestand with his own bout of shoulder tendonitis.
Gonsolin’s return gives Manager Dave Roberts more manageable starting pitching numbers to work with, although the process with his returning pitcher will move as slow as possible in the coming days and weeks.
“It’s huge,” Roberts said of Gonsolin’s return. “You know, there’s been a lot of talk of how big our bullpen has been. Case in point (Tuesday) night, what Matt Sauer did (one run over five innings). So we need to have starters earn the opportunity to go deeper in games. And I just think Tony is that.”
Sauer was optioned Wednesday to open a roster spot for Gonsolin.
Gonsolin (1-0) gave up three runs with no walks in an afternoon of redemption after 621 days, most spent in rehabilitation mode. His last major-league outing was Aug. 18, 2023, also against the Marlins, when he gave up 10 runs over 3⅓ innings with five home runs.
Already pitching with forearm and elbow discomfort at the time, that 2023 outing forced the Dodgers to shut down Gonsolin for the season, with major elbow surgery scheduled not long afterward.
Gonsolin’s return was not the only first of note Wednesday, with Max Muncy hitting his initial home run of the season in his 29th game. The blast to center field not only earned fist bumps and high-fives in the dugout immediately afterward but multiple hugs.
And yet the Dodgers still had a game on their hands despite taking an early 4-0 lead through three innings on Muncy’s homer, a two-run single from Mookie Betts and an RBI single from Andy Pages.
The Marlins rallied back into contention on a two-run home run from Kyle Stowers in the fourth inning and Stowers’ RBI double in the sixth. Stowers added a second home run in the ninth for a four-hit, four-RBI game.
The Dodgers got the breathing room they needed in the sixth when Betts hit a two-run triple off the center field wall and Freddie Freeman followed with a two-run home run to right on an arc that looked strikingly familiar to his walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series.
A Muncy sun-aided triple in the seventh was followed by an RBI single from Kiké Hernandez for a 9-3 lead. Three more runs in the eighth gave the Dodgers their second consecutive game of double-digit runs.
Austin Barnes not only guided Gonsolin from behind the plate, he delivered a three-hit game after having one over the previous two seasons combined. The Dodgers finished the game with 17 hits.
A bullpen that was tasked with a heavy workload over the homestand finished off the victory with scoreless innings from Alex Vesia and Anthony Banda before Yoendrys Gomez mopped up by allowing four runs in the ninth to make it to Thursday’s much-needed day off.
Now the Dodgers head out for a 10-game road trip after they went 2-3 on their previous trip to Texas and Chicago to face the Cubs. The difference in the interim is a revived offense that averaged 10.2 runs over the past five games.
More to come on this story.
Originally Published:
