The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Gonsolin shuts down Padres in Dodgers' win
LOS ANGELES » For all he has done to keep the Dodgers atop the National League West this season, pitcher Tony Gonsolin had not completed seven innings in a game until Friday.
The right-handed pitcher improved to 10-0 with a masterfully efficient performance against the San Diego Padres. Gonsolin allowed one run, on a home run by Trent Grisham, before turning the ball over to the bullpen with two outs in the eighth inning of a 5-1 win.
The Dodgers struck out a season-high 17 times Friday against the San Diego Padres, but won thanks to two solo homers against left-hander Blake Snell (06) and a few insurance runs against the Padres’ bullpen.
Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger cleared the fence before an announced crowd of 48,076 at Dodger Stadium. Bellinger’s 11th home run of the season put the Dodgers ahead for good in the sixth inning.
In the seventh inning, Trea Turner legged out an infield single, stole second base and scored on a double by Freddie Freeman. With left-hander Tim Hill on the mound in the eighth inning, Chris Taylor singled and Trayce Thompson doubled to kick off a two-run rally.
That gave the Dodgers a four-run lead going into the ninth. Manager Dave Roberts called on closer Craig Kimbrel to record the final three outs in a nonsave situation. He did, and the Dodgers (48-28) widened their lead on secondplace San Diego (46-33) to 3 ½ games in the National League West.
Thompson went 2 for 4 with two doubles — his first extra-base hits here as a Dodger since July 2017. Turner struck out in his first three at-bats but finished 2 for 5 with a pair of singles.
The story was Gonsolin, who inched closer to cementing a place on the National League pitching staff when the All-star Game comes to Dodger Stadium on July 19. The righthander allowed four hits, did not walk a batter and struck out a season-high eight batters.