Well of course it was bound to happen. But the 10 game win streak came to an screeching and abrupt end. It is not like the 2022 CY Award winner, Sandy Alcántara, shut down the LAD bats. The Dodgers had some hard hits against Alcántara including three solo HRs. Just not as many as the Fish had against Tony Gonsolin.
In 3.1 IP, and after 97 pitches, Miami hit 5 HRs against Gonsolin. Two solo HRs, a 2-run HR, and two 3-run HRs to account for all 10 runs he allowed. In his last 11 starts, Gonsolin has not been good.
- All 47 runs were earned. That is a 7.51 ERA over those 11 games.
- In those 56.1 IP, Gonsolin has given up 50 hits, 22 BB, 4HBP.
- He has given up 10 HRs for a 1.6 HR/9 innings, well above 1.2 MLB average.
- In 8 of the 11 starts, Gonsolin has given up 4 or more runs.
None of that is good. Has Gonsolin really earned a consideration for a spot in the playoff rotation?
After the game, Doc hinted that Gonsolin might have an injured arm, and may be placed on the IL. Bluster to get the IL stint? Perhaps. How injured? In his post game press conference, Gonsolin did not deny that his arm could be injured. He said that he, Doc, the trainers, and the front office (AF/BG) would make a decision as to whether an IL stint is the best approach.
If Tony’s arm is injured, he is not doing himself or the team any good by going out there and pitching. Pepiot, Grove, Sheehan, and possible Stone are all ready to come in and be that #5 pitcher for the last 7 weeks.
All indications are that Ryan Pepiot will be the 27th player called to pitch in one of the two DH games on Saturday. There is no indication as to whether he will start or be a bulk inning pitcher in whichever game he pitches in. But a good outing after his 6.0 perfect innings in his last start at OKC could catapult Pepiot ahead of Gonsolin on the rotation list.
Regardless, I cannot see how Gonsolin becomes a playoff rotation pitcher with the way he is pitching right now. If he is injured, and he recovers in time, maybe he can be a bulk inning reliever for the playoffs. Hopefully he will get the opportunity to pitch meaningful innings before the season ends.
Gus Varland entered and pitched well enough. He gave up a triple that CT3 actually misplayed. I am not saying he should have caught the ball, but at most it should have been a double and no run scored. He still looks like a keeper.
Victor González and Alex Vesia threw three perfect innings with 4 Ks.
The Dodgers outhit the Fish 10 to 9. If a couple of hard hit balls get through, the game gets a little closer. The Dodgers did not score late, but they had opportunities. I do like the fight in this team.
After Michael Lorenzen’s no-no in his last outing, many fans were excoriating AF for not trading for Lorenzen. He was traded for the Phillies #5 prospect, 2B Hao-Yu Lee. How many would be willing to trade 6 years control of Gavin Stone or Andy Pages or Landon Knack or Ryan Pepiot for 11 starts from Michael Lorenzen?
In his last start, Michael Lorenzen gave up 7 runs on 8 hits in 3.1 IP. His ERA is 3.54 with Philly. Lucas Giolito has an 8.14 ERA in his 4 LAA starts. In 3 games, Max Scherzer has a 1.80 ERA for Texas while Jordan Montgomery has a 2.50 ERA in his 3 starts. Justin Verlander has a 4.50 ERA in his 3 starts for Houston. Jack Flaherty has a 7.07 ERA in his 3 starts for Baltimore. Eduardo Rodriguez has a 4.00 ERA in his three starts since he chose to not waive his no trade clause. Dylan Cease has a 4.32 ERA in his three August starts. Mitch Keller has a 6.75 ERA in his three August starts.
For contrast, Lance Lynn has started 4 games for the Dodgers and has 1.44 ERA. At least for four games, the best pitcher at the deadline is the pitcher AF traded for.
In the 3rd inning, after giving up 3 Hrs in the game and 6 earned runs, Gonsolin ,looking like a total meltdown with an enormous pitch count to boot, the logical thing to do is to get him out of there? For me, this is an example of Roberts reacting too late to what is happening on the field. He wound up allowing 5 Hrs and 10 earned runs. The only reason I can think of for allowing this is a pre-determined game plan of trying to allow the starter to go as long as possible to rest the BP. A game like this messes up their pitching strategy and makes them dig deeper into a BP that is trying to stabilize itself. Gonsolin should have been pulled and a long reliever brought in. They certainly have enough arms and don’t need to baby anyone. It galls me to see this kind of thing happen. They hardly know what kind of game Varland has and they pick him to stop the bleeding instead of easing him into the fire slowly. I would have thought someone like Yarbrough would have been more prudent to call on. Of course, you never know what is really going to happen but common sense does go a long way in situations like this. Sure, Gonsolin was pure crap and it’s on him, but Roberts needs to make better decisions in situations like this.
Nyah. The team needed innings out of Gonsolin. Sometimes you gotta take one for the team.
Jeff asked a fair question. When should Gonsolin have been pulled whereby some protection would be given to the pen but not so late that the game was lost.
Uhh, the Dodgers won 11 straight not 10.
The Marlins looked like the Dodgers last night. I hope it’s a one game thing. It was interesting to read the box and see of the 5 Dodgers that pitched the lowest ERA was 4.5 and it was Rojas.
With a double header today I figured they would just leave Gonsolin in for 100 pitches and hope he finished 5. Nope. 97 pitches got him 3.1. Yes, something is wrong with him. Most of us figured it was just a matter of time before he went on the injured list. Dead arm? I believe he proved that is the case. If it was pain he wouldn’t have thrown 97 pitches.
27 innings in 24 hours. This could get ugly. The offense better show up.
Rojas pitching was the most fun part of the game.
I didn’t see anything excoriating about Lorenzen.
Where are you guys/girls hanging out?
Well, if you’re going to end a long winning streak nothing like a no doubt loss to do it.
In contrast to Jeff opinion I think with the two games today Roberts was hoping Gonsolin could give him a few more innings to keep the BP in tack. But, Gonsolin couldn’t get anyone out and continued to provide batting practice for the Marlins.
With the several prospects available as Jeff D mentioned above why is Gonsolin even in the rotation? If he is injured or not right, why is pitching? The FO and staff are so protective of the pitchers and yet they subject Gonsolin to potential injury in start after recent start. He’s not right. They have other options. It doesn’t make sense to me.
My thoughts on the Gonsolin Situation:
There is definitely something wrong with his arm or elbow or shoulder. Doctors have looked at it and have determined (or guessed) that pitching every 5 days won’t make it any worse.
Up until very recently we simply didn’t have enough arms to remove him from the rotation without making every 5th game a bullpen game, and that would have been deadly for the health of those guys.
We now have CK back, Urias pitching like some semblance of Urias, Pepiot ready to go and even Knack on the right path should that become necessary.
Catman has been the good soldier, taking the ball every turn and mostly getting beaten around. I like Tony. He seems like a good guy and he proved that to me last night by showing up after the game to talk with the media. Now is the time to let him know he’s done having to go out there and get embarrassed every few days. He can take the rest of the year off and hopefully, through rest or surgery be a contributor next year.
Now, you may ask, how the hell do I know all of this? And I would reply, it’s just a feeling coupled with a wild guess. But remember, I’m the guy who wanted to trade for Lynn (thanks for remembering, Jeff). I’m also the guy who said we shouldn’t go after Kelly because he’d probably get injured shortly after he arrived and spend most of his time on the IL.
Yes, I’ve also been wrong about predictions in the past and if you send me $10 and a stamped, self-addressed envelope, I’ll provide you with that list. It’s a rather long one and might require extra postage.
Get him the time off he needs and let Pepiot take his place. I would not trust Catman in the playoffs anyway.
I stumbled upon this and found it very interesting and entertaining. If you don’t wanna watch the whole thing, the most interesting part starts at 15 minutes in. It might change the way you think of a controversial dodger trade
Other than picking up after them, I am more of a dog person anyway.
Interesting that the leading MVP candidates are the right fielders and first basemen for the Dodgers and the Braves. If votes are divided they will be divided equally.
What one player would the Dodgers miss the most? Mookie plays 3 positions and leads off. It’s close but my vote is for him.
My vote is for Gonsolin. Every team needs a scapegoat.
Good call
Ah, Most Vulnerable Player.
No wonder he is out with forearm inflammation, he got torched.
Tony Gonsolin is on the IL with an elbow injury, and is tentatively ruled out for the rest of the year. Ryan Pepiot has been recalled to take Gonsolin’s place. He will be the bulk innings pitcher after Caleb Ferguson is the opener in the first game today.
Bryan Hudson was also recalled as the 27th man.
Who saw that coming?
I saw the IL. But I thought it would happen before now. Season ending? Didn’t see that but it isn’t all that surprising.
I am surprised they did not do this earlier if he had been having problems that long. Carson Kelly signed a MLB deal with the Tigers. DeJong DFA’d by the Jays.
That did not take long for DeJong to get released.
Nope he was hitting .048 in 44 at bats
I’m going to do small post of praise for Gonsolin. He’s still in his arb years and could easily have protected his future value by going on IR or made a big deal about his elbow.
But the team was stretched thin on pitching, the young pitchers needed veteran presence and the guy kept taking the ball and doing his best.
True. He seems like a great guy and teammate, so bet wishes to him on recovery
I second that motion. Not a lot of guys would continue to go out there and take the beating he did from the media and fans. Good show, Catman!
I’ve vented about Tony, but knowing that he subjected himself to embarrassment by not going out there 100% is very admirable
It’s a good thought but if he was in pain he wouldn’t have kept throwing.
Maybe he wasn’t in pain. Maybe he just couldn’t get his arm to do what he wanted to do for whatever reason.
I believe they call that a dead arm.
If he was hurting he could have mimicked Rojas.
Looks like Gonzo is done for this season. Hope he can rehab and come back strong next year. Dodgers need to put JDM on the IL and bring up Busch.