Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers have won three straight games on their first road trip of the season and will now start their sixth starting pitcher in the eighth game of the season, none of which are named Clayton Kershaw (more on him a little lower).
Tony Gonsolin, whose 2019 season I took a quick look at a few months ago, gets the start after being called up from Triple-A USC. Josh Sborz was recalled himself on Tuesday when Alex Wood went on the IL and did not pitch in a game before heading back down.
Speaking of the bullpen, it has been pretty fantastic through the first week or so of the season.
Just as we all predicted, of course.
Gonsolin returns to where he made his major league debut last season, a 4-inning outing that included six runs allowed, four earned. Eduardo Escobar connected on a three-run homer with no outs in first, as the first four batters reached and scored in the game.
August’s start went a little better, with the Diamondbacks scoring just two runs in Gonsolin’s 5 innings. Allowing just three hits (and three walks), it was Escobar again with a double and two-run homer off of Gonsolin.
Escobar is in the lineup tonight, and I assume has not changed his feelings on cats.
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The Dodgers are giving Edwin Rios his first start of the season while Austin Barnes is now on his fifth start of the season. Hot-hitting AJ Pollock and his 1.350 OPS in 19 PAs is on the bench today.
 |
 |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 6:40 p.m. | Phoenix | ||
| DH | Muncy (L) | 2B | K. Marte (S) |
| RF | Betts | LF | Peralta (L) |
| CF | Bellinger (L) | CF | S. Marte |
| 3B | Turner | 3B | Escobar (S) |
| SS | Seager (L) | 1B | Walker |
| 2B | Taylor | RF | Calhoun (L) |
| LF | Pederson (L) | C | Kelly |
| 1B | Rios (L) | DH | Lamb (L) |
| C | Barnes | SS | Ahmed |
| P | Gonsolin | P | Gallen |
Opposing Gonsolin will be Zac Gallen, who allowed just one run across four innings on Sunday. While the only run came on a solo shot to Eric Hosmer, Gallen was a bit wild with five walks to his six strikeouts.
With first-pitch strikes to just 10 of the 19 batters he faced, Gallen’s pitches were a near even split of strikes and balls (46 to 42) in his first start.
Gallen faced the Dodgers twice a year ago, first for the Marlins on July 19 and again for the Diamondbacks on Aug. 30 after being traded between teams at the deadline. Happy one year trade anniversary to Zac. Gallen gave up just one run on three hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings in the July meeting in Los Angeles, but took the loss for the 2-1 final. He then went 5 innings in August, allowing three runs on five hits and one walk in what went on to be a 5-4 win for the Diamondbacks against, guess who? Gonsolin.
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As I alluded to earlier, Kershaw will be joining the rotation soon to make it seven starters in what will be the 10th game of the year (hopefully).
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In other small news updates, the Dodgers are unsurprisingly very rich.
In a bigger update, baseball’s return is going about as well as anyone would expect.
— David Price (@DAVIDprice24) July 31, 2020
The Dodgers enter Friday with 5 wins, tied for the most in the league with San Diego and Cleveland. Better keep winning to lock up that honorary World Series title.
