Dodgers Highlights: Tony Gonsolin Dominates, Justin Turner Rakes, and LA Extends Their NL West Lead
The Dodgers came out with a much different tone from their dugout after losing an ugly one on Monday night. Part of that might have been brought on by Trent Grisham showing up Clayton Kershaw, or maybe the fact that they had Justin Turner back in their lineup.
#Dodgers dugout clearly more vocal tonight cheering on at bats than they were last night.
— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) September 16, 2020
Turner, returning from the injured list after injuring his hamstring, immediately made an impact on the lineup. JT blooped a ball down the line in right field to score the game’s first run in the 1st inning. JT boosted his batting average to .419 with runners in scoring position with that hit.
Edwin Rios also hit a ball to the moon, breaking up a pretty rough slump that he had been going through. That homerun was Rios’ 4th of the year and put the Dodgers up 3-1 in the 5th inning.
Dugout loves it. pic.twitter.com/zZO37j21qa
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 16, 2020
The score would stay mostly the same for the rest of the game with Tony Gonsolin pitching a gem of a game. Caleb Ferguson came in to relieve Gonsolin in the 8th but was able to pitch to just one batter. Ferguson motioned to the dugout after striking out his only batter and was pulled from the game with an injury.
Caleb Ferguson Injury pic.twitter.com/QQZ74TmJiK
— Mad Choriyama (@MadChoriyama) September 16, 2020
Speaking of Tony Gonsolin, what a game. He pitched 7 innings and allowed just one run to come across against a very lethal Padres lineup. Gonsolin also retired the final 8 batters that he faced on the night, completely shutting them down and making batters look lost.
Tony Gonsolin threw seven strong innings and retired the final eight batters he faced tonight. pic.twitter.com/vAG6MrhIXC
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 16, 2020
The game was also not without its drama, as can be expected in any Dodgers game this season. The Padres stormed back in the 9th, mounting a rally against Kenley Jansen. Jansen loaded the bases with just one away but was able to strike out two guys to get out of it and get the win.
Kenley Jansen gave up a line-drive single to Manny Machado, a bloop single to Mitch Moreland and a BB to Austin Nola to load the bases with 1 out. But he struck out Wil Myers with a slider & got Jake Cronenworth on a cutter.
Dodgers win, 3-1, up 2 1/2 on the Padres again. Fun.
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) September 16, 2020
The Dodgers will play one more in San Diego tomorrow night with the Padres still waiting to announce a starting pitcher. Los Angeles will throw Dustin May out there in his first appearance since taking a line drive off of his foot.
Dodgers: Local Hero Joe Kelly Has a Great Mishap With Fan During Cheating Astros Series
Thank you, JT. I was hoping you’d light a fire under these guys and you did. Gonsolin was great holding off these bats. It got a bit scary when Jansen came in and then it was bases loaded. Let’s keep this fire going for these Dodgers, gotta pick it up.
And that roar you heard was a million Dodger fans screaming obscenities when Jansen loaded the bases in the ninth!!!!
But in better news, how about the Ds offer Turner a contract extension now??? Two years at $17.5 M or three years at $13 M. Yes, he’s 36, but the DH is gonna stick and they need to keep the one guy whose bat doesn’t wilt under the pressure of big games.
I guess this ends the debate about who’s the 3rd starter in the playoffs. Big time Tony Smokes.
Bum4ever, if Buehler appears to still be iffy with that blister Dodgers may need Gonsolin as the 2nd starter in the playoffs.
Goose is a tough hombre. At this point I might stack the starters this way, Kershaw, Goose, May, Buehler and Urías. Not bad, and very young. On another note, and I hate to bag on a good guy, but the Dodgers have to find a fix for the ninth inning.
Ralph, I can recall on many an occasion when Tommy Lasorda said Pennants and WS are won or lost in the BP.
Jansen is the weakest link. Roberts will never figure it out. Gonsolin was outstanding. Ferguson and Treinen were lights out. And here comes Jansen loading the bases and preparing to wipe out their solid efforts. You just saw two releivers, Ferguson and Treinen who are far better suited to being the closer than Jansen. And there are at least three others. Roberts stubborn refusal to take Jansen out of the closer role is borderline dementia.
LOL, on dementia part but true, because the continued insanity display by Roberts is mystifying. Great to have Red Turner back and with the DH to be in place I am sure that’s a good spot for not only JT but to have a legit hitter in the lineup as opposed to the pitcher batting. NO WAY can the NL go backwards on this one.
Tony the Tiger is G-R-E-A-T!!!,as J- Hair says. Good defense and solid AB’s have a pretty clean game,unlike last night. Team showed some fight tonight against some tough situations. Jansen is still hard to trust as the closer—almost blew it again after a tremendous effort by the Catman! Doc, the playoffs cannot go this way! Have to go another way of finishing. Good game guys! Keep the energy going and play smart.
Someone needs to give Kenley a hypo of adrenalin or a swift kick in the a$$ to get his juices flowing!!!!
One way to stay out of the fire is to fire Kenley. Put him in the pen as a set up man for Brusdar.
Hmmm … Gonsolin was allowed to throw 90 pitches and goes 7. What a novel idea. I actually would have liked to see him go 8 and Treinen in to close the 9th.
But to be fair to Jansen, he allowed a hit to Muchado – no crime there – and had pop fly that should have been caught.
Two candidates for closer that I thought about were Goose or Fergie. Goose because the powers that drive the Dodgers decision making seemed less inclined to give him a shot at the rotation for some reason, (Goose is a starter all the way and possibly our second best starter Overall) and Fergie, but after last night, looks like he has seen the mound for the last time in 2020. I hope he hasn’t blown out his elbow. Buffalo is a closer in the works.
Jansen is cryptonite for this team. Never a 123 inning. Thought for sure he would blow another gem. Keep him the hell out of the ninth inning please!!!
Dodger 1955. Sorry to say but as far as the rest of 2020 goes. Roberts will stick with Jansen as the closer. Unless he is told otherwise. Remember that Roberts defines insanity. Meaning doing the same things over and over again expecting different results.
Agree with you unfortunately