Tony Gonsolin allowed two runs and pitched into the sixth inning in his fourth and potentially final rehab start for Triple-A Oklahoma City. The Dodgers right-hander struck out three on the road against the Salt Lake Bees on Wednesday night, throwing 79 pitches.
He didn’t allow a hit or a ball to the outfield until the fourth inning, which came after a 28-minute top half of the frame for the Comets offense. He gave up two hits and a single during the inning to load the bases with one out. But he got a pop out and fly out to exit unscathed.
Bees third baseman Mitchell Daly hit a solo home run in the fifth inning. Gonsolin also came out for the sixth inning, but allowed another home run to Matthew Lugo, his final batter faced.
Gonsolin induced five groundouts, including a double play, and also got three infield popouts.
Gonsolin threw 36 fastballs on Wednesday, averaging 93.1 mph on the pitch and topping out at 95, right in line with his previous two Triple-A starts.
In four rehab starts for the Comets Gonsolin has a 3.21 ERA, allowing six runs (five earned) on 11 hits and six walks in his 14 innings, and struck out 16 of his 58 batters faced (27.6 percent).
Gonsolin was one of 11 pitchers to open the season on the injured list, a number that has since swelled to 13. His IL stint isn’t from the Tommy John surgery he had in September 2023. Rather, Gonsolin was sidelined to start the season due to tweaking is back while weightlifting at Camelback Ranch in March, which essentially reset his spring training.
While Gonsolin’s health will be the primary driver for him getting activated off the injured list, the Dodgers could certainly use him in the majors. At the moment the team has just four starting pitchers on the active roster, and the Dodgers used six relievers on Tuesday night before seven reliever pitched in a bullpen game on Wednesday against the Cubs. Dodgers relievers have thrown more innings than any team in baseball.
Blake Snell won’t be returning anytime soon, as the left-hander was shut down from throwing a bullpen session on Wednesday in Chicago after feeling discomfort in his shoulder.
The Dodgers will likely need two starting pitchers to cover the final two games against the Marlins next Tuesday and Wednesday, ending a stretch of six game days in a row for the club. Gonsolin would be on five days rest to pitch on Tuesday, if that’s how it shakes out. If Tuesday is in fact the return date for Gonsolin, it would mark 620 days since Gonsolin’s last major league start.
.