When 25-year-old Dodgers rookie right-hander Tony Gonsolin made his major league debut on June 26, 2019 against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field, it did not go well. Because of several questionable calls, three Dodgers errors and a lack of run support, the Vacaville, CA native and Dodgers ninth-round draft pick in 2016 out of St. Mary’s College in Moraga, CA suffered the 8-2 loss, after which he was optioned back to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Gonsolin was recalled on July 30 to make a spot start against the Colorado Rockies at, of all places, Coors Field, where ERAs go to die. This time, however, the Dodgers (who committed yet another error) won by a score of 9-4, with Gonsolin actually picking up the save out of the Dodgers bullpen. He did, however, give up a run on three hits, after which he, his 0-1 record, and 5.63 ERA were optioned back to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

It’s difficult to not see a pattern here. The best team in baseball just seemed to struggle when their fifth overall ranked prospect took the mound … at least on the road.

No so at home.

On Monday night after once again being recalled from OKC and in front of a Dodger Stadium crowd of 45,224 that included Dodgers Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax, Gonsolin pitched the best game of his brief MLB career. This time he received a lot of run support and some absolutely stellar defense behind him in the Dodgers 8-0 pounding of the NL Central second-place St. Louis Cardinals.

The Dodgers offense put the 6′-3″ / 205-pound right-hander in an excellent position very early when 2019 National League MVP frontrunner Cody Bellinger slugged his 37 home run of the season – a three-run shot which landed in the Loge Level – in the bottom half of the first inning. They would tack on five more runs before Gonsolin exited the game after his brilliant 6.0 innings of work, in which he allowed no runs and only two hits while walking one and striking out seven.

“I’ve learned to trust my stuff. I feel like I’m learning, I can compete here whether it’s starting or out of the bullpen,” he added. “I think it’s a great experience for me and great to know.”

“I think all of it’s a learning experience, the good, the bad and the ugly, it doesn’t really matter,” Gonsolin told reporters after his outstanding six-inning / 90-pitch outing that netted him his first MLB career win. “It’s all a learning experience. You have to take the positives, take the negatives and move forward.

When asked if he noticed Koufax, who had flown into town for a pregame ceremony celebrating his former teammate – Dodgers legend Manny Mota‘s – 50 years with the organization, sitting in the owner’s box, Gonsolin said that he did not. He did, however, answer the question with a very appropriate question of his own.

“Did he have anything good to say?”

Understandably, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had high praise for his young right-hander.

“I guess impressive is the descriptor. It was really fun to watch,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game. “He just continues to get more and more comfortable. His first-pitch efficiency was very good tonight. He used his entire mix tonight. The split played. The fastball played. The slider was really good tonight. Just in complete control.”

The web gem of the night came from Dodgers second baseman Max Muncy, who made an absolutely impossible backhand sliding grab of a sure single off the bat of Cardinals shortstop Yairo Muñoz. Muncy backhanded the ball while sliding on his knees, popped up, and made a perfect throw to Bellinger for the second out of the seventh inning.

Play Ball!

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