Twenty-eight-year-old Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin pitched well in his third start of the season against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on Monday afternoon.

…except for one pitch.

“I felt like I was throwing a lot of strikes, I felt like I was able to manage the pitch count pretty well, I got deep into the game, and I made one really bad pitch, and it cost us the game,” Gonsolin told reporters after his team’s 9-3 loss to the Brewers and his first loss of the season.

That “one really bad pitch” was an 84.3 MPH split fastball that Gonsolin pretty much grooved right down the middle, which Brewers center fielder Joey Wiemer absolutely crushed for a devastating 403-foot three-run home run to (very) deep left field.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts concurred.

“I thought it was his best outing yet,” echoed the Dodgers skipper. “Velocity, his secondary pitches, how he sequenced. Obviously left that pitch up to Wiemer. But that inning just kind of unfolded in a way that a couple balls had eyes.

“I thought Tony threw the baseball well. First time he got through the sixth inning and didn’t want to push him anymore. So, unfortunately, we couldn’t keep those guys at bay tonight.”

As Dodgers fans know, the Vacaville, CA native and Dodgers ninth-round draft pick in 2016 out of Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, CA, began the 2023 season on the 15-day injured list after suffering a sprained left ankle late in Spring Training. Unfortunately, his recovery from that injury took a little longer than expected, the result of which was missing what should have been four starts.

That being said, the popular right-hander says that he is completely healed and ready to make his next scheduled start in five days.

“I feel like I’m ready to go for whatever it is. Just a normal start.”

…without a “really bad pitch,” of course.

Play Ball!

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