Tony Gonsolin will attempt to become Major League Baseball’s first 17-game winner of 2022 Monday when the Los Angeles Dodgers conclude a four-game series against the Miami Marlins in Miami.
Gonsolin (16-1) shares the major league lead in victories with Houston’s Justin Verlander and Atlanta’s Kyle Wright. Gonsolin is also tied for first with Verlander and Tampa Bay Rays’ left-hander Shane McClanahan in fewest walks and hits per inning pitched, 0.86. His 2.10 ERA is second in MLB behind Verlander’s 1.84.
Gonsolin is in his fourth year in the majors after being chosen by the Dodgers in the ninth round of the 2016 MLB draft out of St. Mary’s University. He won 10 games over the previous three seasons when he made 27 starts and eight relief appearances and had two stints on the injured list, both in 2021.
Gonsolin allowed one run and three hits over five innings in his most recent start, a 10-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday.
Gonsolin will be facing the Marlins for the second time in his career. He pitched 5 1/3 shutout innings, allowing two hits, in a 2-1 loss July 6, 2021, when he did not figure in the decision.
Fellow right-hander Pablo Lopez (8-8) will pitch for Miami. Lopez was selected as the National League Pitcher of the Month for April when he was 3-0 with a 0.39 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings.
Lopez pitched six scoreless innings in his most recent start, allowing four hits, in a 5-3 victory over Oakland Tuesday.
Both of Lopez’s appearances against the Dodgers were in 2021, when he was 1-0 with 2.45 ERA in 11 innings in two starts.
The Dodgers are 19-4 in Gonsolin’s 23 starts. The Marlins are 13-12 in Lopez’s 25 starts.
Dodger manager Dave Roberts said Sunday he would give outfielder Mookie Betts the day off Monday “just to get ready for the next couple series” when the Dodgers face the New York Mets, in a matchup of the teams with the NL’s two best records, and San Diego Padres.
“Four days on the turf isn’t ideal,” Roberts said.
The Dodgers (88-38) have a 7 1/2-game lead over the Mets and Houston, both 82-47, in the race for home-field advantage throughout the postseason. They have won 43 of their 53 games since June 29, including 20 of 25 in August.
The Dodgers have scored a major league-high 683 runs and allowed a major league-low 398.
Miami (55-72) is 27th among the 30 MLB teams in runs with 463.
The game is set to begin at 3:40 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time and will be televised by SportsNet LA.
Betts hit Sunday’s third pitch for his fourth home run in three games and 31st of the season and drove in a second run with a sixth-inning single in an 8-1 victory. Julio UrÃas and three relievers limited the Marlins to two hits.