Tony Gonsolin threw five scoreless innings and Mookie Betts hit a two-run homer in the third frame to propel the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 4-0 victory over the San Diego Padres at home on Sunday, securing the series sweep while maintaining their three-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West.
The Dodgers have now won their last five contests and seven of their last nine. Since the series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 28, Los Angeles has won 13 of 15 games.
While the offense still hasn’t found any type of decent consistency lately, the pitching staff has been carrying the club on its shoulders. After a rocky start to the season, both the starting rotation and the bullpen have been highly effective in the club’s latest winning run.
Over his five full innings of work on Sunday, Gonsolin threw 85 pitches, allowing just two hits and a walk with six punchouts. While his pitch efficiency was less than ideal, it’s still a promising sign for the backend of a rotation that has been up and down all season. The front three — Clayton Kershaw, Julio Urias and Dustin May — have been solid, particularly during the recent run.
Aside from a Xander Bogaerts double off lefty Justin Bruihl in the top of the ninth, the bullpen was near spotless in the series finale, highlighted by perfect frames from Yency Almonte and Victor Gonzalez.
A consistent Gonsolin gives the Dodgers four high-quality starters. The fifth, Noah Syndergaard, has yet to find any kind of groove. Although it initially seemed like the veteran righty would spend time on the injured list with a blister on his throwing finger, he threw well in a bullpen Saturday and is still scheduled to make his normal start this week.
The team is still winning games despite the offense not performing up to the standards we’ve seen in recent seasons. The Dodgers are in the cellar as far as NL team batting average goes. Their .231 mark currently sits 14th among all 15 National League teams, a ranking to which they’re certainly not accustomed. Six players on the active roster are hitting under .220 for the season, including Austin Barnes at .093, Trayce Thompson at .125, Miguel Rojas at .180, Chris Taylor at .202, Max Muncy at .203 and Miguel Vargas at .213.
Los Angeles has just two players hitting over .300 right now — Will Smith at .322 and Freddie Freeman at .302. Despite his low average, Muncy is leading the team in homers with 12 and walks with 26.
Next up for the Dodgers is a three-game series beginning Monday against the Minnesota Twins to finish the current homestand. Lining up to pitch for the Dodgers are Syndergaard, Kershaw and May, respectively.
Kershaw’s mother, Marianne, died on Saturday, but all indications are the lefty will make his regularly scheduled start on Tuesday, although there have been whispers of the possibility of a bereavement leave shortly thereafter.