By Mark Langill
One comeback nearly took two years.
The other required one swing.
The Dodgers celebrated the converging returns of Tony Gonsolin and Max Muncy on Wednesday afternoon during a 12–7 victory over the Florida Marlins, capping a three-game series sweep at Dodger Stadium and a 5–1 homestand.
The Dodger offense battered Miami for 17 hits, the loudest was Muncy’s first home run of the season, a 433-foot shot to center field.
For Gonsolin, his 2025 debut justified the pregame confidence of Dodger manager Dave Roberts, who said he expected to see Gonsolin still pitching in the sixth inning.
Gonsolin nailed the prediction, scattering three runs on six hits in six innings with nine strikeouts. He became the first Dodger starter to pitch at least six innings since Roki Sasaki on April 19 at Philadelphia. He also joined Yoshinobu Yamamoto as the only Dodger to have a start with at least nine strikeouts and no walks.
Gonsolin’s 77th and final pitch was a called third strike on Connor Norby with the potential tying run at second base as Gonsolin exited with a 4–3 lead.
Gonsolin said he didn’t feel anxious before the game.
“Once I got into the bullpen to do my little pre-pitch throwing, it had been a while and I was trying to take it all in,” he said. “It feels good to be back on the mound for sure. I just tried to do my job and have fun.”
With his rotation already without Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, Roberts’ confidence in Gonsolin was more a reflection of the pitcher, rather than a bullpen recently taxed with a heavy workload.
“Tony’s got a different brain, and you can take that any way you want,” Roberts. “I just think he’s confident in who he is as a person and as a ballplayer. The moment isn’t going to get too big for him. It was his first outing in however long, and he just took it in stride today.”
Gonsolin’s last Major League start was Aug. 18, 2023.
He missed the entire 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on Nov. 11, 2023. At age 30, his career 34–11 record at the time of his absence was the highest winning percentage of any Major League pitcher since his Dodger debut in 2019.
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Muncy, who entered the season with 190 home runs as a Dodger, had yet to homer this season before Wednesday. On his 106th plate appearance this season and first on Wednesday, he finally got on the board.
Muncy returned to the Dodger dugout after the homer and was showered with sunflower seeds and love from his teammates.
“Not easy on me, not easy on my family,” he said. “But playing in LA is a privilege. And it’s a privilege to play under this pressure. But it doesn’t mean it’s easy.
“It was huge for me, almost a little emotional. But you know, this clubhouse is very tight. It’s very close. Everyone cares about each other. In here, we just all want to win.”
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The Dodger offense erupted for eight runs in their final three innings. The 12 runs come after a season-high 15 on Tuesday.
Mookie Betts hit the first of the team’s three triples with a two-run three-bagger in the sixth inning. He went 2-for-4 with four RBI.
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Teoscar Hernández stayed hot and went 3-for-5 with an RBI.
Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer and went 2-for-4. Austin Barnes also added three hits.
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The returns are in: Gonsolin and Muncy key Dodger victory was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.