clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Tony Gonsolin pitches on rehab for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga

Plus, big nights for Michael Busch & Matt Beaty in the Dodgers minors

Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin pitches on a minor league rehab assignment with Low-A Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday, September 4, 2021.
Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin pitches on a minor league rehab assignment with Low-A Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday, September 4, 2021.
Photo: Rancho Cucamonga Quakes

Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin pitched 2⅓ innings on a minor league rehab assignment for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday as he works his way back from right shoulder inflammation.

Gonsolin allowed a run on three hits for the Quakes in the first game of a doubleheader, throwing 41 pitches in his first game action in five weeks. The right-hander has been on the injured list since July 31 with right shoulder inflammation, the same malady that cost him over two months to start the season.

It’s unclear what’s next for Gonsolin, who was a nominal starter for the Dodgers in June and July, but lasted past four innings just twice in 10 games, averaging 3.57 innings per outing. He could potentially make another rehab start to stretch out even further, or could rejoin the Dodgers next week as part of their collective effort to fill innings as a group in starts not made by Walker Buehler, Max Scherzer, and Julio Urías.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Matt Beaty had three hits, including two doubles, and a walk in Oklahoma City’s win over the Albuquerque Isotopes (Rockies). Since getting optioned to Triple-A, Beaty is 8-for-17 (.471) with three doubles. On Saturday he played left field, where he’s played twice, along with one start each at designated hitter and first base.

Cristian Santana and Matt Davidson also had three hits for OKC, each hitting a home run in the win.

Double-A Tulsa

Michael Busch continued his extra-base-hit barrage with two home runs and a double, driving in six runs in Tulsa’s mauling of the Springfield Cardinals. Busch had three doubles and a home run on Tuesday, driving in five, a harbinger of great things to come in the series. In five games against Springfield, Busch is 11-for-20 with five doubles, three home runs, eight runs scored, and 12 runs batted in, hitting .550/.577/1.250 with one more game to go in the series.

High-A Great Lakes

Catcher Carson Taylor had three hits, including a home run and a double in the Loons’ home win over the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres). The extra-base hits snapped a 10-game skid for the 2020 fourth-round pick out of Virginia Tech, with Taylor collecting just six singles in 37 at-bats (.162) before breaking out on Saturday.

Leftfielder Ryan Ward also doubled and homered, the latter his 25th of the season, one behind Andy Pages for the team home run lead.

Left-hander Lael Lockhart, the Dodgers’ ninth-round draft pick this year out of Arkansas, struck out four in 1⅔ innings scoreless on Saturday. Since joining Great Lakes after one game in the Arizona Complex League, Lockhart has allowed one run in eight innings and struck out 15 of 29 batters faced.

Low-A Rancho Cucamonga

It was one high-scoring game and one pitchers’ duel in the Quakes’ doubleheader split with the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres). Three Quakes homered in the first game — two-run shots by catcher Marco Hernandez and designated hitter Ismael Alcantara, and a solo home run by first baseman Imanol Vargas.

In the nightcap, making up an August 6 game that was postponed after a string of positive COVID-19 tests, Lake Elsinore won 1-0, but Rancho Cucamonga starter Kendal Williams pitched five scoreless frames with six strikeouts, allowing only three singles.

Transactions

Triple-A: Tim Federowicz was released on Friday. The 33-year-old veteran hit .200/.291/.371 with three home runs for Oklahoma City, starting 16 games behind the plate. He won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Catcher Juan Zabala was sent from Tulsa to OKC.

Double-A: Bryan Brickhouse was activated from the injured list to start for Tulsa, and allowed two runs in four innings. Catcher Hamlet Marte was sent from Oklahoma City to Tulsa. Left-hander Bryan Warzek, the Dodgers’ sixth-round draft pick in 2018, was released. Warzek had a 5.67 ERA in 31 relief appearances for Tulsa, with 54 strikeouts and 42 walks in 46 innings.

Saturday scores

Sunday schedule

  • 10:05 a.m. PT: Great Lakes (Gavin Stone) vs. Fort Wayne (Danny Denz)
  • 12:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Austin Bibens-Dirkx) vs. Albuquerque (Frank Duncan)
  • 2 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Jerming Rosario) vs. Lake Elsinore (Nick Thwaits)
  • 4:05 p.m.: Tulsa (Gus Varland) vs. Springfield (Michael Brettell)

Jerming Rosario is a 19-year-old right-hander signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2018 who will be making his Low-A debut on Sunday, after a 31-percent strikeout rate in 36⅔ innings in the Arizona Complex League.