LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tony Gonsolin pitched into the seventh inning for the first time this season. He wants to go longer next time.
Gonsolin tossed 6 1/3 strong innings, Mookie Betts hit his 17th home run and the Los Angeles Dodgers held off the Los Angeles Angels 2-0 in their Freeway Series opener Tuesday night.
“Felt good,” Gonsolin said. “I definitely wanted to stay out there. When it’s my day to pitch I’ve got to go as long as I can.”
The right-hander remained undefeated with his National League-leading eighth victory and lowered his ERA to 1.42. He struck out six and walked two. Gonsolin has allowed two runs or fewer in all 12 starts this season.
“He really looked like he had a lot of his good command and he mixed in some pitches he hasn’t been using percentage-wise as much,” Angels interim manager Phil Nevin said. “There’s a reason why he’s 8-0 now.”
The Angels threatened in the ninth. With one out, Mike Trout hit a broken-bat single off Craig Kimbrel that injured the home plate umpire, causing an extended delay. Shohei Ohtani followed with a double to center field and Kimbrel walked Matt Duffy to load the bases with one out.
With fans on their feet chanting and clapping, Kimbrel struck out Jared Walsh and got Max Stassi on a called third strike for his 12th save.
“He really locked in,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Kimbrel.
The Angels have gone 17 innings without scoring dating to Sunday. They’ve dropped 17 of 19 overall, and 10 straight on the road.
“I love the effort,” Nevin said. “I love how they’re going about things.”
The Dodgers earned their fifth shutout of the season and avoided their second four-game skid after getting swept at rival San Francisco last weekend.
“Right now there’s not a whole lot…
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