Gonsolin improves to 11-0 with another gem

LOS ANGELES -- With the All-Star Game less than two weeks away, the conversation surrounding the starting pitchers has intensified. In the National League, the two most successful starters in the first half have been Miami’s Sandy Alcantara and Los Angeles’ Tony Gonsolin.

Alcantara, who has one start remaining before the break, has been the most dominant pitcher in the NL. His first-half numbers are historic, and he has a significant edge in innings over Gonsolin. In his last start on Tuesday, Alcantara tossed eight scoreless frames, making quite the case to get the starting nod in the Midsummer Classic.

But on Thursday night, Gonsolin punched right back, reminding everyone why he’d be a good option to start the All-Star Game at his home ballpark on July 19. Gonsolin allowed two runs and struck out three over seven innings in the Dodgers’ 5-3 win over the Cubs at Dodger Stadium. The right-hander improved to 11-0, the best record in the Majors.

“For me, I kind of saw it last year when I faced him in live [batting practice],” Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts said. “I knew he had really good stuff. It just took him throwing more strikes. It may be amazing to everyone else, but to me, it’s kind of what I expected.”

Betts helped to give Gonsolin enough run support. The superstar outfielder hit a leadoff homer on the second pitch he saw from Cubs starter Mark Leiter Jr. In the eighth, Betts gave the Dodgers more cushion, smacking another homer -- Los Angeles’ fourth of the night and his 20th of the season. It marked Betts’ 19th career multi-homer game out of the leadoff spot, tying Alfonso Soriano for the most all time.

Gonsolin made sure to not waste the early run support, even if he wasn’t quite as sharp as he’s been at times this season. The right-hander allowed 11 hard-hit balls against the Cubs. His biggest mistake came in the fifth inning, when he gave up a two-run homer to Christopher Morel.

“I feel like I fell behind a lot of counts today,” Gonsolin said. “But overall, the fastball’s been good and just really letting the defense play. We have the best defense out there, so it’s awesome to watch these guys play.”

Gonsolin's three strikeouts were his fewest since April 20, 13 starts ago. But what has made Gonsolin a first-half star is his ability to still be effective when he doesn’t have his best stuff.

“I thought even without his best stuff, he was still able to navigate 24, 25 hitters,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He was behind more than he typically has been. But when he’s going that well, he can still navigate the lineup and still put out a quality start.”

In his past two starts, Gonsolin has proven he can pitch deep into games. The biggest argument in favor of Alcantara getting the nod at the All-Star Game is his 123 1/3 innings pitched. At times this season, Gonsolin (88 2/3 frames) hasn’t met the innings requirement to be a qualified starter.

That’s in the past now, as Gonsolin has pitched 14 2/3 innings over his past two starts, allowing three total runs. He leads the Majors with a 1.62 ERA, and he hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his 16 starts.

The decision on who starts the All-Star Game will come down to Braves manager Brian Snitker, who will lead the NL squad. It's a decision that depends on a multitude of variables. If future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw gets named to the All-Star team, he would be more than deserving of getting the start at Dodger Stadium.

As much as Gonsolin tried to downplay the significance of the moment, starting the Midsummer Classic is an honor that might only come around once in a career.

“When you’re part of that discussion, that means you have a couple pitchers that are deserving,” Roberts said. “Obviously, [Snitker] has his own guy -- Max Fried is going to be there. Sandy is having a fantastic season. ... And obviously, our two guys [Gonsolin and Kershaw]. As far as starting the game, I think there are four names that you can’t go wrong with.”