Dodgers: Victor Gonzalez Dazzles in His 9th Inning Season Debut

The Dodgers are going to need all the help that they can get in the bullpen in 2021. Despite having a number of starter arms to supplement the relief team, they are also relying on a number of bounceback candidates. Not having Brusdar Graterol and Joe Kelly also doesn’t help much.

One guy in particular that they will need a lot from is Victor Gonzalez. Victor was a huge addition to the Dodgers bullpen last season and a big part of why they were so successful in the postseason. Gonzalez is also one of the few reliable left-handed arms available in relief. 

The Dodgers brought on Gonzalez in the 9th inning against Colorado with a 5-run lead. Having struggled with his command in Spring Training, putting him in to finish the game felt like a vote of confidence from manager Dave Roberts. Doc talked about his outing after the game.

It was really good, really good. Liked the fastball on both sides of the plate, the slider was good. So for Victor, it was a perfect run from him and he did exactly what we needed. 

Gonzalez came on and missed big time with his first 2 pitches. He got a little bit of help from Dom Nunez, who swung at a pitch way inside and grounded out to first. Victor followed that up with a strikeout on a beautifully executed sequence of pitches. He finished off the Dodgers win by inducing a 1-pitch groundout. 

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All told, Victor threw 10 pitches in a perfect frame. If he can be the lights-out reliever that he was for the Dodgers in 2021, this bullpen is going to be ridiculous. 

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