Tony Gonsolin’s first pitch nearly took Ronald Acuña’s head off (Video)

Stepping in for Clayton Kershaw is no easy task, but Tony Gonsolin will do his best

The right-handed pitcher has an ERA around 2.70 in primarily a relief role, but Gonsolin’s first inning almost got off to a curious start. With Ronald Acuña at the plate, Gonsolin either sent a message or lost his fastball way inside. Acuña is notorious for swinging at the first pitch and hitting leadoff home runs. Gonsolin didn’t let either happen, but nearly took Acuña’s head off with pitch No. 1.

Thankfully for Acuña, he got out of the way in time. The ball hit the knob of Acuña’s bat rather than his wrist, which could’ve easily led to injury. Even the best of hitters can fracture their wrist in that scenario, as it’s impossible to fully get out of the way when that pitch is up and in.

Gonsolin settled down shortly thereafter

The righty struck out Acuña later that at-bat, as well as likely NL MVP Freddie Freeman. The next batter, Marcell Ozuna, was robbed of a base hit up the middle.

As Justin Turner said before Game 2, any time Gonsolin is on the mound, the Dodgers have a good chance to win. Despite Kershaw not taking his usual reps early in a series, Los Angeles always has to feel good about where they stand. LA has a talented lineup and rotation, and there are very few weaknesses on this team. Gonsolin speaks to that fact, as he’s more than capable of stepping in on short notice, despite not pitching for more than 15 days.