LOS ANGELES -- For the first time in a long while, the Rej3ctz's "Cat Daddy" blared over the Dodger Stadium speakers in the minutes leading up to first pitch. It was a sure sign that the Cat Man, otherwise known as Tony Gonsolin, was back.
Gonsolin tossed a quality start in his first Major League appearance since Aug. 18, 2023, in Wednesday afternoon's 12-7 victory over the Marlins, allowing three runs on six hits across six innings and earning the win as the Dodgers rolled to a three-game sweep.
Other than surrendering a two-run homer and an RBI double to the Marlins' Kyle Stowers, Gonsolin looked sharp as he struck out nine hitters -- each followed by a series of meows over the loudspeakers -- without issuing a walk. He generated 17 whiffs, his most in a game since 2022.
"It feels good to be back on the mound for sure," Gonsolin said. "Just go out there and do my job and have fun. I thought I had a lot of fun today. I think that was the ultimate goal."
After missing the entire 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Gonsolin was a leading candidate to earn the fifth spot in the Dodgers' rotation out of Spring Training. But he hurt his back in the weight room toward the end of Spring Training and instead began the season on the 15-day injured list.
"I was in a really good spot. … And then to have something like that, non-baseball-related, really sucked, honestly," Gonsolin said last month. "I don't really have any other words for it. But again, it's a minor setback, and I'll try to take this time to build back up and get into an even better position."
The Dodgers aren't viewing Gonsolin as your typical pitcher coming off Tommy John surgery. He had nearly completed his rehab by the end of last season, to the point where he could have been an emergency option in the 2024 postseason had Los Angeles' injury-ravaged rotation taken another hit.
The 30-year-old right-hander admitted to feeling some emotions around preparing to return to a big league mound for the first time in more than a year and a half, although the way he performed on Wednesday didn't indicate that there were any nerves at play.
“Tony has a different brain. You can take it any way you want," manager Dave Roberts said. "I think he’s just very confident in who he is now as a person, as a ballplayer. Moment isn’t gonna get too big for him. It wasn’t like this first outing in however long. He just took it in stride and really looked good today."
Gonsolin's return could not have come at a better time for the 2025 Dodgers. Two members of their Opening Day rotation, left-hander Blake Snell and right-hander Tyler Glasnow, are sidelined with shoulder inflammation in their throwing arms, with indefinite timelines to return.
Gonsolin gives the Dodgers four healthy starting pitchers on the active roster, and it will be all hands on deck as the team pieces together 10 games in as many days on the upcoming three-city road trip through Atlanta, Miami and Phoenix.
Not only did the Dodgers badly need another arm, but they're getting back one who has been a steady presence in the rotation when healthy.
"In baseball, starting pitching nowadays is tough," catcher Austin Barnes said. "Tony’s career ERA, I think, is [just over] 3.00. He’s a good pitcher, been an All-Star, it’s nice to have him back."
That track record raised Roberts' expectations for what he would get out of Gonsolin in his return to big league action. Before Wednesday's game, Roberts said with conviction that he thought Gonsolin would get them through the sixth inning -- and he did.
It was only the eighth outing of six innings or more for a Dodgers starter this season.
"I’m confident in his preparation, his experience, his heartbeat and his ability to execute many pitches," Roberts said. "That’s exactly what he did today. It’s a team that swings the bats aggressively, and I just felt that with his mix, he should be able to get some strikeouts and some quick outs. That’s what we’ve been looking for, the consistency in a starter."