Another pitching plan goes awry
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers were asking the world of Julio Urías when he took the mound for the fourth time in 12 days.
Although Urías was the only 20-game winner in baseball this season, Los Angeles had used him in three roles in the past week alone. Urías and the Dodgers all claimed it was nothing he couldn’t handle, but the left-hander was out of rhythm and away from his normal between-starts preparation when he took on the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series.
“I felt good physically,” Urías said after LA’s 9-2 loss Wednesday night. “I just have to give them credit for what they did today.”
By the time Urías left the Dodger Stadium bump with a five-run deficit, it seemed clear Los Angeles is asking for too much — or isn’t getting enough — from the top pitchers in its tumultuous rotation.
The Dodgers’ front office is disregarding most traditional norms in an October attempt to get the most out of its pitching staff. But with his team on the brink of elimination, it’s clear those decisions haven’t worked out the way LA boss Andrew Friedman hoped.
Both Urías and Max Scherzer struggled in the NLCS when asked to start on just two days’ rest after pitching in relief. Walker Buehler also didn’t match his usual standard when pitching on extra rest.
And now the Dodgers are down to their last chance to get those decisions right against the Braves, who have a 3-1 series lead against LA for the second straight October and three opportunities to dethrone the defending World Series champs. After matching the best regular season record in franchise history, the Dodgers will be facing elimination for the fourth time already in these playoffs in Game 5.
Manager Dave Roberts, the public face of the group strategy decisions made by Friedman’s front office, insisted Urías’ heavy, unusual usage wasn’t the reason he struggled.
“There’s a potential cost” of using a starter in relief, Roberts admitted. “I don’t think anyone knows . ... For me, it’s talking to the player, the pitching guys and seeing the stuff. I just don’t see the stuff tonight was compromised.”