Los Angeles Times

BIG APPLE JACK

Granderson’s walk-off homer deflates Dodgers after four-run comeback in ninth. Urias shaky in debut.

- By Andy McCullough

NEW YORK — The euphoria from the top of the ninth, when the Dodgers mounted a four-run rally against one of the game’s best closers, had barely faded when the baseball soared into the night. A startling comeback mutated into a bleak defeat, as Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson launched a walk-off home run against reliever Pedro Baez to usher in a 6-5 loss.

“That happened awfully quick,” Manager Dave Roberts said inside the visiting manager’s office, next door to a glum clubhouse.

On this night, little went according to script for the Dodgers (2524). Julio Urias, the 19-year-old lefthanded phenom, greeted the hope and hype of his debut with a ragged performanc­e. The barrage against Mets closer Jeurys Familia, capped by a three-run double from Chase Utley, only added bitterness. The loss ended a four-game winning streak and began a seven-game stretch against the Mets and the Chicago Cubs, a pair of potential playoff entrants.

In order to reverse a course toward a summer of mediocrity, the Dodgers must find more production from an offense that has been one of baseball’s weaker units. The ninth-inning flurry provided hope. Granderson snuffed that out with one swing.

Baez became the third Dodgers reliever to give up a solo homer after 22⁄3 innings from Urias. The rookie showed f lashes of brilliance, but

far more evidence of his youth. He threw almost as many balls (39) as strikes (42). He walked four and gave up five hits. He could not unleash the weapons that so devastated minor league hitters the last two months.

“Sometimes I tried to fool them,” Urias said through an interprete­r. “And I wasn’t able to.”

Urias was the first teenage pitcher to start a game since Felix Hernandez debuted for Seattle in 2005, the first Dodger to do so since Fernando Valenzuela in 1980. The comparison to Valenzuela, another undersized left-handed pitcher, felt inevitable. Both hail from Mexico — Urias from Culiacan, Valenzuela from Navojoa. But the contrast between the two will become apparent soon.

Valenzuela ignited a craze that spanned two nations. Urias will probably shift to the bullpen or return to the minor leagues by June.

At 7:21 p.m. EDT, several members of Urias’ family raised their phones in the air to record his first pitch. It was a 90-mph fastball, high, for ball one. Urias admitted later he felt nervous, his mind racing with memories of his journey from Mexico to the majors. He finished off Granderson six pitches later with a 94-mph heater for a called third strike.

“I will never forget the first strikeout, especially being against a batter like Granderson,” Urias said. “I will never forget everything that happened in this game, because this is the happiest day of my life.”

Roberts did not have to worry about a recurrence of Ross Stripling’s debut last month, when he no-hit the Giants for 7 1⁄3 innings in San Francisco. The second batter Urias faced, Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, shipped a 93-mph fastball into left field for a double.

The Mets declined to swing early in the count. The approach proved beneficial in several ways. Urias could not wet his feet with quick outs. His pitch count rose skyward. The Dodgers allotted him 90 pitches for the night, and he needed 36 to finish the first inning.

“They had a plan, to run the count and go deep and see pitches,” Roberts said. “Forcing a young pitcher to continue to make pitches and repeat.”

Urias flashed some nerves after Cabrera doubled. He flung a fastball to the backstop for a wild pitch. He walked outfielder Yoenis Cespedes on fastballs well outside the zone. Roberts suggested the imprecisio­n resulted from adrenaline.

Unable to end the inning, Urias soon experience­d more misfortune. He snapped a curveball at second baseman Neil Walker’s knees. Walker stroked an RBI double. Outfielder Juan Lagares followed by punching a slider up the middle to drive in two more runs.

The three-run flurry prompted the bullpen phone to ring. Chris Hatcher started to warm up. Urias recovered to strand two runners.

Urias survived the second but experience­d fatigue in the third. He loaded the bases with a pair of walks. The next man to walk was Roberts. He left the dugout and raised his right arm, signaling for Hatcher’s arrival and Urias’ exit.

Facing Mets starter Jacob deGrom, the Dodgers mounted little offense. When Urias left, the night’s intrigue vanished — until the ninth.

Familia gave up three singles. Yasmani Grandal walked with the bases loaded. Then Utley smacked a fastball into right-center field and cleared the bases.

“I like the fact that we battled against one of the better closers in the game,” Utley said.

The elation faded two pitches into the ninth. Granderson put a 97-mph fastball in the seats. Roberts resolved himself to another defeat.

“To sustain any momentum,” Roberts said, “has been tough for us.”

 ?? Al Bello Getty Images ?? TOO MANY PITCHES led to too much trouble for 19-year-old Julio Urias in his first major league game. He threw 36 in the Mets’ three-run first inning and was gone before the end of the third.
Al Bello Getty Images TOO MANY PITCHES led to too much trouble for 19-year-old Julio Urias in his first major league game. He threw 36 in the Mets’ three-run first inning and was gone before the end of the third.

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