Dodgers pitching flops vs. Marlins
L.A. starter Urias gets hit hard for second straight start; relief pitchers also struggle.
Only 11 days before Saturday night, before an enraptured crowd at Dodger Stadium, Julio Urias displayed the upper limits of his ceiling. He carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning of a game, capable of subduing his opponents with only his fastball.
The fans lavished cheers upon him as he exited the stage. The applause on Saturday, his first game back in this ballpark, felt different. It occurred much earlier, midway through a ruinous third inning. The noise stemmed not from appreciation but relief.
In a 10-6 loss to Miami, Urias took a pounding for the second start in row. The statistics to illuminate this are numerous: He gave up seven runs on seven hits and three walks. He threw a wild pitch and got called for a balk, but did not record a strikeout. He faced 17 batters and retired only six of them.
In less than a fortnight, Urias (0-2, 5.40 ERA) demonstrated the range of outcomes possible for a 20-yearold pitcher attempting to finish his development at the game’s highest level. He gave up one hit on May 9. Colorado blistered him for six runs on May 14. The Marlins did worse on Saturday.
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Miami unsettled Urias in several ways. His delivery malfunctioned on the wild pitch. His body did not behave on the balk. And he could not miss bats, which led to the Marlins piling up hits.
The loss ended a threegame winning streak for the Dodgers (25-19). Distress was not exclusive to Urias. Luis Avilan gave up two runs. Josh Fields allowed a homer. By then, though, the outcome was not in doubt.
The Dodgers nudged the game closer to respectability after Urias exited. Enrique Hernandez hit a solo home run in the fifth. Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger traded back-to-back homers in the seventh.
With Urias wobbling, the Dodgers could option him or place him on the disabled list by next week. The team is rotating seven pitchers through the five-man starting rotation, so any sign of weakness could cost a player his spot. Urias did have a 1.06 ERA through his first three outings, but the two since have been disastrous.
Roberts has not announced a starting rotation beyond Thursday, when Kenta Maeda is scheduled to return from the disabled list. Hyun-Jin Ryu rebounded from a wretched outing in Colorado to throw 51⁄3 solid innings on Thursday. Urias may get lost in the shuffle.
The opening did not bode well. Former Dodger Dee Gordon singled on the first pitch of the game. Urias walked the next two batters. He managed to wriggle free relatively unscathed: Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton grounded into an RBI fielder’s choice and first baseman Justin Bour bounced into a double play.
Urias was less fortunate in the second inning. Miami third baseman Derek Dietrich ripped a curveball down the first-base line, past a lunging Adrian Gonzalez. Dietrich legged out a triple. Roberts moved his infielders to the edge of the dirt. The positioning left shortstop Corey Seager flatfooted when Marlins shortstop J.T. Riddle rolled an RBI single through the left side of the infield.
Riddle moved to second base on a bunt by Miami pitcher Dan Straily. With two outs, Gordon spoiled a well-placed slider, low and away, by f licking a single into center. The hit splashed down just before Riddle came home for a third Marlins run.
After the outing against Pittsburgh, catcher Yasmani Grandal remarked that Urias could not tame his off-speed pitches. Only his fastball worked. That fact hinted at Urias’ talent — he could shut down a big league lineup with only one pitch — but also foreshadowed his upcoming aches.
The headaches did not cease in the third. With Justin Turner on the disabled list and Yasiel Puig nursing a back issue, Hernandez started in right field and Chris Taylor started at third base. Some scouts consider Taylor a better fit for the middle of the diamond.
A high throw by Taylor to start the third placed Marlins outfielder Marcel Ozuna on first with none out.
Urias compounded the jam by balking on a pickoff throw.
Soon after, Stanton stroked a slider into right for an RBI double. Bour hit an RBI single on another slider.
After a walk by Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto, Urias threw a pair of flat, belt-high changeups to Riddle. Riddle fouled off the first. He smashed the second for a two-run double.
Roberts rose to the top step of the dugout before the play had finished. He hurried to the mound to extricate Urias from the mess. Urias could not do so on his own.