LOS ANGELES -- After dominating out of the bullpen in last season¡¯s World Series run, Julio Urías has responded by getting off to the best start of his career in 2021, giving the Dodgers a good fourth option in the starting rotation.
Ur¨ªas has been mowing down opposing lineups with a good fastball, a much-improved changeup and a dominant curveball that has slowly morphed into a slurve. Saturday was the exception for Ur¨ªas, as the left-hander didn¡¯t have anything working in the Dodgers¡¯ 11-6 loss to the Giants at Dodger Stadium.
¡°They came out super aggressive and I didn¡¯t do a good job of throwing first-pitch strikes,¡± Ur¨ªas said in Spanish. ¡°I don¡¯t think I was very efficient tonight. But I just have to work on it during the week and hope it¡¯s better for the next start.¡±
In his start against the Giants last weekend, Ur¨ªas allowed two runs and struck out 10 over six innings. On Saturday, it didn¡¯t take long for the Giants to realize that Ur¨ªas didn¡¯t have anywhere near as good of stuff.
Ur¨ªas allowed a career-high-tying seven runs (six earned) and struck out five over five innings. The six earned runs were the most allowed by the left-hander this season, and the five innings tied his shortest outing of the season.
¡°I think tonight it was just more of that the fastball command wasn¡¯t there,¡± said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. ¡°I think that¡¯s one part of it. I think the breaking ball wasn¡¯t as sharp and I thought the change was good but he went to it a little bit in the fourth and fifth inning. But I think it just kind of comes down to the fastball not being located.¡±
Not missing bats was a big problem for Ur¨ªas on Saturday. He threw 82 pitches and recorded just 12 swings-and-misses, most of which came in his last inning of work. He got just one whiff on the curveball and three on the changeup.
San Francisco wasn¡¯t missing any pitches in the zone, either. The Giants recorded two hard-hit balls in the first inning and it took a spectacular diving catch by Matt Beaty in left field to keep San Francisco off the board. In the next three innings, however, Ur¨ªas wasn¡¯t so lucky and the Giants piled it on.
Ur¨ªas allowed four consecutive singles to start the second inning, with Mauricio Dub¨®n delivering the big two-run single in front of the pitcher's spot to give the Giants the lead. In the third, Donovan Solano made up for his earlier defensive miscues, launching a two-run homer off the Dodgers left-hander. It was just the second homer allowed by Ur¨ªas in his last four starts.
Evan Longoria and the Giants tacked on in the fourth, adding two more runs off Ur¨ªas. He allowed 11 hits on Saturday, the most in his career. San Francisco put 20 balls in play against Ur¨ªas, with seven of them having an exit velocity of 95 mph or higher.
¡°I don¡¯t think the curveball was there tonight,¡± Ur¨ªas said. ¡°I missed whenever I tried to throw it for a first-pitch strike and that¡¯s what I did well in my last start in San Francisco. There were changeups that would have finished off a hitter, but they weren¡¯t good enough and they didn¡¯t try to swing at them. That¡¯s what I need to work on.¡±
Ur¨ªas said that he doesn¡¯t think making back-to-back starts against the Giants played a role in his struggles on Saturday. He was, however, pleased with the fact that he was able to get through five innings despite not having his best stuff. The rest of the Dodgers¡¯ bullpen wasn¡¯t much better, as they allowed four runs over the last four frames.
¡°The guys, I think they wanted a little revenge from the last time they faced Ur¨ªas,¡± said Giants starter Logan Webb. ¡°So it was really good energy today in the dugout and before the game, for sure.¡±
On a day when Cody Bellinger returned to the lineup, it just wasn¡¯t the Dodgers¡¯ night.
¡°It was great to have Cody back,¡± Roberts said. ¡°I wish it would¡¯ve been a different result, but it wasn¡¯t to be.¡±