Julio Urías gives pitching-stressed Dodgers a lift in 6-1 victory over Marlins
Julio Urías dropped his left arm down, almost to a sidearm delivery, to fire a perfectly placed 95-mph strike to Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the seventh inning of the Dodgers’ 6-1 win over the Miami Marlins on Thursday afternoon.
His momentum pushed him to his left, toward the Dodgers’ dugout, and he didn’t stop. He swaggered off the mound at LoanDepot Park. His 101st and last pitch may have been his best one, and Chisholm could only watch.
The sinker completed a three-pitch strikeout — his ninth punch-out of the day. It marked the first time Urías, protected from injury by the Dodgers in recent years, topped 100 pitches in his major league career. It was exactly what the Dodgers, down to three healthy and available starting pitchers, needed to avoid a four-game sweep and rest an exhausted relief corps.
The Dodgers (54-34) had already been without Dustin May since May 1 when Major League Baseball placed Trevor Bauer on a seven-day paid administrative leave June 8 after a woman accused him of sexual assault. The leave, with approval from the players union, was extended Thursday for another seven days, effective Friday.
On Wednesday, Clayton Kershaw was put on the 10-day injured list with left forearm inflammation. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Kershaw would undergo an MRI exam when the team returned to Los Angeles, probably on Friday.
“Not a whole lot,” Roberts said when asked about his level of concern Thursday morning. “I think it’s just more of to skip a start, to leverage the break. I’m not too concerned about it.”
