The Dodgers started the day with an early game, hoping for a series split against the Cubs, and they brought young Julio Urias to help them get there.
The handicap: Justin Turner batting third. THIRD! A travesty.
2nd inning
Cubs
After 26 pitches, a Joc Pederson error, and a mini-rally, the Cubs took a 2-0 lead.
3rd inning Cubs 2-0
Cubs
Jason Heyward hit a deep fly out to CF, but it was an otherwise easier inning for Urias.
4th inning Cubs 2-0
Cubs
2-run bomb. Cubs up 4-0
5th inning Cubs 4-0
Dodgers
Trayce Thompson went BOOM! Solo homer to get the boys on the board. 4-1
Cubs
Jason Heyward hit it out this time. Solo home run.
Kris Bryant made it back to back home runs. 6-1 Ouch!
6th inning Cubs 6-1
Dodgers
Enrique Hernandez pinch hit for Urias – on with a slow dribbler to third.
He worked his way around to third on a 4-3 out by Chase Utley, and scored on Corey Seager‘s sac fly. 6-2
Cubs
Urias out, Chris Hatcher in. Job done.
7th inning Cubs 6-2
Cubs
Chris Hatcher struck out the side to make it five out of six outs by strike out.
8th inning Cubs 6-2
Cubs
Hatcher out, J.P. Howell in.
Another Cubs homer. 7-2
9th inning Cubs 7-2
Dodgers
Chase Utley: 6-3
Corey Seager: Walk
Justin Turner: Double play Turner. Geez!
Dodgers lose 7-2
Julio Urias never settled into a groove today, and the Cubs were hitting his pitches steadily and with authority. The second time through the order, they really made him pay, with home runs galore in the fourth and fifth innings.
It was the same pattern that we saw in his debut against the Mets – a near-complete failure to fool any opposing batters. He’ll stay with the big club through to the homestand, so let’s hope wearing the home whites will change his – and the Dodgers’ luck.
Julio Urias (0-1) went 5 innings with 8 hits, 6 runs, 5 ER, 1 walk, 4 Ks, 3 HR ERA 9.39
Home run: Trayce Thompson
Team with RISP: 0 for 1
Oscar Martinez
I was born in the shadow of Dodger Stadium and immediately drenched in Dodger Blue. Chavez Ravine is my baseball cathedral, Vin Scully was the golden voice of summer all my life, and Tommy Lasorda remains the greatest Dodgers manager ever. My favorite things are coffee, beer, and the Dodgers beating the Giants. I also blog about my baseball card hobby at All Trade Bait, All the Time.
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I have seen most of Julio Urias’s major league pitches. Not all of them, but many of them.
What I see is — right now he is hittable. He is not really fooling major league hitters. They are ON his pitches.
So far, 6 Ks and 5 BBs. 6.2 innings, 5 hits, 6 ERs — giving him an ERA of 8.10.
He is not ready. Maybe just a minor adjustment will make a difference, maybe it is more.
Of course if the Dodger hitters would have done their work — and gotten him bunches of runs, he might have a victory by now. But he does not pitch for that kind of team.
OK, who is next from the minors to see the try to complete a starting 5? Or, who is the next released pitcher that F&Z signs and throws out there??
Urias has pitched 7.2 innings and has given up 8 earned runs. 9.39 ERA.
I think Kershaw started the same way
Ok, this is where we see what Honeycutt is made of. He has a raw canvas in Urias. A new pitcher to the bigs who has no set habits. I still think Honeycutt is the problem with the pitching staff and I have been saying it for a couple of years. If he can get through to Urias and have him make the few adjustments that he needs to stay in the bigs I will happily be proven wrong. I think he is too old school though. Hopefully Urias will listen to him, he has a well spring of knowledge, I just think he has issues getting it across.
On another note, can someone please replace the water coolers in the Dodgers dugout with Red Bull. Wow, these guys are so frikin lifeless. I am afraid what they will look like in August.
It isn’t recommended reading here, but I suggest a quick read of Dodger Therapy today. Freudy’s latest post is a classic.
No, Urias isn’t ready, and that can’t really be a surprise to anyone except those holding their breath hoping that something FAZ touches will actually work. This is a good test, for him and for us, but as far as I’m concerned, this year is entirely about building his stamina. If he can complete 150 innings, and frankly I’d do a few less (150 next year) then it’s a successful season.
Read it. He’s just telling it like it is. I had been saying that this team was/is mediocre since winter. And I said they are not going to win anything with a bunch of rookie/2nd year players. Then Kershaw’s gone. Then not winning anything for another 10 years. For the record had said that Zaidi will be gone after this season as someone will have to take the blame but if ownership does not step in this could be a disaster.
But the Dodgers keep winning the championships on their MLB2K Nintendo game. In fact they’ve won the last 3 years….they got a Dynasty going.
Good site, I’ll read it every day. He sure lays it out on FAZ and he’s 100% right.
https://dodgertherapy.wordpress.com/
I think it’s 100% drivel… written by someone who is probably routinely beaten or berated by his wife… but hey, that’s just me.
But, what is not drivel is the result of bringing up someone who is not ready to pitch in the majors. This doesn’t mean that he won’t turn out to be a good pitcher. Dodgers are looking for a bandaid, maybe a dressing. They have not taken care of the fundamental rotation problems and Urias is a desperation move. They are toying with mediocrity in their rotation and that never bodes well for a team.
Alas, even when they do get a good pitching start, where the f… are the bats? No amount of speculation and spin has been able to change this fact of the last 2 years.
Jesus!! I got through about three or four sentences of that tripe.
I called that one, and it does not make me happy. I felt from the get go that they are rushing a kid who has so much potential. But the onus is on the guys in charge, not Urias. He has never thrown more than 88 innings in any season, so what makes any moron think he is ready to go 6 or 7 in the majors? He needs more time at AAA. That after 2 starts is obvious. Granted, the Cubs were lucky that a few of those balls even fell in. But Urias made some good pitches, and some bad ones. AJ did what he could to guide the kid through. With Wood out for at least a month if not more, no Ryu till late June at the earliest, no telling when McCarthy is ready, the Dodgers need to either make a trade for a solid #2 starter, or hope someone like Zack Lee, or Stripling can come back and burn some innings. The offense remains offensive, and all of a sudden since May 10, they are counting on the HR to score their runs instead of grinding out good at bats like earlier. When one of your better hitters last year struggles as much as Josh Turner has, it puts a strain on the entire lineup. Add to that, Yasmani Grandal’s non production, a weak hitting Yasiel Puig, and the carousel that has become LF, and you have problems, and I doubt the return of SVS tomorrow will fix everything, but at least they will not be playing short handed any more. It is not something that can be fixed immediately. The way the Giants have been playing, it is conceivable the Dodgers could be 9 games out by the end of June.
Good analysis. We have four guys who are hitting and way too many pitchers on the DL. I think they should have let Urias start at home against Atlanta and thrown someone else at the Cubs. A lot of pressure on the kid. Maybe when they get home he can start working on the things he needs to succeed at this level. But we’re going to have to live with his learning curve, because as you point out there’s not much left on the farm right now.
AAA starters stats…………………Lee 6-3 …4.58 ERA…46 K’s 12 BB ..1.44 WHIP…………Sam LeCure 2-2….5.26 ERA…39 K’s 15 BB 1.41 WHIP………….Cotton……4-3…..5.45 ERA…….51K’s 13 BB….1.24 WHIP…….Jeremy Kerht…3-3…..4.79 ERA……..25K’s 17 BB…..1.60 WHIP………..Frias 0-2 in 3 starts with a ERA north of 7. Ross Stripling has pitched 3 innings since going down. Ian Thomas is 2-0 and has made 2 starts and 8 relief appearances. That’s what is down on the farm……pretty slim pickings….maybe they can get someone to trade for Alex Guererro……
Very comedic!
In 2015, Julio Urias was promoted to AAA OKC after putting up a 2.77 ERA in AA. He was really… I mean REALLY bombed in his only two outing to the tune of a 18.69 ERA.
So, he jumps to the BIGS from AAA and after two games his ERA sits at 10.12.
But some say he is not ready? Seriously? HOW THE HELL ELSE IS HE GOING TO LEARN?
He had about 30 consecutive scoreless innings pitched against AAA hitters – what is he supposed to do? Pitch 60? 90? That’s just stupid!
At age 62, I am generally still the best ping-pong player in the room (except for the top 1% – a group of which my eldest son is a member due to me beating the hell out him when he was younger – now he beats me). But, I never got better playing people I could beat. I got better playing people who were better than me.
Julio Urias was not going to get better pitching to AAA hitters. He will get better exactly where he is and it shouldn’t take long if he has the mental makeup to handle it. If he’s not mentally strong, then he wouldn’t have made it anyway.
Maybe he will struggle one , two or three more starts – but he will put it together if he is as strong mentally as I think he is. I think he learned today and I await his next start. There is no roadmap for this one. Julio Urias is blazing a trail.
Well a good coaching staff and player development would realize that the phenom would not get all the borderline calls in the Bigs like he did in AAA. So instead of coaching him up for the next level they just let him continue. Now he has to learn on the job how to spot his pitches. Minor leaguers are minor hitters.
I don’t have a problem with him learning but FAZ will. Just watch how this plays out.
Mark, sometimes you did get very confusing.
Now you champion Juilo — at 19 with strong minor league numbers. A few numbers or innings, but strong. Then he gets his back side slapped around by major league hitters and you say he should stay because he has nothing more to learn in the minors. But what about just getting it right, his pitches. Just getting more “seasoning.” It is not his fault that the Dodgers have mis-fits for GMs and their building a roster — that is really weak. Especially in pitching.
Now let’s move over to Joc Pederson. You have not support him in the same way.
Joc began at 18 in the Dodger system. Finally at 22 he was brought up to the big club — and in that last season 2014, he hit 34 HRs, with 85 RBIs, and hit .297 as a free swinger in his last minor league season.
I support Joc. Reminds me of Duke Snider. Roaming in center, hitting the long ball and all. But we have all seen him struggle as the league caught up with him and the coaching and instructor staff just cannot get him to be a hitter. He is learning.
It is just that the Dodgers need a key pitcher right now. And Juilo is seen by many as the savior for this staff. But he just does not know where all the rocks as as he walks across the pond. We all wish him the best in his next start. But today — Juilo really looked hittable. He was not putting hitters away in any way.
I stand by what I said about Urias.
I like Joc but have never been a fan.
How can you even compare him to the Duke? Look at their stats. No comparison – Duke hit .321 at age 23.
Marc, let me say this: when your pitching staff gives up 4 HR’s, chances are your team looses. The Dodger offense cannot support a pitching staff that gives up a few in a game. the only pitcher on this team where 2 runs are enough to win is when CK is pitching. otherwise you won’t win with just 3 or 4 runs scored or less. BIGGEST PROBLEM IS A HORRIFIC OFFENSE. And it has been this way so far this season.
Urias has nothing left to prove at AAA. He will learn from each game he pitches. Just like all rookies. They all struggle when they come up. He will look at the video and realize every bad pitch is going to be hit. Hitters do not miss many bad pitches. He has to trust himself and make good pitches. Sending him back down will not be good for Urias.
I still say that it wasn’t a mistake to call Urias up – YET. Give the kid a few games to see if he is ready for the big time. If not, then send him back down and try again later. The options are AAAA types like Lee, who won’t be very good now and won’t be very good later either. Bringing up Urias builds for the future.
I used to hate it when Colletti brought in the likes of Kevin Correia – he’s a bum! I’d much rather see if one of the kids can do it. Teams like the Cardinals do this successfully all of the time.
With this anemic offense, Urias never really had a chance once a few runs were scored against him.
I love it when we agree!
Urias didn’t attack hitters today, and pitched very tentatively. He just isn’t believing in himself. And he has to do that, to pitch well in the majors.
It’s called confidence. Tough to play/perform with no confidence. That is how players are destroyed and why you do everything in your power to bring them up and put them in situations to succeed. FAZ is acting desperate so the phenom was brought up even though that was never the plan. But when all of the other walking wounded pitchers signed by this FO are unavailable this is what happens.
When the sun rose this morning we were 4th in ERA. Are we still 4th?
It looks like the front office, didn’t learn from his first start.
Maeda could have pitched today.
And Urias could have started against the Braves, at Dodger stadium.
That would have been an almost perfect scenario for Urias.
The Braves are much like a AAA team.
What could have been better?
Giving him his first two starts on the road against both the NLCS Finalists is both tough to evaluate and not a very good idea. He was set up to fail. I say again – at home. Later. And the perfect game?
7-7-16. Against the Padres. All 7’s. At home. Everybody in LA tuned in. With Vinny calling it. 56,007 people in the stands.
FAZ blew it.
That Dodger Therapy article is spot on, thanks for referencing Badger. I mean, absolutely spot on. I actually want to write a thank you note to that guy for calling it like it is. Must read.
Offense a problem? Who’da ever thought such a thing?
I thought Urias looked good the first four innings. Of the first 6 hits at least 4 were bloops and flares. Only Baez’s hit was squared up. However, the 5th inning was tough. I disagree when people say he has nothing left to prove at AAA. He needs to be stretched out. Graduating from 3 innings a game to going beyond 5 innings a game while pitching in NY and Chicago is a bit much to expect from him. If Deleon hadn’t been injured, I think he would have been the first up of the two.