Thursday afternoon in Chicago, the Cubs roughed up the Dodgers (CHC 7, LAD 2) and clinched the four-game series win. The Cubbies won three of the four games and held Los Angeles to three runs total in the three wins.
On the mound for the Dodgers was 19-year-old wunderkind Julio Urias, who was making his second MLB start filling in for the injured Alex Wood. His first start did not go too well. Urias allowed three runs and lasted only 2 2/3 innings against the Mets in his big-league debut last week.
The Cubs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the second inning against Urias thanks mostly to some well-placed grounders and bloops. They didn't hit him very hard early in the game at all.
That was not the case later on. Javier Baez hammered a two-run home run in the fourth. Then, in the fifth, Jason Heyward and Kris Bryant smashed back-to-back home runs off the young southpaw. Check it out:
Gosh, those sounded good off the bat, huh? Heyward's home run didn't travel as far as I thought it would off the bat. Bryant's was a no-doubter. Urias left a hanger over the plate and Bryant smashed it off the new scoreboard in left field. According to Statcast, Bryant's shot went 436 feet after being hit at 110 mph.
The back-to-back home runs came on consecutive pitches too. Urias couldn't have felt too good about that. His introduction to the big leagues has been pretty rough so far. The kid has allowed nine runs (eight earned) on 13 hits and five walks in only 7 2/3 innings in his two starts. Ouch.
Manager Dave Roberts did not commit to Urias remaining in the rotation following Thursday's game, though it's not like the team is flush with options. Right now the rotation is Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Scott Kazmir, Mike Bolsinger, and TBA. Wood is hurt, Hyun-Jin Ryu (shoulder) and Brandon McCarthy (Tommy John) are both coming back from surgeries, and Ross Stripling struggled before being sent down to the minors.
That said, when it comes to Urias there is more to consider than wins and losses. The Dodgers have to do what's best for his development long-term, and I don't see how sending him out there every fifth day to get blasted helps.
Being a 19-year-old in the big leagues is difficult! Urias could still benefit from some Triple-A time. No doubt about it.
