by Rowan Kavner
The last time Julio Urías took the mound in a game that counted for the Dodgers, his 2 1/3 flawless innings put the finishing touches on the Dodgers’ World Series championship. His first time on the mound in 2021 brought its own history and showcased the strides the 24-year-old left-hander continues to take in his development as a pitcher.
Urías went a career-high seven-plus innings Sunday afternoon to capture the series in Colorado. The only run charged against him crossed the plate after his departure in the eighth inning of a 4–2 win.
“He just continues to get better — usage, leverage,” said manager Dave Roberts. “Now, he’s a bona fide Major League starter.”
Coors Field can humble even the game’s greats. Urías was not immune from the park’s effects in the past, entering Sunday with a 6.55 ERA in six games at the ballpark. After 10 career outings against the Rockies, he was still looking for his first win against the club.
It came Sunday.
Urías allowed just three hits and a walk while striking out six batters. He became the first Dodger pitcher since Clayton Kershaw in 2014 to go at least seven innings and allow three hits or fewer in a start at Coors Field. Only seven Dodger pitchers have ever accomplished the feat.
“His curveball, it was good today,” said catcher Will Smith. “In the past, we leaned on that a lot more than we did today. But we didn’t really need to.”
That’s because of a changeup that Roberts said was the best he’s seen from Urías.
The pitch got eight swings and misses. Urías only threw his changeup 13.7 percent of the time last season, but he was unafraid to unleash it Sunday in Colorado. He said he’s worked on the pitch with the help of the Dodgers’ coaching and development staff. Now, it’s just a matter of throwing it confidently.
“Looking back, if you go four years ago, three years ago, it was really a plus pitch,” Roberts said. “Over the last couple years, it just wasn’t as consistent as he would’ve liked. But he’s worked really hard to get it back where it needs to be. Today it was as good a changeup as you’re going to see.”
Smith said sequencing becomes easier when three pitches are working the way they did Sunday, allowing Urías to keep hitters off balance.
Opponents hit below .200 against both Urías’ fastball and slurve last year. With a third plus pitch, Roberts said there’s no ceiling for Urías.
“It can be as high as any top end starter,” Roberts said.
The Dodgers needed the performance they got from Urías on Sunday for their third straight win. The Dodgers and Rockies finished the day with four hits apiece. Through five innings, the two clubs mustered just one hit apiece.
But to that point, Urías hadn’t allowed a free pass. The Rockies had allowed eight.
Colorado starter Austin Gomber issued seven walks in three innings. The Dodgers plated three runs in the first inning, all without recording a hit. While they chased Gomber quickly, that was the only damage done by the Dodger offense through the first seven innings.
“We took our walks, but I think we still let him off the hook,” Roberts said. “We gave away some outs on the bases, but I thought our at-bat quality — swinging at strikes, taking balls — was great throughout the game.”
Through the first three games of the series, the Dodger offense scored 22 runs on 43 hits, including 16 extra-base hits. Yet the Dodgers entered Sunday still looking for their first conventional home run of the season after another wacky weekend at Coors Field that included delays from a cat running onto the field and fountains going off beneath the batter’s eye, a single on a ball that went over the left-field wall and an inside-the-park home run.
The latest oddity was how the Dodgers won Sunday. It was the first time they recorded four hits or fewer with nine walks or more in a win since May 10, 1981. Before the series ended, Smith made sure the Dodgers had at least one conventional home run.
In the eighth inning, he blasted a 438-foot homer to give the Dodgers a 4–0 lead. By that point, Urías was still in the game, surpassing his previous career high of 6 1/3 innings. He allowed a single to start the eighth inning before his night ended at 79 pitches. Colorado struck after his departure on a two-out, two-run double from Garrett Hampson.
With Kenley Jansen having recorded a five-out save the night prior, the ninth inning belonged to Corey Knebel. The right-hander retired all three batters he faced, giving him his first save since he was pitching for the Brewers in the 2018 National League Championship Series against the Dodgers.
“He’s aggressive in the zone,” Smith said. “He goes right at guys. It’s a plus curveball, a really good heater. I see him getting a lot of big outs for us this year.”
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