Los Angeles Dodgers left-handed pitching phenom Julio Urias made his highly anticipated major league debut Friday night at Citi Field against the New York Mets.
However, the 19-year-old’s inaugural trip to the mound on the MLB stage didn’t go as smoothly as the Dodgers would have liked in the 6-5 loss. Over the course of 2.2 innings, Urias allowed three earned runs and five hits while walking four batters and striking out three.
A complete overview of his line can be viewed below:
Urias’ evening started in strong fashion, as he struck out Curtis Granderson with a wicked fastball that cut across the plate:
Although Urias was coming off a 27-inning scoreless streak in the minor leagues, he proceeded to give up a double to the next batter before uncorking a wild pitch that advanced him to third base.
Three batters later, Neil Walker doubled and Juan Lagares singled in back-to-back at-bats to give the Mets an early 3-0 cushion.
Urias settled down in the second inning, but his command turned shaky in the third, forcing manager Dave Roberts to pull him after he loaded the bases with two outs.
Following Urias’ abbreviated stint, Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller observed that the rising star’s “command wasn’t sharp” and that he “looked nervous.”
Urias’ debut may not have lived up to the hype, but there are brighter days ahead on the major league bump. After all, he became the youngest player to start a game since Felix Hernandez in 2005, according to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick.
Looking ahead, Urias could have a future in the Dodgers bullpen as the season progresses.
“[Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew] Friedman said that after Friday night’s start, the club would assess whether it would be a one-time spot start or whether Urias could work his way into the rotation or bullpen,” Gurnick wrote. “Urias has never pitched more than 87.2 innings in a season, and that is the biggest hurdle for management to clear in determining just how much to ask of him.”
Postgame Reaction
“This is the best day of my life, as it is for any big league player making a debut,” Urias said through an interpreter, according to Bleacher Report’s Danny Knobler. “I’ll never forget anything that happened. This is the happiest day of my life.”
And while Urias struggled from a consistency standpoint in terms of balls and strikes, Granderson took note of the southpaw’s poise.
“He didn’t look rattled. He didn’t look nervous by any means, especially with a packed house, on the road,” Granderson said, per ESPN.com’s Doug Padilla. “I thought he held his composure very well.”
With Urias’ first start a thing of the past, one key member of Los Angeles’ front office broke down how the rest of the season could shake out of the 19-year-old.
“The first day is just not important,” Dodgers president Stan Kasten told USA Today‘s Mike Vorkunov. “It’s now how we get him involved and into a routine and build him up. Even this year we’re not going to be relying on him to be in the rotation. But whatever we get out of him this year as a 19-year-old is gravy because we know his career is going to be terrific.”
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