Back to Back! Urias, Timely Hitting Lead Dodgers over M’s

Hey! How about that! The Dodgers are on a roll! Yes, that’s right, they now have won (brace yourselves) two games in a row. Thanks to a great-looking and efficient start from Julio Urias and some timely two-out hitting in the middle of the game, the Dodgers were able to come up with another solid performance on Wednesday night, beating the Mariners 7-1 at Dodger Stadium to sweep the two-game series against Seattle.

Urias pitches 7 innings of 2-hit ball

If Julio Urias only pitched against the Mariners, he’d probably win the Cy Young. For the second straight outing against the M’s, the Mexican southpaw was dominant. He pitched in classic Urias fashion, getting ahead of hitters, attacking the zone, and getting quick outs. The only damage was a two-out, run-scoring single from Dylan Moore in the top of the fifth inning.

Other than that, lots of clean innings, lots of weak contact, and lots of approving nods from manager Dave Roberts. The start was a stark contrast to his last appearance in Anaheim five days ago, when Urias pitched a real clunker, giving up five earned runs in a short start. Tonight: 7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 6 K. Vintage Julio Urias.

Dodger hitters back in stride

Though the Dodgers could have won with only a handful of runs tonight, they weren’t taking any chances. After a quiet first three innings, the bats came to life in the fourth. M’s starter Justin Dunn started the Dodgers off with consecutive walks to Justin Turner and Max Muncy, which is never a great way to begin an inning. Will Smith followed it up with a barrels-are-overrated pop single, and suddenly the bases were juiced with nobody out. After a Chris Taylor flyout, Matt Beaty scorched a line drive to the right field corner that bounced against the wall and scored both Turner and Muncy. The Dodgers were on the board and they would never look back.

Two-out rally adds insurance

The Boys in Blue added four more in the fifth on a parade of clutch two-out hits. It looked like it might be a quick inning when both Mookie Betts and Corey Seager were retired in short order. But then, Justin Turner singled and the inning was alive for Max Muncy. Muncy, who had a big home run last night, decided to keep the hot hitting going on Wednesday. He punished the first pitch he saw and sent it deep into the night, landing among the paying customers for a two-run home run.

But the Dodgers weren’t finished. They scored twice more, on singles from both Matt Beaty and Gavin Lux. And for good measure, they added another two-out RBI from AJ Pollock to bring the Dodgers’ run total to 7.

After the seven-inning start from Julio Urias, Dave Roberts called on Jimmy Nelson for the first time in a while, and he did not disappoint. The big righty was perfect in the last two innings, and may be working himself into a higher-leverage position in this struggling and injured pen.

With the series win against the Mariners, the Dodgers are finally starting to look like the team that won the World Series again. Hopefully, that momentum will continue when Don Mattingly brings his young Marlins into town to start a three-gamer on Friday night. Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to take the bump on Friday night. 7:10 start.