Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — Julio Urias was fit to be tied in the bottom of the fourth. After his defense failed to secure a double play that would have put an early end to the inning, he gave up a game-tying home run to Alan Trejo. And it in words of Dr. David Banner, aka the Incredible Hulk, “Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry…”
Well, Julio did get angry and went total beast mode on the Rockies batters the rest of the way, shutting them down completely, finishing the day with seven strong innings on only 88 pitches. Along the way, El Culichi notched twelve punch-outs, to match his career high. At one point, Urías struck out seven Rockies hitters in a row. It was as dominant a stretch as we’ve seen from Urias in his 2023 campaign.
“This game has a lot of highs and lows,” Urías said in Spanish. “The last two seasons I’ve been able to be really consistent, but this year we’ve had to battle through some things that have made me a little inconsistent. But now I feel good physically and mentally, and I think we’re getting back on track.”
“I thought he was focused all day,” manager Dave Roberts said. “The stuff was really sharp. You could just see he was determined. He was going to go at least six innings today. We got up to the seventh, could have went eight, and he was efficient and on the attack. We needed that one today.”
With Julio dealing on the mound, the offense had a chance to get kick-started in the middle innings. Miguel Rojas gave the Dodgers a lead in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run, one of four runs that the suddenly productive Dodger shortstop drove in on Sunday.
That made it 4-3, but two innings later, the Dodgers broke the game open, loading up the bases with nobody out. Then, they got a sac fly from Rojas and a two-run double from Mookie Betts to give the Dodgers a three-run cushion to work with going into the later innings. Miggy Ro got his final RBI of the night on his second sacrifice fly, driving home Chris Taylor, who had swiped two bags to get to third base.
And on this weekend that honor the legend of Fernando, it was only fitting that a Mexican pitcher (Urias) got the win and a Mexican pitcher (recently recalled Victor Gonzalez) finished out the game. As Tommy used to say, that Big Dodger in the sky is smiling. And heck, probably, Tommy is, too.
After an off day on Monday, things get real for the rest of the month. Nothing but contenders on the Dodgers’ dance card for the next two weeks. First the Brewers, then Miami, then the Guardians, Red Sox, and Diamondbacks. Then, September gets off to a roaring start with a four-gamer against the Braves. Fasten those seatbelts, Dodger fans, it’s going to be a great final six weeks of the regular season.
