Steve Webb
BALTIMORE, MD — And just when I was in a good mood, too. The Dodgers seemed to be rolling on this latest hot streak, bashing, getting good pitching, and solid relief work had led to four victories in the first five games after the All-Star break. But that all ended with a resounding thud on Wednesday afternoon in Camden Yards. Julio Urias, so good in his last two outings, got absolutely rocked in this one, and the Dodgers dropped the finale with the Orioles by a score of 8-5.
A Dodgers loss to a good team like the Birds is not particularly unsettling. After all, they did make a game of it with a couple of homers from James Outman and Max Muncy. But to lose a game in which Julio Urías doesn’t come within a million miles of his ace form from last season is disquieting to say the least. After Urías gave up just two runs on four hits over his last 12 innings of work in his last two starts, it seemed like the Julio “problem” had been fixed. Now, not so much.
“Just the inconsistencies again,” Urías said in Spanish. “My teammates gave me a lead in that first inning, and I wasn’t able to hold it. I think that started all the frustration I had with my mechanics and the consistency of my throws. From the first inning, I just wasn’t able to respond to them giving me an early lead.”
Urías was not sharp from the first inning on. And though the Birds were not exactly smoking the ball, they put together enough knocks in the bottom of the first to take a 4-2 lead, erasing the two runs that the Dodgers had put up in the top of the inning. He gutted it out for another four frames, but it just wasn’t happening on Wednesday. The final line on El Culichi for the day: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 8, ER, 2 BB, 2 K. His ERA is now over 5.00. Not great, Bob.
“I think no one’s more frustrated than Julio,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “In my chair, I’m going to bet on him any day of the week. I do think this year probably more than any other we’ve had to kind of figure out the delivery from start to start, within the start. It’s a work in progress right now. I’m never going to bet against that guy.”
We’ll see what Julio can bring to the table in his next start, most likely against the Blue Jays back in Los Angeles. In the meantime, there’s a series against the Texas Rangers to worry about in Arlington. The clash of Western Division leaders gets underway on Friday night,
