Urias looks strong in return to rotation

LOS ANGELES -- Julio Urías threw blanks in his start against the Giants on Monday night, and if you want to see him in another start like that again before August, you better hurry, because he’s headed to the bullpen as soon as Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill are healthy. That’s the Dodgers’ plan and manager Dave Roberts said they’re sticking to it.

Urias was in position to win but the Dodgers bullpen took that off the table, allowing the Giants (who scored five total runs in their other four games) to rally for a 4-2 win and wasting fifth-inning home runs from Chris Taylor and pinch-hitter Alex Verdugo off Drew Pomeranz.

Also wasted were five strong innings from Urias, who struck out seven, three when runners were in scoring position, and averaged 95 mph with the fastball. He allowed three hits, two of them doubles, with no walks and nicked Joe Panik’s jersey with a pitch. Roberts said Urias will start again in Colorado in six days.

“Five innings, flawless pitching, it was fun to watch,” said Roberts. “We know he’ll make his next start and we’ll go from there.”

Not bad for a seventh starter, which brings us back to the “plan,” designed to protect Urias’ repaired shoulder from an innings spike while still utilizing him as a big league weapon, the best of both worlds.

“With Rich and Clayton coming back, whether talking about a start, which is huge value, innings are innings,” said Roberts. “If Julio pitches like he is, he’ll have a great year, we’ll have a great year. He wants to help our big league club win games.”

Of course, things don’t always go as planned, as the Dodgers saw with two of their starters beginning the season on the injured list. But Roberts said before the game he’d trust Urias as a starter, long reliever, even a closer if Kenley Jansen was unavailable. Maybe he can catch, too, the next time Russell Martin pitches. The plan is nothing if not flexible.

Anyway, despite the uncertainty in roles, Urias continued his spring domination (0.511 WHIP) in his first MLB start since May 20, 2017. In between, there was surgery for serious shoulder capsule damage, a 2018 rehab season when he was essentially on ice until postseason heroics, followed by this spring, when he backed into the starting rotation.

“Kid knows what he’s doing,” San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said.

Based on early returns from the bullpen, Urias might be needed more in the bullpen than the rotation after all. Pedro Baez gave up a home run to a pitcher Sunday and Joe Kelly followed Urias by serving up a home run on the first pitch to Brandon Belt. The first batter Kelly faced in his Friday night debut, Christian Walker, also homered.

Then in the seventh, Kelly let a lead get away for the third time in two appearances on a pair of singles by pinch-hitters Yangervis Solarte (leading off on a 1-2 pitch) and Pablo Sandoval (with two outs on an 0-2 pitch). Steven Duggar doubled Sandoval to third and chased Kelly, who has retired nine batters but allowed eight to reach base and has an 18.00 ERA. Scott Alexander came in to face the lefty Belt, who doubled in Duggar and Sandoval.

Roberts was in the business of boosting confidence as he talked about Kelly’s rugged first few days as a Dodger.

“Great fastball, plus change, sharp breaking ball,” said Roberts. “If he just keeps running that stuff out there, Joe’s going to be fine. It’s a tough start for him, but he’s our guy. One of those patches that sometimes get magnified early.”

Kelly insisted he’s not pressing to justify the three-year, $25 million contract he signed.

“I don’t like it as much as everyone else doesn’t like it, especially coming over here on a new team,” he said. “The key for me is pitching with proper mechanics. Stay ahead of hitters, the results will come. I know I’m not even close to myself results wise, but I felt a lot better this time. I just have to try to stay confident, don’t put added pressure on myself. Obviously, I feel bad for letting the guys down the first two times.”