Urena rates day vs. Astros as 'pretty good'

Four errors raised pitch count; Mattingly calls outing "OK"

March 8th, 2019

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Marlins' Opening Day starter continues to work toward that curtain-raiser. Jose Urena made his third start in Grapefruit League play on Thursday in Miami's 4-1 loss to Houston.

Urena gave up four runs, but only one was earned. He yielded four hits, all singles, walked two and struck out two. He wanted to go four innings, but the Marlins committed four errors and that extended his pitch count. The right-hander didn't make it out of the third inning.

Was he happy with his performance? "No," Urena said, "but I will say it was pretty good. We had a few mistakes but we say that everybody stays aggressive, so we try to make plays and I try to stay focused to make the pitches.

"The only thing was I made too many pitches," Urena said. "So that took me down from trying to throw four innings. Besides that everything was fine."

Urena threw 68 pitches (46 strikes) in only 2 2/3 innings. It was an "OK" outing, according to manager Don Mattingly.

"Still want to see him continue to get himself in good counts, elevate a little bit more," Mattingly said. "Just continue to use his mix. The ball is coming out of his hand good; he's just got to get sharper and sharper as we get closer."

Nonetheless, Urena is pretty much on pace with where he'd like to be working toward the season opener.

"I feel pretty good," Urena said. "Sometimes when we get into a little trouble, I put in my real game, like [regular season] game situations so when I make a pitch, I try to give it my best."

Facing a lineup like the Astros’ is helpful in getting Urena ready for the season. Among others, Urena faced George Springer and Carlos Correa, who combined to go 0-for-3 against him.

"You've got to change the tempo," Urena said. "You've got to be on time. They make you work."

Urena continues to master the breaking pitch, which when used effectively last season kick-started his successful season.

"Even now I'm using more breaking balls [this spring]," Urena said. "It's still early, so I don't want to be overthrowing breaking balls to get ready."

Urena was consistently in the mid-90s with his heater on Thursday, a pitch that propelled him to the Major Leagues.

"That was my strength, go right inside," he said. "But sometimes [now] I try to make a different pitch in different locations to make it a little more uncomfortable for the hitter."

In three starts this spring, Urena has given up 11 hits and six runs (three earned) while walking four and striking out six over 6 2/3 innings.

While he continues to work toward his Opening Day start, Urena isn’t thinking about that or putting too much pressure on himself for that particular appearance.

"It means a lot but I look at it like one more outing of maybe 35 [starts], that one will be the first one," Urena said.

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Glenn Sattell is a contributor to MLB.com.