The Los Angeles Dodgers received seven scoreless innings from Julio Urias on Friday night, which was aided by Chris Taylor making two impressive catches.
He first overcame miscommunication with Gavin Lux in the gap to make a snow cone grab, and later Taylor made a leaping catch at the wall in center field to rob Manny Machado of what may have been a two-run home run.
“I think he was sitting on that pitch all night. I think he was working me to make that pitch,” Urias said after the Dodgers’ 3-0 win. “Obviously he hit it very hard, and when he hit it I thought it was going to go over the fence. Luckily it didn’t and it was a great play by Chris.”
Taylor’s contributions served as another reminder of his value despite being among the Dodgers mired in an offensive slump.
“He’s a glue guy and an All-Star. Even when he’s not swinging the bat the way he’s capable of, he still finds a way to help you win,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, then revealing Taylor has played through injury.
“He’s been battling this neck thing but he’ll never make excuses. I trust him as a ballplayer.”
Roberts said Taylor’s neck trouble has not reached the stage of potentially needing to go on the 10-day injured list.
It’s unclear when the injury became somewhat of an issue for Taylor, but he’s been on a steep decline over the past month and in particular the last 14 games (12 starts).
Taylor hoped to be sparked
Having endured a prolonged slump, Taylor said earlier this week he was hopeful to find some momentum after hitting a home run against the St. Louis Cardinals.
“It felt good. Obviously haven’t been feeling the best the last couple weeks,” Taylor said. “It felt good to finally get a barrel on something and see it go over the fence, and really just contribute. I’ve been grinding, especially that last series.
“Hopefully I can relax and kind of carry that into the rest of this series.”
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