Julio Urías has not had the season he or the Los Angeles Dodgers were expecting, and those struggles continued on Saturday with a poor outing against the Boston Red Sox.
Urías pitched six innings and struck out nine, but he gave up six runs on eight hits, including three home runs. He now has a 4.41 ERA this season, which is the highest mark of his career outside of a 5.40 mark over just 23.1 innings pitched during the 2017 season.
Although there have been a few issues Urías has dealt with, one of his biggest problems is home-road splits. At Dodger Stadium, the left-hander holds a 2.30 ERA in 62.2 innings (10 starts), but away from Chavez Ravine, his ERA is 7.07 in 49.2 innings (10 starts).
Despite the significant difference, Urías is not concerned about that because it’s the same game being played regardless of where he pitches, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“No, it’s simply baseball. It’s baseball,” Urias said in Spanish when asked about the home-road splits. “Obviously, you have to pitch better at home, you have to pitch better on the road. Simply, the team gave me the lead and I couldn’t keep it and obviously that’s what hurts.”
The subpar start against the Red Sox came at a concerning time as it appeared Urías had finally turned a corner to rebound into his ace-like self.
Entering Saturday’s game, Urías had made four starts in August, giving up four total runs in 25 innings. He was also on a streak of five games with three earned runs or fewer allowed.
But blowup games have also been a trend for Urías this season. Of his 20 starts, he’s given up five or more earned runs in six of them, while he’s given up two or fewer in 12 outings.
The Dodgers will need him to figure out his issues on the road as they head into the playoffs, when Urías’ first start should come at home.
Cardinals interested in Julio Urías
Urías is set to become a free agent following the season, and despite some of the inconsistency, he is in a unique spot because he made his MLB debut at 19 years old. That is amounting to Urías becoming a free agent at just 27 years old, compared to other pitchers who often enter free agency around the age of 30.
While the Dodgers will surely be in the mix to re-sign Urías, he will undoubtedly have multiple suitors pursuing him. One team that already has Urías as one of their top targets is the St. Louis Cardinals.
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