LOS ANGELES – "The Teenager" has arrived.
Julio Urias got a no decision in his Major League debut, but the Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the New York Mets 6-5, on Friday night at Citi Field.
The Dodgers story started and ended with Curtis Granderson as the Mets' right fielder struck out against Urias to start the game and then hit a walk-off home run off Pedro Baez in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.
"You find a way to crawl back into it thanks to Chase who gave us life with that huge hit off of Familia," Dodgers' manager Dave Roberts said after the game. "But for things to change so quickly was a tough one for us."
After the strikeout to start the game, Urias allowed two doubles, three singles and a walk as the Mets jumped all over the 19-year-old phenom, plating three runs in the first inning.
Urias settled down from there, but surrendered a single and two walks to load the bases in the third inning before he was lifted at 81 pitches for Chris Hatcher.
"I was nervous when I was out there," Urias admitted. "I started to think about everything it took to get here. I settled down a little bit on the mound, but unfortunately, it was not enough to get the results we wanted."
Urias got a no-decision in his debut, allowing three runs on five hits with three strikeouts and four walks in just 2 and 2/3 innings.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
"For a debut, I thought Julio did well," added Roberts. "He could have easily gone through four innings, but at 81 pitches I thought that was good for him."
The teenager's pitch repertoire was on-point, but his command was missing as his fastball was up in the zone all night. Maybe it was adrenaline, maybe it was nerves, but the accuracy was not the same as it was in the minor leagues.
"The fastball command was just a tick off," Roberts said of Urias. "I thought he was just missing the plate tonight and not getting the calls he probably gets in the minors."
His teenage pitcher agreed.
"Yes, I thought some of them were in the zone," Urias said of whether he gets those calls in Triple-A. "I was just trying to hit the zone, but when I didn't get the calls I tried to locate better with my next pitch."
Urias had nearly as many walks (4) on Friday, then he had in his last four starts with Triple-A Oklahoma City (5).
Hatcher allowed a solo home run to David Wright and Joe Blanton served up a slider to Juan Lagares in the bottom of the fifth as the Mets defeated the Dodgers in the first of the three game series.
Jacob DeGrom continued to be a Dodgers' destroyer as he allowed just one run on three hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings for the reigning National League pennant winners.
DeGrom (4-1) ran into trouble a couple times in the third and fourth innings, but quickly induced inning-ending double plays to escape the jams.
New York turned the ball over to closer Jeurys Familia (2-0) in the top of the ninth, but the right-hander imploded, walking Yasmani Grandal with the bases loaded before giving up a game-tying, bases-clearing triple to Chase Utley.
Utley, had four of the Dodgers five RBI on the night in his first start at Citi Field since he broke former Mets' shortstop Ruben Tejada's leg on an aggressive slide in the 2015 National League Division Series.
The ever-predictable, Baez (0-1), served up a fastball over the plate that Granderson sent into the seats in right field for the game-winning, walk-off home run for the Mets.
"I love Petey [Baez] in that spot," Roberts said supporting his setup man. "Obviously Granderson ended it on one-swing, but I like his velocity and I like Petey as our setup guy."
Players of the Game:
Jacob deGrom: 1 run on 3 hits with 7 SO in 7 IP.
Chase Utley: 1-for-2 with a triple and four RBI
Juan Lagares: 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI.
Three Takeaways:
1. Teenage Dream: At just 19 years of age, Urias became the fourth youngest pitcher to debut in the Major Leagues since 1986. The youngest, former Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez.
It's Julio Urias time. #WhipAround pic.twitter.com/9iXqoTeWED — FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 27, 2016
2. Good Company: Julio Urias became the youngest Dodgers' left-handed pitcher to debut since Sandy Koufax in 1955. He joins Koufax, Fernando Valenzuela and Clayton Kershaw as lefty aces to make their MLB debut at 20 years of age and younger.
Julio Urías will become the youngest Dodgers left-handed pitcher to debut since Sandy Koufax in 1955 pic.twitter.com/fQdgSES9Ls — ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 27, 2016
3. Rocky Debut: Julio Urias became the first Dodgers' pitcher to last under three innings and make at least 80 pitches since Clayton Kershaw did it against the San Diego Padres on June 10, 2009.
Kershaw's line on June 10, 2009:
2 2/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 2 K
33rd MLB start
Urias tonight:
2 2/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 3 K
1st MLB start — Eric Stephen (@truebluela) May 28, 2016
Up Next:
Dodgers (25-24): Kenta Maeda gets a second shot against the New York Mets on Saturday.
Mets (28-19): Noah "Thor" Syndergaard will make his encore after homering twice against Kenta Maeda in Los Angeles earlier this month. First pitch is scheduled for 4:15PM PST.
