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Dodgers lose as Julio Urias has rough return to rotation

July 2, 2023

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – If Julio Urias looks back at the video of his first start in six weeks, it will be a blooper reel.

Urias’ return to the mound was delayed 85 minutes by rain. But that was nothing compared to the drip, drip, drip of the Kansas City Royals’ offense as they scored five runs in the first inning against Urias on three bloop singles, a hit batter, two sacrifice flies (one to the second baseman) and a walk.

The Dodgers never quite erased the Royals’ minimalist painting and lost 6-4 Saturday night.

For Urias, the five-run first inning was an ugly bookend to his time on the Injured List. In his last inning before being sidelined, he allowed six runs on four home runs in St. Louis on May 18.

Urias retired just three of the first 11 batters he faced Saturday but four of the six hits he allowed had exit velocities under 72 mph. One was a pop up that landed on the grass just behind where second baseman Miguel Vargas would have been playing – but he was covering second base on a steal attempt.

Vargas was in the right position to catch Edward Olivares’ pop up to shallow center field on the next play. But he hesitated and Bobby Witt Jr. beat his throw home after tagging up at third.

At the other end of the speed spectrum, catcher Salvador Perez scored on a sacrifice fly that actually reached the outfield when he made a nifty slide around Will Smith’s tag, tucking his left arm in just long enough to avoid Smith’s tag.

If it was all too much for Urias, it was enough for the Royals.

The Dodgers answered back with three runs in the second inning against left-hander Daniel Lynch. A one-out walk of Jonny De Luca was followed by a James Outman single, an RBI double by Yonny Hernandez, a sacrifice fly by Mookie Betts and a two-out RBI single by Freddie Freeman.

For Betts, the sacrifice fly ended a stretch of eight consecutive plate appearances in which he had reached base – bookended by sacrifice flies.

A quartet of relievers picked up for Urias who went just three innings and allowed just one unearned run (after an error by one of them, Ryan Brasier).

The Dodgers finally scored again in the eighth inning thanks to three consecutive singles — one through Royals first baseman Nick Pratto, another misplayed by him (he looked home, hesitated then flipped too late to the pitcher covering first base).

They loaded the bases with two outs but Royals reliever Scott Barlow (a potential trade piece at the deadline for the Royals) got Freeman to ground out then retired the side in order in the ninth. The Dodgers stranded 10 runners in the game.

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Orange County Register

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Dodgers lose as Julio Urias has rough return to rotation

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