Seventh time’s the charm for Los Angeles Dodgers young phenom Julio Urias, as he picked up his first major league win in a 6-5 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
It wasn’t a lights-out performance, but Urias pitched well enough to be credited with the win, after going six innings and recorded six strikeouts and six walks. Ignore the triple six for a moment as a bad omen, but Urias’ win couldn’t have come at a better time for the youngster as news of Clayton Kershaw experiencing tightness in his lower back could increase Urias’ time in the big leagues.
“It’s beautiful, incredible; it’s one of the best days of my life,” Urias said through an interpreter to ESPN. “What more can I say?”
Even though his outing was marred by sporadic control and more walks than he desired, Urias did only give up two hits for two earned runs, flashing the potential he has once he gains more confidence and fine-tunes his pitching.
Whether this was a quality start is up for judgment, due to the number of walks he gave up along with the fact the Dodgers offense gifted him six runs over his outing, it’s safe to say Urias is improving with each and every start he has had since his forgetful debut against the New York Mets. The last time Urias pitched against the Brewers, he struck out eight batters over five innings and and gave five hits and one walk. His previous start before Tuesday was another quality one, going five innings and striking out six batters against the Washington Nationals.
He couldn’t net the win in both of those outings, but these last three performances are a good sample size that display why the Dodgers are investing so much in the young Mexican southpaw and why they see him as their future ace.
Expect Urias to be prepared and more confident now that he has earned his first career MLB win, which is expected to grow exponentially in the years to come.