PHILADELPHIA — Julio Urias wrote a better sequel.
Lit up for eight runs in six innings – and four home runs – when the Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies met last week, Urias held the Phillies scoreless for five innings this time around as the Dodgers started their longest road trip of the season with a 4-1 victory on Friday night.
The win at Citizens Bank Park extends the Dodgers’ winning streak to six games.
The Phillies, on the other hand, have turned into a far less menacing team than the one that romped around Dodger Stadium for 33 runs while taking three of four from the Dodgers last weekend.
Bryce Harper has not played since hitting one of those four home runs off Urias on Saturday. Harper received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his injured elbow after that game and has not returned to the Phillies’ lineup yet. In related news – Friday was nearly the third time in their past four games the Phillies had been shut out (the Padres did it to them twice).
Three of the four home runs Urias gave up to the Phillies in Los Angeles were on curveballs, the fourth on a changeup. Both of those pitches were much better this time around and Urias threw each (26 breaking balls, 25 changeups) nearly as often as his fastball (29). Six of his nine swing-and-misses were on the offspeed pitches.
This mix worked much better. He retired the first eight Phillies in order (three on strikeouts) and 12 of the first 13, giving up only a two-out single to Roman Quinn in the third inning. Kyle Schwarber led off the fifth with a 108.6 mph rocket off the center field wall for a double but Urias stranded him at third, striking out two of the next three batters.
The Dodgers had Phillies starter Ranger Suarez in Ranger danger each of the first three innings but only scored in drips.
They loaded the bases with one out in the first but got only one run on a ground out by Justin Turner. A two-out double by Mookie Betts in the second put runners at first and third and Freddie Freeman drove them both in with a single through the middle.
But a leadoff single by Will Smith in the third inning was wiped out. Cody Bellinger led off the fourth with a single but was stranded at third. The Dodgers loaded the bases with one out again in the fifth but got nothing when Chris Taylor popped out and Bellinger flew out.
That left a 3-0 lead for the Dodgers’ bullpen to protect when Dave Roberts pulled the plug on Urias after what has become his prescribed dosage – 80 pitches and twice through the lineup.
The Phillies beat up on the Dodgers’ bullpen last weekend as well – but not Yency Almonte. He pitched three scoreless innings in that series (his first since being promoted from Triple-A) and added to that Friday, getting the first four outs of the relief relay.
Alex Vesia got the next two – including a fly out to the warning track in right field to end a seven-pitch at-bat by Schwarber.
With no Blake Treinen or Tommy Kahnle in the Dodgers’ bullpen to lean on, Roberts went with Evan Phillips in the eighth. He had his own brush with danger on the way to putting up a zero – Alec Bohm lined out hard to Betts with two runners on.
The Dodgers added an insurance run in the top of the ninth when Freeman singled, stole second, went to third on a wild throw and scored on a sacrifice fly. Phil Bickford surrendered back-to-back doubles to Schwarber and JT Realmuto, losing the shutout with two outs in the ninth before Craig Kimbrel closed it out.
More to come on this story.
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