Julio Urias issued walks, committed an error and often fell behind in counts but nonetheless managed to electrify Dodger Stadium with six no-hit innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates. While, Andrew McCutchen prevented history and the Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen stumbled, they outlasted the Pirates in 10 innings.
After retiring the side in order in the first inning, Urias worked around a leadoff walk in the second. Joc Pederson hit a leadoff single off Ivan Nova in the bottom of the second, and Yasiel Puig knocked a two-out base hit, but both were stranded.
Urias struck out the first two batters faced in the third inning, then committed an error that allowed Josh Harrison to reach. It was followed by an innocent Jordy Mercer flyout to right field.
McCutchen was robbed of an extra-base hit by Andrew Toles’ leaping catch to start the fourth. Urias ended another 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout.
Nova, who had only walked one batter through 42 innings entering Tuesday night, put Cody Bellinger on board in the bottom of the fourth, in what was Nova’s second walk of the game. Two batters later, Yasmani Grandal broke the scoreless tie with a two-run home run.
Urias collected two more strikeouts over hitless innings in the fifth and sixth. To that point the young left-hander had thrown 83 pitches and matched the longest outing of his professional career. Urias went on to throw a career-high 6.1 innings.
Not only did McCutchen’s leadoff double in the seventh end Urias’ no-hit bid, Toles appeared to injure his right leg while crashing into the short fence in left field. Toles was removed from the game, though did manage to walk off on his own power.
In a second consecutive game upon entering as a defensive replacement, Hernandez failed to make a play on the first ball hit to him. This time, a failed catch resulted in a Francisco Cervelli two-out RBI double off Sergio Romo, with the run being charged to Urias.
That was the lone batter Romo faced, as he gave way to Luis Avilan. There wasn’t any escaping for the Dodgers, however, with Max Moroff’s first career hit tying the game.
Chase Utley led off the bottom of the seventh with a pinch-hit double. Hernandez’s sacrifice bunt advanced Utley, and Seager was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners with one out. The contact play backfired on the Dodgers, with Turner hitting a comebacker that resulted in Utley being thrown out at home plate.
Felipe Rivero ended the inning with a terrific slider that came on the heels of multiple fastballs, catching Bellinger looking. John Jaso’s pinch-hit home run off Pedro Baez gave the Pirates a 3-2 lead in the eighth.
Grandal nearly took Juan Nicasio deep for his second home run of the game, but the drive to right field was caught on the warning track. Nicasio gave up a two-out double to Chris Taylor and ran into some bad luck as the inning extended when Puig reached on a strikeout-passed ball.
Even though Franklin Gutierrez pinch-hit for Baez, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle called on a left-handed reliever in closer Tony Watson. The matchup broke in the Pirates’ favor, with Watson striking out Gutierrez.
Watson batted for himself in the ninth, returned to the mound only to surrender a trio of consecutive singles to Seager, Turner and Bellinger, with Bellinger’s tying the game. With Ross Stripling on first base as a pinch-runner for Grandal, Barnes delivered a pinch-hit walk-off double to give the Dodgers their fourth consecutive win.
The game-winning run scored was Stripling’s second this season.
