After taking the first of the three-game series at Yankee Stadium, the Los Angeles turned to Julio Urias to go for the series win as he faced off against CC Sabathia and the New York Yankees on Tuesday.
The former Cy Young Award winner Sabathia walked Howie Kendrick to open the game. Sabathia then got two groundouts and a strikeout to end a scoreless first inning. Prior to striking out, Yasiel Puig, who was hitting cleanup for just the second time this season, appeared to injure his back on the follow through of his swing.
Puig grimmaced on multiple occasions after the swing but remained in the game. Urias kept Chase Utley busy in the bottom of the first inning, as he induced three straight grounders to the veteran.
Sabathia gave up a two-out double to Kike Hernandez in the top of the second, but then struck out Rob Segedin to end the inning without allowing a run. Starlin Castro hit a bloop single to right field off Urias to begin the bottom half of the second.
After Mark Teixeira flied out, Urias picked Castro off first for his Major League-leading sixth pickoff this season. Brian McCann kept the inning alive by drawing a walk, but it was followed by Chase Hedley popping-out.
A walk and a base hit put runners at the corners with two outs for the Yankees in the bottom of the third. However, Urias completed another scoreless inning by striking out Gary Sanchez.
After Sabathia kept the Dodgers off the board in the fourth on just six pitches, Castro came up with his second hit of the game to begin the bottom half of the inning. Urias then got Teixeira to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to erase the baserunner.
Urias’ shaky command reared its head when he plunked McCann on an 0-2 count. Headley singled and Aaron Judge worked a walk to load the bases with two outs. That marked the end of the road for Urias.
Louis Coleman inherited the jam but escaped it without allowing a run by getting Ronald Torreyes to ground out. Sabathia picked up a pair of strikeouts in the fifth and worked around a Segedin two-out single to keep the game locked in a scoreless tie.
J.P. Howell and Ross Stripling combined to retire the Yankees in order in the bottom half of the inning. Justin Turner singled in the sixth but was erased on a force out and Sabathia got through another shutout frame.
Castro collected his third hit of the game with a leadoff single in the bottom of the sixth. Teixeira had a line drive knocked down by Gonzalez for the start of a force out, and Stripling then got McCann to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Sabathia gave way to Adam Warren after retiring Gonzalez to start the seventh. The right-handed reliever retired pinch-hitters Joc Pederson and Yasmani Grandal to end the 1-2-3 inning. Jacoby Ellsbury and pinch-hitter Didi Gregorious broke the scoreless tie with back-to-back solo home runs on consecutive pitches in the bottom of the seventh.
Kendrick’s two-out single in the eighth prompted Yankees manager Joe Giradi to turn to Dellin Betances for a four-out save. The power right-hander ended the inning by getting Turner to ground out on a check-swing.
Sanchez clubbed a solo home run off Jesse Chavez in the bottom of the eighth, and Betances worked around a leadoff single in the ninth convert the save in the Yankees’ 3-0 victory.
