By the time he toed the rubber at Camelback Ranch on Tuesday afternoon, Julio Urias had already been eliminated as a candidate to crack the Los Angeles Dodgers rotation come Opening Day. His start against the San Diego Padres was the third of the spring, and fifth overall appearance.
Urias stranded Manuel Margot in the first inning after his leadoff double. Luis Perdomo struck out Logan Forsythe and Andrew Toles as part of a 1-2-3 bottom of the first. The Dodgers threatened in the second inning behind a leadoff double by Adrian Gonzalez, and Joc Pederson’s base hit.
However, Scott Van Slyke flied out and Bobby Wilson grounded into a double play, leaving the game locked in a scoreless tie. Urias issued a leadoff walk in the third, Wil Myers hit a two-out single, and that was it for the young left-hander.
Adam Bray stranded runners at the corners by getting Yangervis Solarte to fly out. Urias’ final line was 2.2 scoreless innings with two hits allowed, one walk and one strikeout.
Perdomo issued a pair of two-out walks in the bottom of the third, but both runners were left on base by Justin Turner. Wilson followed a Van Slyke double with a two-run home run, giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead through four innings.
Chris Hatcher set the Padres down in order in the fifth to give him two perfect innings in relief, complete with two strikeouts. Sergio Romo retired the first batter faced in the sixth, then surrendered consecutive singles followed by an RBI double to Hunter Renfroe.
Padres reliever Brandon Maurer struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh after allowing a leadoff base hit to Omar Estevez. The Dodgers loaded the bases in the eighth inning and pushed a run across on a hit by pitch.
The insurance run provided some breathing room for Layne Somsen, who struck out the side and earned a save in the Dodgers’ 3-1 victory. The win gave Los Angeles a split in their pair of games Tuesday afternoon.
