The Los Angeles Dodgers outlasted the San Diego Padres in the middle game of the series at Petco Park for a 1-0 victory in 10 innings, and not to be lost were important battles between Julio Urías and Manny Machado.
Heading into the matchup, Machado was batting .304/.333/.826 with four home runs and seven RBI in 24 plate appearances against Urías. Following a first-inning walk, Urías got Juan Soto to line out but surrendered a one-out single to the Padres’ third baseman.
Urías escaped the first inning threat with back-to-back strikeouts, something the 26-year-old has managed to do all season.
“I never lose focus. I’m trying to stay focused on making pitches after they got those hits,” Urías said through a translator. “Obviously they got good hits to get on base, but I’m putting an emphasis on getting out of those innings. Especially when guys are on base.”
Machado singled off of Urías in the third inning as well, and in the fifth, he worked a walk to once again put traffic on the bases. Urías was able to induce infield pop-outs by Wil Myers and Jake Cronenworth.
“He had a great breaking ball. I thought the fastball continued to build velocity. The first fastball he threw tonight, I think was 89 (mph). And the last one might have been 94 or 95 (mph),” manager Dave Roberts said.
“So just managing his fastball, I thought the command was really good, I thought he made pitches when he needed to, the slider was really good. He just missed a lot of barrels, competed like he always does and gave us a chance to win, which he seemingly does every time he takes the baseball.”
Machado is now hitting .360/.407/.840 with four home runs against Urías in his career, but on Wednesday the damage stayed in the ballpark and didn’t amount to anything. The two appeared to share a playful exchange, knowing the history of tough at-bats they have with one another.
“I know he sees me really well. He won today, but they weren’t home runs, so I feel like I won,” said Urías.
Julio Urías’ bid for National League Cy Young Award
Urías is 17-7 and lowered his season ERA to 2.17 to go along with a 0.96 WHIP over 30 starts.
With a National League-best mark in ERA across 170 innings this season, Urías has put his name firmly in the conversation for the Cy Young Award after winning 20 games just last year.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
