Lance Lynn is making his Los Angeles Dodgers debut in the series opener against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday, and that is being used by the team to adjust their starting rotation order, which most notably impacts Julio Urías.
The left-hander last pitched on July 25 and was lined up to start the first game against the A’s. While Lynn needed to be inserted into the rotation, the Dodgers made a conscious decision to push Urías back two days.
“The extra days, just talking to the trainers, talking to Mark, gets him feeling better,” manager Dave Roberts explained. “A little nail thing, which is something that if we can give him a couple extra days, that’s the thought behind that.”
Roberts did not specify when Urías began to first deal with a cracked fingernail on his throwing hand and said it was the only physical issue he’s dealing with.
The 26-year-old labored a bit last week against the Toronto Blue Jays but still provided the Dodgers with a quality start by allowing three runs over six innings.
“I definitely battled through it,” Urías said through an interpreter after the game.
“It’s one of those starts where there was a little frustration from the soft contact that was finding holes to be hits. But at the end of the day, it was one of my better starts.
“One of my starts I felt better with, just because I fought the whole way through and made pitches when I needed to make pitches. I felt really good with what I did.”
Lance Lynn looking to rebound
Lynn went 6-9 with a 6.18 ERA, 5.22 FIP and 1.44 WHIP in 115 innings over 20 starts for the White Sox this season. Despite allowing an MLB-worst 79 earned runs and 28 home runs, Lynn should provide the Dodgers with length in his outings.
The veteran also is hopeful the trade will help some of his statistic even out.
“I’ve had some ups and downs this year, for sure. When you look at ERA, wins and losses, it’s the worst I’ve ever had in my career,” Lynn said.
“And then you look at strikeouts per nine and stuff like that, they’re the best I’ve ever had. Like I said, it’s been a weird year. Hopefully we can make suer the ERA and wins take care of themselves, and we keep the other things going in a positive direction. Maybe a change of scenery will help that.”
Julio Urías’ inconsistent season
As for Urías’ the start against the Blue Jays was a microcosm of his 2023 season, which has been one full of inconsistency. He has pitched to a 7-6 record, 4.98 ERA, 4.80 FIP and 1.21 WHIP in 15 starts thus far.
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