Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Julio Urías made his first start since May 18 on Saturday night against the Kansas City Royals (GameTracker). Urías had previously missed over a month because of a strained hamstring.
Urías, who made just one rehab start before rejoining the Dodgers rotation, lasted only three innings. He surrendered five runs on six hits and two walks. He also struck out two batters on 66 pitches. Right-handed reliever Phil Bickford checked in for Urías to begin the fourth inning.
Urías, a 26-year-old impending free agent, had started 10 games prior to suffering his injury. In those appearances, he accumulated a 4.39 ERA (101 ERA+) and a 4.82 strikeout-to-walk ratio over the course of 55 innings. Urías' contributions had been worth an estimated 0.6 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference's calculations.
Urías had finished top 10 in Cy Young Award voting in both of the previous two seasons, including a third-place finish last year. Over his previous three seasons (2020-22), he had tallied a 2.66 ERA (157 ERA+) and a 4.19 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Even with Urías back in tow, reports surfaced on Saturday that the Dodgers might be without a different key lefty. Clayton Kershaw has been dealing with shoulder inflammation and could be placed on the injured list if the Dodgers deem him unable to make his next scheduled start on Monday, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
The Dodgers have been plagued with rotation injuries all season. Regardless of what happens with Kershaw, they remain without starters Walker Buehler, Ryan Pepiot, Dustin May and Noah Syndergaard.
The Dodgers entered Saturday with a 46-35 record, putting them in second place in the National League West. They trailed the Arizona Diamondbacks by two games.
