Through his nine starts thus far in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, Dodgers left-hander Julio Urías has an atrocious combined first-inning earned run average of 8.00 (eight earned runs in nine innings pitched).

But then, as if by magic (or secret serum), he suddenly turns things around and pitches like the star that the Dodgers gambled on when they signed him as a 17-year-old on August 17, 2012, out of Culiacan, Mexico, with a combined ERA of 2.38 in innings two through six.

This is as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as it gets (Google it, kids).

It happened again on Thursday night against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, when Urías allowed two runs on three hits in the first inning and did not allow a run – or hit – over his next 4.2 innings of work.

“We’ve talked about it, and we got to continue to talk through it and make adjustments, whatever it might be,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after his team’s eventual 9-3 blowout of the NL West fourth-place Rockies. “We got to keep working, and Julio understands that, too.”

One would think that the solution to such an issue would be as easy as starting his pre-game warm-ups a little earlier, and then throwing a simulated first inning is the bullpen before the start of the game.

It didn’t work – at least it hasn’t thus far. Instead, Urías – and the Dodgers and their fans – have had to gut it out through his first inning of work and let nature – and “focus” – take its course after that.

“I was able to keep my focus,” Urías said through an interpreter after the game. “I knew I had a bad first inning with a lot of pitches. I just wanted to work as fast as I could and throw strikes from that point on. I was able to get some outs without a lot of pitches. That helped me.”

Ironically, because of those two first-inning runs and because the Dodgers bats didn’t come alive until after he had exited the game with two outs in the sixth and the score tied 2-2, Urías did not earn the win. In fact, over his nine starts thus far this season, Urías is 3-0 with a season ERA of 3.53 when he could very well be 9-0 with a sub-two ERA were it not for his first-inning woes.

But regardless, by all indications and despite the risk of high anxiety (and high blood pressure) of Dodger fans, it appears that Urías will be in the Dodgers’ postseason starting rotation … first inning (and high blood pressure) be damned.

Play Ball!

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