Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
By Jon Weisman
It’s not easy for Julio Urias to follow an act like Julio Urias, but if anyone’s up to the task, it’s Julio Urias.
Baseball’s No. 1 left-handed pitching prospect did just that for Triple-A Oklahoma City against New Orleans today, firing six no-hit innings and facing the minimum 18 batters.
Urias retired the first 12 batters he faced before Dan Black reached base on an error by Zach Walters. One out later, Matt Juengel forced Black at second. One moment later, Urias picked off Juengel.
That was the only time the bases were used while Urias was on the mound. Finishing his day with his sixth strikeout, Urias needed 77 pitches (52 strikes) to cut through his six innings on the mound.
Urias lowered his 2016 ERA to 1.88 and his WHIP to 0.71, while increasing his strikeout-walk ratio to 29-3. Today’s outing came 53 weeks after he pitched six innings of one-hit ball for Double-A Tulsa with 10 strikeouts.
The six innings today tied a career high. His highest pitch count was 89 on April 16, 2015, when he pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings with 10 strikeouts for Tulsa. His season-high pitch count in 2016 is 80.
Urias, who will still be only 19 until August 12, topped things off with a run-scoring bunt and a single.
Lisalverto Bonilla relieved Urias to start the seventh inning, and pitched two more hitless innings (walking two) before allowing a leadoff single in the ninth to end the combined no-hit bid for Oklahoma City, which still came away with a 5-0 victory.
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