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By Jon Weisman
Preferring the idea of having Julio Urias face San Francisco’s lineup over Arizona’s, the Dodgers have flipped him with Mike Bolsinger so that the teenage lefty pitches Sunday against the Giants, while Bolsinger will go Monday against the Diamondbacks.
Dave Roberts announced the switch Wednesday after the Dodgers’ 1-0 loss to Colorado, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. Urias will be pitching on four days’ rest.
“We believe, if he pitches well and executes, which he’s been doing increasingly with each start, it will be a great atmosphere, and we expect he’ll rise to the occasion,” Roberts said. “They’re heavy (left-handed hitters) … and it goes to us feeling confident in that matchup for our club. We’ve got nothing but respect for that club, but for us that gives us the best chance to win that game.”
The series at San Francisco opens Friday with Clayton Kershaw facing Johnny Cueto in what will be a challenge for the Dodger offense, which wasted Kenta Maeda’s MLB career-high nine strikeouts Wednesday.
“The way Maeda pitched, we have to win that game,” said Roberts. “I think our hitters are trying too hard.”
The Dodgers failed to score even after benefiting from this unusual error on a Maeda bunt that loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth.
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“Guys are starting to try to do too much,” said Roberts. “There’s some empty at-bats, and tentativeness to the swing in a good hitter’s count. We’re missing fastballs, and whether we’re swinging through or fouling them off or late on them, we’re putting a little bit of extra pressure on ourselves.”
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