Lyou Dodgers they asked too much of Julio Urías by sending him to the mound for the fourth time in 12 days.
Although the Mexican was the only pitcher who achieved 20 victories in the majors this season, has been employed by Los Angeles in three different roles just in the last week.
Both Urías and the Dodgers have emphasized that these missions are not that challenging. But the southpaw looked totally out of rhythm and distant from his usual precision in the fourth game of the National League Championship SeriesHe against the Atlanta Braves.
“I felt good physically,” Urías said after Wednesday’s 9-2 loss. “You just have to give them credit for what they did today.”
By the time Urías left the mound with a five-race deficit, it was clear that the demand had been excessive, and that the Dodgers aren’t getting what they expect from their top pitchers in a rotation that looks like chaos.
The Dodgers leadership is flouting much of the traditional rules of baseball during October in an attempt to get the most out of his pitching body.
And now that the champions of the last World Series are on the verge of elimination, it is clear that those decisions have not worked out as expected by his boss Andrew Friedman.
Both Urías and Max Scherzer had problems in the Championship Series when they were asked to start with a two-day rest after pitching as relievers. Walker Buehler also did not reach his usual level with additional rest.