Dodgers Shut Down By Urena In 3-0 Loss To Marlins
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) — Kenta Maeda bought some time for the Los Angeles Dodgers, however, Jose Urena was just too good.
The Dodgers managed just four hits against Urena and A.J. Ramos in a 3-0 loss to the Miami Marlins on Sunday.
Maeda pitched six effective innings, allowing three runs, two earned, and eight hits. But Josh Reddick, Corey Seager, Adrian Gonzalez and Joc Pederson had the only hits for Los Angeles.
"I thought Kenta threw the ball well," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "There was a lot of soft contact with Kenta and those guys took what they gave him. I thought he pitched well enough to win."
Miami won six of seven in the season series.
"They had our number this year," Roberts said.
The Marlins jumped ahead with two runs in the fourth inning. Ichiro Suzuki, Martin Prado, and Christian Yelich hit consecutive singles for the first run and Justin Bour followed with a sacrifice fly.
"I didn't think I was pitching well the first three innings," Maeda said through an interpreter. "I think a lot of the balls were hit well were at guys so in general I didn't really feel I had a good feel."
Maeda (14-9) struck out three and walked one. He had won six of his last seven decisions.
The Dodgers lost two of three in the weekend set. They began the day with a four-game lead over San Francisco in the NL West.
Urena pitched 8 2/3 innings of four-hit ball. He retired the first 14 batters he faced.
"When you get quick outs early in the game, that helps you more and you can get more deep in the game," Urena said. "You just have to be aggressive and go after the hitters."
Urena struck out four and walked none while throwing 71 of 108 pitches for strikes. It was by far the longest appearance of his 45 major league games.
"You've got to give Urena credit, the kid threw the ball well," Roberts said. "It doesn't matter how well we're swinging or what happened yesterday, he threw the ball well. He did his job."
The 24-year-old Urena was lifted after giving up a base hit to Reddick. A.J. Ramos got the final out for his 34th save in 37 chances.
"It seemed like his pitches were getting flatter and up in the zone, and we didn't want to put A.J. in a situation where he couldn't make one bad pitch," Miami manager Don Mattingly said.
The Dodgers put two on with one out in the seventh, but Urena got Yasmani Grandal to ground into a double play.
Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier made his first start of the season after making a pinch-hit appearance on Sunday. Ethier, who was out with a broken right leg, went 0 for 3.
SHUTOUT DROUGHT CONTINUES
The Marlins have not had a pitcher toss a shutout since Henderson Alvarez accomplished the feat against Tampa Bay on June 3, 2014. It's the longest current drought in the majors.
"I was working hard to get the complete game, but I knew if I let somebody on base (in the ninth) I would be out of the game," Urena said.
NICE PLAY
Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon showed off his glove in the sixth inning, snagging a hard grounder hit by Chase Utley, falling to the ground and spinning before throwing out Utley at first.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Marlins: RHP David Phelps (left oblique strain) was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list. Phelps, who has not pitched since Aug. 26, started in his last five appearances after coming out of the bullpen for his first 50. The Marlins have not announced the plan for Phelps down the stretch.
UP NEXT
Dodgers: RHP Jose De Leon (1-0, 4.50 ERA) will start Monday's game against Yankees RHP Bryan Mitchell (1-0, 1.00 ERA), beginning a three-game series in New York.
Marlins: RHP Andrew Cashner (5-11, 4.77 ERA) will face Braves RHP Mike Foltynewicz (8-5, 4.16 ERA) on Monday in Atlanta. Cashner tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings in his last appearance against the Braves coming last season while with San Diego.
