Dodgers Dugout: Meet the true ace of the Dodgers

He has been overlooked for a couple of seasons now, but Julio Urías has been the Dodgers' best pitcher this year. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Los Angeles Times] Dodgers Dugout September 5, 2022 [View in browser]( [Click to view images]( Urías (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and I’m not saying it is hot, but I’m pretty sure that the Earth has been ripped from its orbit and is hurtling toward the sun. With all the talk this year of who the ace of the Dodgers is (Clayton Kershaw? Walker Buehler? Has Tony Gonsolin been the ace this year?), one name gets overlooked, and it’s a name I regretfully have not written about much the last couple of seasons. Perhaps the true ace of the Dodgers: Julio Urías. Just take a look at his last three seasons. In 2020, he went 3-0 with a 3.27 ERA and got the save in the World Series-clinching game. In 2021, he went 20-3 with a 2.96 ERA in 185 2/3 innings over 32 starts. And this season, he leads the NL with a 2.29 ERA in 145 2/3 innings. He has walked only 34 and struck out 139. But let’s look at how he compared to every Dodger pitcher with at least 12 starts since 2020. Enjoying this newsletter? Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. [Become a Los Angeles Times subscriber.]( Starts Julio Urías, 68 Walker Buehler, 53 Clayton Kershaw, 48 Tony Gonsolin, 44 Tyler Anderson, 23 Dustin May, 18 Trevor Bauer, 17 Mitch White, 14 Innings Julio Urías, 386.1 Walker Buehler, 309.1 Clayton Kershaw, 270.1 Tony Gonsolin, 230.2 Tyler Anderson, 147.2 Trevor Bauer, 107.2 Mitch White, 105.2 Dustin May, 95 ERA Tony Gonsolin, 2.42 Trevor Bauer, 2.59 Tyler Anderson, 2.68 Julio Urías, 2.75 Dustin May, 2.84 Walker Buehler, 2.91 Clayton Kershaw, 2.93 Mitch White, 3.58 WHIP Clayton Kershaw, 0.965 Tony Gonsolin, 0.975 Trevor Bauer, 1.003 Julio Urías, 1.009 Tyler Anderson, 1.023 Walker Buehler, 1.034 Dustin May, 1.053 Mitch White, 1.202 Those numbers include innings pitched in relief, which is not much for anyone except Mitch White. Urías has pitched better than Kershaw or Buehler the last three seasons and has pitched more often. So while everyone was debating who the true ace of the Dodgers is, Urías walked over and quietly picked up the crown. By the way, since July 16, Urías has given up 32 hits and 12 walks in 56 innings, striking out 53. He has a 1.13 ERA in that span. ADVERTISEMENT Blake Treinen returns Blake Treinen returned Saturday after spending most of the season on the IL. Turns out, Treinen has a partial tear in his right shoulder and was advised to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. He decided against it, and that decision seems to have worked out. His velocity was in the mid-to-upper 90s and he looked like the Treinen of old, a very important weapon to have in the bullpen. Uh oh Joey Gallo is hitting .193 since joining the Dodgers on Aug. 4. He has three hits in his last 27 at-bats. They should go ahead and do whatever they thought they could do to fix his swing. Since Aug. 4, Trayce Thompson is hitting .314 with four homers. Since coming off the IL, Chris Taylor is 13 for 76 with four doubles and two homers, hitting .171/.291/.315. He has struck out 33 times in 73 at-bats. That’s not ideal. Since Aug. 23, Max Muncy is six for 44, hitting .136. Since going three for three with two homers on Aug. 7, Cody Bellinger has gone nine for 62 with two homers, hitting .145. This seems familiar Max Scherzer left the New York Mets’ game against Washington early Saturday because of “fatigue on his left side.” “Wasn’t anything specific, I don’t have any strains, it’s just left side was getting tired a lot quicker than usual,” Scherzer told The New York Post. “So this was a precautionary move.” ADVERTISEMENT What have they done lately? A look at how players the Dodgers traded at the deadline have done on their new teams: [Garrett Cleavinger]( Tampa Bay, 5.40 ERA, 3.1 IP [Jake Lamb]( Seattle, .238/.304/.429, 113 OPS+ [Zach McKinstry]( Chicago Cubs, .194/.237/.292, 48 OPS+ [Mitch White]( Toronto, 7.04 ERA, 23 IP, 32 hits, 8 walks, 20 K’s What Vin Scully meant to you Wink Martindale of Palm Desert: Most may not recall, Vin hosted a game show on NBC. The year was 1965. I was hosting my first network show on an adjoining stage. During a break in taping, Vin took the time to walk over, say hello, and compliment my work. What’s wrong with this picture? Vin Scully complimenting MY work? Those few moments are among my favorite memories. Tim Posada: I am a lifelong Dodgers fan, and one of the folks that fell asleep listening to Vin every chance I got. I would watch a 19-inch tube TV when I was in high school. I was lucky enough to listen to Vin with my father and with my oldest son. Vin was a treasure and will never be forgotten. Jim Betts of Clovis: In the mid-'60s, my Dad would play Dodgers games on an old gray radio he had and the sound of Vin’s voice became part of the fabric of my life. Over time I learned how to listen to a baseball game, and came to prefer it to watching them. I love watching games too, but it is still very common for me to listen on the radio to games that are broadcast, that’s how good Vin was. I can describe several poignant memories of Vin’s broadcasts that are special to me (Pedro Guerrero hitting a home run to beat SF 1-0 in the early ‘80s) but they wouldn’t mean much to anyone else, all of whom probably have their own special recollections. He was a beautiful, humble and brilliant man. My wife and I commented for years about how lucky we were that he was still broadcasting. Fred Voros: As a kid growing up in San Luis Obispo in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, I too often fell asleep listening to Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett call Dodger games on my transistor radio, a little earpiece in my ear. It was the era of Koufax and Drysdale, Gilliam and Wills. Vinnie was so good that he could make a baseball game interesting to people (like my wife) who have no interest in baseball. Since Vinnie retired, she has refused to watch games with me. 28-man roster The current 28-man roster. Teams are allowed to carry a maximum of 14 pitchers. Rosters will revert to 26 men for the postseason. Pitchers (14) *Tyler Anderson Phil Bickford *Caleb Ferguson *Andrew Heaney Heath Hembree *Clayton Kershaw Craig Kimbrel Chris Martin Dustin May Ryan Pepiot Evan Phillips Blake Treinen *Julio Urías *Alex Vesia *-left-handed Catchers (2) Austin Barnes Will Smith Infielders (7) Hanser Alberto Freddie Freeman Gavin Lux Max Muncy Justin Turner Trea Turner Miguel Vargas Outfielders (5) Cody Bellinger Mookie Betts Joey Gallo Chris Taylor Trayce Thompson Up next Tonight: San Francisco (Logan Webb, 11-8, 2.89 ERA) at Dodgers (*Andrew Heaney, 2-1, 2.12 ERA), 7 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020 Tuesday: San Francisco (TBD) at Dodgers (*Tyler Anderson, 13-3, 2.68 ERA), 7 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020 Wednesday: San Francisco (Alex Cobb, 5-6, 3.58 ERA) at Dodgers (*Clayton Kershaw, 7-3, 2.59 ERA), 1 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020 *-left-handed Stories you might have missed [Once worried his season was over, Blake Treinen calls return to Dodgers a ‘miracle’]( And finally Vin Scully tells some stories about Jackie Robinson. [Watch and listen here](. Until next time... Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at [@latimeshouston](. To get this newsletter in your inbox, [click here](. ADVERTISEMENT Thank you for reading the Los Angeles Times Dodgers Dugout newsletter. Invite your friends, relatives, coworkers to sign up [here](. Not a subscriber? Get unlimited digital access to latimes.com. [Subscribe here](. [Los Angeles Times] Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times 2300 E. Imperial Highway, El Segundo, California, 90245 1-800-LA-TIMES | [latimes.com]( *Advertisers have no control over editorial decisions or content. If you're interested in placing an ad or classified, get in touch [here](. We'd love your feedback on this newsletter. Please send your thoughts and suggestions [here](mailto:newsletters@latimes.com). You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from The Los Angeles Times. 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