There might come a season, perhaps soon, when the Dodgers put Julio Urias in the starting rotation and leave him there for the entire season.
The Dodgers had scripted this season for their phenom, but the plans were ruined and the team’s hand was forced by an injury-ravaged pitching staff. So there was Urias, the star of the future but the long reliever of the present, warming up in the second inning Saturday and entering the game in the third inning.
He was the winning pitcher Saturday in the Dodgers’ 8-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, throwing 2 2/3 scoreless innings and striking out three.