Skip to content

Urias calls debut happiest day of his life

Al Bello / Getty Images Sport / Getty

It wasn't the result he wanted, to be sure, but Julio Urias won't ever forget what happened Friday night in New York.

The 19-year-old phenom's much-anticipated and much-hyped major-league debut was a rough one, as he only lasted 2 2/3 innings while allowing three runs on 81 pitches - nine shy of his 90-pitch limit - in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 6-5 loss to the Mets. Box score aside, though, Urias was beaming after the game.

"I will never forget everything that happened in this game, because this is the happiest day of my life," Urias told reporters after the game.

Though his stay on the mound was brief, Urias showed flashes of his immense promise, most notably when he froze leadoff hitter Curtis Granderson on a 94 mph fastball for his first big-league strikeout. After that, though, the Mets caught up to the youngster, who quickly found out the big leagues aren't quite like Triple-A, where he'd been working on a 27-inning shutout streak before getting called up.

"Sometimes I tried to fool them," Urias said of his plan on the mound. "And I wasn't able to."

Related - Watch: Teenage sensation Urias Ks 1st batter

His manager, Dave Roberts, gave the Mets credit for their plan to attack Urias. Knowing he was on a firm pitch count, Mets hitters were patient and selective. As a result, Urias was forced to throw over three pitches to all but five of the 17 batters he faced.

"They had a plan, to run the count and go deep and see pitches," Roberts said. "Forcing a young pitcher to continue to make pitches and repeat."

Still, for the Urias family, Friday was an evening they'll cherish forever. Julio's parents and siblings flew overnight from their home in Culiacan, Mexico to witness his debut in person, and they couldn't have been prouder.

"At home and on the field, we have raised him to be a good boy, a good man," his father, Carlos Alberto Urias, told Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com before Friday's game. "He was around 13 or 14 when I started noticing the big changes in his ability and we also started thinking about big things for him. This was his dream, but we are enjoying it, too."

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox