Chicago Cubs rough up LA Dodgers rookie Julio Urias in 7-2 win

CHICAGO >> Throwing to a new catcher didn’t matter. Wearing a new number on the back of his jersey didn’t matter. A different media market in a different time zone, even the absence of his family in the bleachers -- nothing Thursday could alter the fact that Julio Urias is simply not ready to be a major league pitcher.

The cold truth played out on a warm day before 37,422 at Wrigley Field, as the Dodgers lost 7-2 to the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs improved on baseball’s best record by winning three of four games in the series, while the Dodgers fell to 3-4 on a seven-game trip through New York and Chicago, and 28-26 on the season.

For the Dodgers, the decision to give Urias a second chance six days after the New York Mets seized upon the rookie in his debut was a bit of a catch-22. Only 19 years old, Urias copped to being nervous the first time out, which is understandable. The only way anyone could know whether Urias would be able to rebound in his second start was to give him a second start.

Things went south on the North Side rather quickly. In the second inning the Cubs used a walk, a couple soft-contact singles, and an error in the outfield to score two runs. Only one was eaed.

In the fourth inning, Javier Baez hit a two-run home run to extend the Cubs’ lead. Jason Heyward and Kris Bryant hit home runs on consecutive pitches off Urias in the fifth inning.

By the time the inning was over, the Dodgers trailed 6-1 and Urias was in line for his first major league loss. He was charged with five eaed runs on eight hits, bringing his eaed-run average to 9.39.

Urias is the consensus top pitching prospect in all of baseball. The Dodgers had little choice but to promote him after Urias threw 27 consecutive scoreless innings at Triple-A, then lost left-hander Alex Wood to an elbow injury earlier in the week.

Wood will miss at least one month, meaning Urias might be called upon for another start in five days.

Neither Urias, nor any of the Dodgers’ starting pitchers, benefitted from a bevy of offense in Chicago.

The Dodgers collected only three hits in the game, including a solo home run by Trayce Thompson off starter Kyle Hendricks (4-4) in the fifth inning. Corey Seager’s sacrifice fly in the sixth inning drove in Kiké Heandez with the Dodgers’ second run.

The Dodgers fell 5 1/2 games behind the San Francisco Giants, who beat the Atlanta Braves earlier Thursday. That is the Dodgers’ largest deficit in the standings since the season began.

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The Braves visit Los Angeles for a three-game series beginning Friday.

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