Trayce Thompson and Julio Urias Earn Time in Dodgers Lineup

The most recent chapter of the youth movement at Chavez Ravine came with a slight twist, as one of the players who is more established on the Los Angeles Dodgers helped set the stage for the youngsters.

Justin Turner thus far has not been a disruptive force of the past, due in part to knee surgery during the offseason, but his three-run shot helped pitcher Julio Urias get comfortable in his first start at home and set the stage for more late inning heroics by Trayce Thompson.

Urias attracted many of the 40,000 or more spectators who came to the game on Tuesday. They did not go home disappointed, except for a short outing by Urias of just four innings that included 7 strikeouts.

Thompson however was the player who sent the Dodgers fans home with big smiles on their faces with a walk-off home run during the ninth inning, which gave the Dodgers a 4-3 win.

It was Thompson’s 10th homer of the season and his second walk off round tripper already this season. He ended a game on May 10 with the home run against the Mets.

Immediately following the game, Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts announced that Urias would start next week again, when the team plays at Arizona.

Thompson, Roberts did not come out and say, but the emerging force on offense is sure to be somewhere on Wednesday in the outfield versus Colorado.

Urias continued to have some issues on Tuesday, as he made too many pitches to batters and was not able to put them away early.

However, he is progressing steadily since his difficult debut against the Mets in New York. The signs are starting to emerge that one day this youngster will dominate hitters.

If Urias starts next Monday at Arizona, it will be against the former Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke, who signed a free agent deal with the Diamondbacks during the offseason.

Los Angeles is not worried or interested about how Urias fares head to head with Greinke only how the southpaw youngster is able to handle the hitters for Arizona.

Roberts started to believe in Thompson early in spring training, even when the youngster was struggling. He gave Thompson ample opportunity to prove himself during spring training then took him to opening day.

Thus far, the faith Roberts had has been rewarded and Tuesday night’s walk off home run was just another example.