NEW YORK (AP) – Julio Urias took the mound at Citi Field, becoming the first teenage starting pitcher in the major leagues since Seattle’s Felix Hernandez in 2005.
“I’m not going to lie. When I went out there, I started thinking of everything I had to go through to get here,” he said hours later, speaking through a translator.
His major league debut lasted just 59 minutes. Urias gave up three runs in the first and was removed after 2 2/3 innings in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 6-5 loss to the New York Mets on Friday night.
“I will never forget everything that happened in this game because this is the happiest day of my life,” he said.
The 19-year-old left-hander, regarded among baseball’s top prospects, struggled with his control and the strike zone of plate umpire Dan Bellino. He threw 81 pitches to 17 batters, just 42 strikes, and started 13 of 17 batters with balls, including his opening five and nine of his first 10,