Urena, Marlins shut down Dodgers
MIAMI -- Jose Urena pitched 8 2/3 scoreless innings to lead the Miami Marlins to a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday afternoon at Marlins Park.
Urena, who threw 108 pitches, was lifted after Josh Reddick slapped a two-out, opposite-field single in the ninth. A.J. Ramos got the final out on the only batter he faced for his 34th save of the season.
The Marlins (71-72), who have been projected to have just a 0.8 percent chance to make the playoffs this year, took two out of three games from the Dodgers (80-62), who lead the NL West.
Urena (4-6), who had a perfect game until Joc Pederson singled with two outs in the fifth, had never pitched longer than 6 2/3 innings prior to Sunday.
A second-year major-leaguer, Urena allowed just the four singles and no walks. He struck out four and lowered his ERA from 5.54 to 4.89.
Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda (14-9), considered the top rookie pitcher in the NL this year, took the loss. He went six innings and allowed eight hits, one walk and three runs, two earned. He struck out three.
Despite the loss, Maeda still has one more win than Fernando Valenzuela did when the ex-Dodgers great won Rookie of the Year in 1981.
Maeda, though, got in trouble in the fourth inning, when he allowed two runs on five singles. The Marlins got an opposite-field, run-scoring single by Christian Yelich and a sacrifice fly by Justin Bour. And they could have done more damage, leaving the bases loaded on a fly out by Adeiny Hechavarria.
The Marlins made it 3-0 in the sixth. Martin Prado hit a leadoff single. The Dodgers then made two errors on the same play to allow Prado to score from first on a Yelich single. Right fielder Reddick booted the hit on the bounce, and shortstop Corey Seager misfired on his relay to third.
NOTES: Marlins RHP A.J. Ramos said the fractured knuckle on the middle finger of his pitching hand is still not feeling right, although he continues to pitch. Since he got hurt in early August, Ramos has a 6.28 ERA in 15 appearances. Before the injury, he had a 2.03 ERA and 31 saves in 32 chances, earning an All-Star berth. ... Only one L.A. Dodgers rookie has won more games than RHP Kenta Maeda. The record is 17 by Rick Sutcliffe in1979. ... With his 25th homer on Saturday, Dodgers rookie SS Corey Seager set a family-type record. Corey and Seattle Mariners 3B Kyle Seager (28 homers) are the first brothers to hit at least 25 long balls each in the same season. ... The Dodgers will open a three-game series at the New York Yankees on Monday. ... Miami will open a three-game series at the Atlanta Braves on Monday.