Bright lights: Urias’ Bronx debut leads MLB.TV slate

When Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made the hotly debated choice to pull Rich Hill after seven perfect innings Saturday night, he did so with more than simply protecting a blister-prone index finger in mind.

Roberts did so with an eye on the future — in particular, October — and the overall well-being of a potential postseason rotation that has several question marks. No one knows how close to 100 percent Clayton Kershaw will be or whether Hill, who despite 19 scoreless innings in a Dodgers uniform has pitched just three times since landing in L.A. six weeks ago, can pitch on the kind of short-rest schedule required in the playoffs. We also don’t know how rookie Kenta Maeda, by far the team’s most consistent pitcher in the second half, will handle the butterflies of his first MLB postseason.

With all the speculation about a potential Division Series rotation, the Dodgers can’t forget about the never-say-die Giants, who despite their struggles still sit four games behind Los Angeles in the NL West. L.A. still needs to win now, in September, which means the Dodgers still need to find starting pitching when Kershaw, Hill and Maeda aren’t on the mound.

That’s where 20-year old Julio Urias comes in. The Dodgers front office intended to send Urias back down to the minors and lessen his workload a few weeks ago. But with constant injuries to veterans like Scott Kazmir and Bud Norris, Urias has simply pitched too well to be shipped away. The precocious lefty hasn’t lost since June and went 4-0 with a 1.99 ERA in August, submitting his best audition to become the fourth member of Los Angeles’ October rotation.

Urias’ next test comes under the bright lights of Yankee Stadium against a team hungry to close the gap in the AL East. But that’s not the only matchup to keep an eye on amid a night where 10 playoff hopefuls continue their head-to-head series.

There’s only one place to keep track of all the September action: MLB.TV

MLB.TV Premium has returned with the same features as last year, and is only $9.99 for the rest of the season. This package has the best value and provides access to more than 400 devices and a free subscription to the MLB.com At Bat Premium app (a $19.99 value). It offers the best picture quality ever — a new 60 frames per second — for supported devices.

Here’s what to watch for today in the Majors (all times ET):

Urias, CC take ball for Game 2: LAD@NYY, 7:05 p.m. Tuesday night’s battle in the Bronx features a battle of young against old as Urias takes on 36-year old CC Sabathia. The long ball has plagued New York’s veteran southpaw of late, as three solo homers by the Rays chased Sabathia after just four innings in his last outing.

Sabathia has not pitched against the Dodgers since June 25, 2010, and it’s likely that Los Angeles will not start a single position player tonight who was in the lineup that day six years ago. Urias, meanwhile, has held hitters to a .247 average and not allowed a homer over his last five appearances.

Stat that matters: Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager enters today with 177 hits, just one shy of Washington’s Daniel Murphy for the most in the National League. Seager is vying to become just the second player age 22 or younger to lead the NL in hits since the mound was lowered in 1969, following then-Cub Starlin Castro in 2011.

Pomeranz proving his worth: BAL@BOS, 7:10 p.m. The Red Sox put more distance between themselves and the Orioles in Monday’s series …

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