Teen angst: Dodgers have decision to make on Julio Urias

12:19 AM ET

NEW YORK — Known to be able to swallow a person whole, not even the Los Angeles Dodgers’ brightest young pitcher could escape the wrath of New York.

Julio Urias, at the tender young age of 19, threw 81 pitches in a seemingly forgettable 2 2/3 innings Friday against the New York Mets at Citi Field. A far as major league debuts go … it was one.

Just don’t expect Urias to feel sorry for himself. He knows he still has work to do to get better, but he held his head up high after the game and stressed the positives.

“I will never forget the first strikeout, especially being a batter like [Curtis] Granderson,” Urias said through an interpreter. “I will never forget anything that happened in this game because this is the happiest day of my life.”

Granderson indeed proved his mettle long after Urias had departed with a game-ending home run in the ninth inning, a half-inning after Chase Utley tied the score with a three-run double. The Mets won the opener of a three-game weekend series by a 6-5 count.

Julio Urias appeared to lack command in his big league debut, throwing just 42 strikes in his 81 pitches on Friday night. Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire

The Dodgers were prepared for any and all scenarios when it came to Urias, but they still seemed confident knowing of their pitcher’s poise and maturity, as well as his 27 consecutive scoreless innings at Triple-A Oklahoma City.

But the Mets don’t play in the Pacific Coast League, and Urias has never pitched in a jammed-packed ballpark that looks like a giant five-layer cake from the inside. And at this level, in his first career outing, he was going to have …

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