Price makes Dodger debut, Urías makes 2020 spring debut
By: Rowan Kavner
Tags: Notebook, Spring Training, Dodgers, David Price, MLB

(Campbell Dunn/MLB.com)

by Rowan Kavner

Facing opposing hitters in a game for the first time in six months, and doing so for the first time ever in a Dodger uniform, David Price felt feeling in his fingers and some shaking in his legs Monday afternoon.

The latter feeling was a result of normal adrenaline getting back on the mound in a game for his first spring start in Goodyear, Arizona. The former feeling is a relatively new one for Price, who allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three batters in his Dodger debut. It was his first time pitching in a game since wrist surgery last September that addressed a circulation issue he’s dealt with dating back years.

“If you love what you do, you’re going to have nerves,” Price said. “I definitely had them out there today. It was fun. I definitely enjoyed it, getting back out there. I wasn’t missing by much. For the first time, I’m OK with it.”

Price said this spring he can tell how much different his pitching hand feels after the surgery — not just on the mound but in everyday activities as well. His left hand has gone from pale and cold with little feeling to warm with full blood flow.

That’s a different feeling for him, but one he welcomes and believes will help him in 2020. For years, that lack of feeling in his hand made pitching tougher than it already is. But for so long, that was his normal.

“It wasn’t something I put a whole lot of thought to or anything of that nature, it was just something I dealt with for a long time and learned to manage with it,” Price said. “I like pitching like this.”

A new uniform and a warmer hand won’t be the only differences for Price this year. He’s also pitching exclusively out of the stretch in 2020, noting that he has a better feel there than from the wind-up. He felt compelled to make the switch after his second live batting practice of the spring.

“It’s something I’ve done before in my career, whether it be for a month or two or almost a full year when I was in Boston,” Price said. “I can disrupt timing better with the slide step or the full leg lift. It allows me to have more weapons.”

Monday was Price’s first time pitching in a Cactus League game in Arizona in his 12-year career. Despite allowing two runs in his debut, he said he feels good with where he’s at.

He said his fastball and cutter felt good and the changeup had the action that he liked. He’ll work on throwing more strikes his next time out.

“I command the zone pretty well with all of my pitches,” Price said. “That’s something I need to get back to doing.”

Manager Dave Roberts trusts that will get back quickly for Price after some misses Monday.

“I thought the ball was still coming out good,” Roberts said. “Just to kind of get him out there, first outing, David’s going to be fine.”

Urías’ Debut

Like Price, Julio Urías also made his spring debut Monday. And, similarly, some near misses led to two runs scoring (both unearned).

Urías is expected to be part of the Dodger rotation to start the year, but he came out of the bullpen in his 2020 Cactus League debut.

“A little bit of command issues,” Urías said through an interpreter. “The fastball was kind of running a little bit, it was cutting a little bit, and there were some other balls I thought were strikes but the umpire didn’t agree with me.”

Urías said he’s been working on his mechanics and is feeling healthy. He was limited to 2/3 of an inning before he was pulled for pitch count reasons, and he threw more afterward in the bullpen.

“I felt good,” Urías said. “I felt really good. I was actually talking to the trainer right now about how good I felt, but it just wasn’t my outing. I’ve got to wait for the next one.”

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