Dodgers option Urias back to Triple-A OKC

A day after Julio Urias failed to make it out of the third inning in his Major League debut, the Dodgers' top prospect is heading back to the Pacific Coast League

Los Angeles optioned the 19-year-old left-hander to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday and purchased the contract of 32-year-old right-hander Casey Fien.

Urias, MLB.com's No. 2 overall prospect, gave up three runs on five hits and four walks while striking out three over 2 2/3 innings in his much-anticipated first big league start on Friday, throwing 36 pitches in the opening frame against the Mets at Citi Field.

"I'm not going to lie, when I went out there, I started thinking of everything I've had to go through to get here," Urias told reporters following the Dodgers' 6-5 loss. "But when I was on the mound, I was able to settle down, be a little more comfortable. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get the results we wanted."

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that club officials would meet on Saturday to determine the next step for Urias, who's never thrown more than 87 2/3 innings in any season in his career. He'd already tossed 41 prior to his promotion, posting a 4-1 record and a 1.10 ERA while striking out 44 over eight games, seven starts. MLB.com has reported that the team will likely allow him to throw as many as 125 innings on the season.

" ... There's nothing set in stone. When he hits the limit -- whatever that limit is going to be -- there are several factors that go into that number, and it's being constantly reassessed," Dodgers pitching coordinator Rick Knapp told MiLB.com before Urias' debut.

"We're not going to put him in harm's way in any stretch. Whether it's using a hard pitch count or whatever, we're not going to do anything foolish, and we're not going to ask him to do anything he hasn't already done. I'm not necessarily in control of any of that. There was the Minor League perception of how to use him, but they're going to be constantly going over what's best for him and basing their plans off that."

Urias admitted to feeling more challenged by the Mets lineup than he had been by hitters in the PCL.

"There was a big difference," he said. "They were looking for specific pitches, and sometimes I tried to fool them and I wasn't able to. Today, it didn't work out, but I'm going to continue to work hard and try to get results."