Mookie Betts, Julio Urías lead Dodgers doubleheader sweep of Marlins

LOS ANGELES — Mookie Betts homered twice and Julio Urías pitched seven strong innings in the Dodgers’ star-studded 3-1 win over the Marlins on Saturday night, finishing off a doubleheader sweep of the Marlins at Dodger Stadium.

Betts, who broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run single to provide the winning margin in Saturday’s first game, homered to break a 1-1 tie in the third inning in the nightcap. Then, he added another home run in the fifth.

Betts’ fifth multi-homer game of the season gave him 34 on the season, only one shy of his career high, with 39 games remaining on the Dodgers’ schedule. In August, Betts is hitting .408/.473/.789 with seven home runs, 18 RBI, and 20 runs scored in 17 games.

LeBron James was at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night. There was a bobblehead giveaway featuring him in a Dodgers basketball jersey and Lakers crown, and the team donated $100,000 to the LeBron James Family Foundation.

Sitting in a suite on the first base side on the club level, James was in perfect view of Betts each time as he rounded third base on his home runs. Both times, Betts saluted James, and James saluted back, a call and response of two players who have reached rarefied air in their respective sports.

“I think that was intentional,” manager Dave Roberts joked. “Hitting a baseball is hard, but I just think Mookie had another gear tonight, to show out. We’re all the beneficiaries.”

“It was nice for him to come out to the game, to stay and support us. It was a thank you, and shout out to him,” Betts said. “He’s just a normal dude. He’s just a friend of mine that has a different job. It just happens to be LeBron.”

Urías lasted seven innings for a second start in a row, limiting the Marlins to just five hits in and no walks, with five strikeouts.

“He was awesome. You could just feel the energy, and he responded,” Roberts said. “City connect jerseys, LeBron was in the house, the crowd was really energetic. And he just fed off of it.”

Since his eight-run blow-up outing in Baltimore on July 19, Urías has a 2.03 ERA in five starts, with 32 strikeouts against only four walks in 31 innings.

Josh Bell homered off Urías, well up the pavilion in left field, for the game’s first run, the third time in three games in this weekend series the Marlins have scored first. The Dodgers have trailed in four of their six games this week, but won three of them, including both games on Saturday.

Bell’s homer was the only run scored against Urías.

Against southpaw Braxton Garrett, the Dodgers comeback was started by the two hitters they acquired primarily to punish left-handed pitching. Amed Rosario doubled to open the second inning, snapping an 0-for-12 skid that stretched back to last Sunday. Two outs later, Kiké Hernández singled him home.

Hernández started at third base in the nightcap on Saturday after playing shortstop in the opener. He’s started multiple games at five different positions in three and a half weeks since returning to the Dodgers, a span of only 23 team games. It’s like he never left.

In a two-run game in the seventh, the Marlins had their next best chance to score off Urías, with a two-out double by Avisail Garcia putting the tying runners in scoring position. But Urías coaxed a flyout by Nick Fortes to end the threat, and his night.

Urías threw 100 pitches on the nose Saturday, just the sixth time in his career he’s reached triple digits in pitches. He also did so on July 23 with a career-high 104 pitches.

Saturday Game 2 particulars

Home runs: Mookie Betts 2 (34); Josh Bell (17)

WP — Julio Urías (11-6): 7 IP, 5 hits, 1 run, 5 strikeouts

LP — Braxton Garrett (7-4): 6 IP, 5 hits, 3 runs, 6 strikeouts

Sv — Brusdar Graterol (6): 1 IP, 2 hits

Up next

Because of the weather-induced rescheduling, the Dodgers have the next two days off before starting a six-game road trip. Up first are the Guardians in Cleveland. Bobby Miller starts the series opener Tuesday night (4:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA), facing old friend Noah Syndergaard.