CINCINNATI — Jose Urena is hoping for a better start on Friday against the Reds in Cincinnati than his last appearance at Great American Ball Park.
The Miami Marlins right-hander, the scheduled starter in the opener of a three-game series and the first game of a six-game road trip, can’t do much worse than his start on Aug. 16 of last season.
Urena (7-4), in his only career appearance against the Reds, got the first two batters before giving up five runs, four on Cincinnati catcher Tucker Barnhart’s only career grand-slam. Urena regrouped to turn in five shutout innings, but the deficit was too much to overcome as Miami was hung with a 6-3 loss.