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Watch live: Dodgers take on Padres in Free Game of the Day

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been yanking their rookie pitcher Julio Urias around a bit this month. At the beginning of September, Urias was starting for the Dodgers. Then, on September 13, manager Dave Roberts said that they’d move Urias to the bullpen after his next start, meaning his start at Yankee Stadium would be his last of the season. But that’s not quite true, since the Dodgers have slotted him back into the rotation on Thursday, 16 days after they moved him to the bullpen.

You can watch Urias make his actual final start of the season when the Dodgers face the San Diego Padres, and you can watch it for free because it’s Yahoo Sports’ MLB Free Game of the Day! You can stream the game on Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index, video home and this very post. First pitch is at 9:10 p.m. ET. Local blackouts apply, per MLB rules.

Of course, the biggest question here is how the Dodgers are going to use him in the rapidly approaching postseason. They’ve already shed a little light on that.

So if the Dodgers don’t sweep the Nationals in three games in the NLDS, they could Urias out for game four. That could make him unavailable out of the bullpen, or they could work bullpen appearances into his practice schedule. But that’s where they might want to be careful, since Urias has been much better as a starter this season than he has been as a reliever. As a starter, Urias has a 3.39 ERA, while he has a 4.70 ERA as a reliever.

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CINCINNATI, OH - AUGUST 21: Julio Urias #7 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on August 21, 2016 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
Julio Urias delivering a pitch with a face that’s sure to become his signature. (Getty Images)

Of course, it’s worth noting that Urias’ experience might have something to do with that. Not only is he a rookie, but he’s had only a few relief appearances in his short career. He’s come into a game as a reliever just three times, and all three times it’s been for long relief. He pitched three relief innings on August 3, 2.2 innings on August 13, and 2 on September 21. So that’s not exactly a representative sample, and it’s probably not representative of how the Dodgers would use him in postseason relief.

We can’t ignore the one thing about Urias as a starter that’s staring us in the face: the length of his starts. At no point has he pitched into the seventh inning this season when he’s started. And that’s by design, as Urias has been on an innings limit of 120-130. He’s already logged 120 between the majors and minor leagues this season, meaning he’s very close to the shutdown point.

They don’t seem to have much of a choice but to use him, though. And Urias’ agent, Scott Boras, has said to the LA Times that he’s comfortable with it.

“We’ve got some innings to play with before it becomes a real concern,” Boras said.

That’s good, but it’s not completely ideal. If they limit him to six innings in a playoff start, that means they need to get three innings from their bullpen. The other option would be to let him pitch deeper into the game, which doesn’t seem wise considering he’s never done that in the majors.

No one knows what the future holds for the Dodgers beyond Sunday. But one thing we do know is that Julio Urias is ready to compete. He has a 1.50 ERA and 26 strikeouts in his last six starts, and he’s grown considerably since his debut in June, both in skill and in confidence. No matter how we see Urias in the postseason, he’s ready to go.

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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher