TORONTO -- For the first time since Felix Hernandez more than 10 years ago, a major-league team started a teenager on the mound Friday when the Los Angeles Dodgers unveiled phenom Julio Urias.

Urias has pitched more than 250 professional innings since he debuted as a 16-year-old in the Single-A Midwest League, a league at which the average hitter was five years his senior. He had a 1.10 ERA in 41 innings pitched as a 19-year-old at Triple-A Oklahoma City when the Dodgers recalled him to pitch against the reigning National League champion New York Mets.

Much of the talk surrounding Urias, beyond his remarkable ability, is how the Dodgers plan to manage him for the rest of this season. He pitched 80 1/3 innings last season, a total that suggests he’s not likely to go beyond perhaps 110 innings this season -- especially at a time when pitchers’ arms are increasingly value and pitchers’ usage is increasingly monitored.

Dave Dombrowski and the Red Sox have a teenage phenom of their own in Anderson Espinoza, an 18-year-old who has made nine starts at Single-A Greenville this season. Espinoza pitched almost 60 innings last season, mostly at Boston’s Gulf Coast League affiliate, and has already pitched 39 2/3 innings this season. He’s not going to get to the major leagues this season -- but he also might not be too far off.

“There’s much more concern for number of pitches and innings pitched than a guy who’s older,” Dombrowski said. “When you’re 22, you’re still young, so you still watch a guy at that point, up until you’re about 24 or 25. You just haven’t had a chance to build up the number of pitches, the number of innings pitched. That’s really more the challenge -- making sure you continue to progress the player.”

Espinoza pitched a season-high six innings his last time out, an outing made possible by the mere two baserunners he allowed. He threw 67 pitches, more than 10 shy of the ceiling he’d set earlier in the season.

Urias joins the Dodgers having pitched six innings in three of his previous four starts and having peaked at 82 pitches in a game. He’s not likely to be permitted to throw even close to 100 pitches anytime soon, especially under the stressful conditions of the major leagues.

If all goes well with Espinoza, he might not be too much older than Urias is now when the Red Sox venture into similar territory.

“Big-league innings are more high-pressure, high-stress,” Dombrowski said. “Now, how many innings is one versus the other? I don’t have an equation on that, but I do think you have to be aware of it.”

Night off for Ortiz

David Ortiz has hit more home runs at Rogers Centre than any ballpark in baseball except Fenway Park -- more even than at the since-demolished Metrodome, where he played his home games for parts of six seasons.

But Ortiz still was on the bench for the Red Sox on Friday night, the first game he'd missed since May 15 but his second day off this week, thanks to the scheduled off-day on Monday.

Playing in what he has said is his final season, Ortiz has 12 home runs and 22 doubles -- putting him on pace for more than 40 home runs and what would be a record-setting 74 doubles.

"All things considered, he's still 40 years old," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "We've got to take care of the days when, physically, it's recommended. We're in one of those days right now. There's a number of factors that go into this decision. Preserving his health through the remainder of the year is primary."

Jackie Bradley Jr. returns

One day after his 29-game hitting streak ended with an 0-for-4 out of the leadoff spot in the order, Jackie Bradley Jr. was back in the bottom half of the Red Sox lineup on Friday.

Farrell had a gleam in his eye when asked how he felt Bradley handled the attention that came with the hitting streak.

"He did a great job of keep things at arm's length, keeping things in stride," Farrell said. "I thought in two at-bats (Thursday) night it was going to be extended with the way he squared some pitches up."

Bradley entered play Friday hitting .341 with a .408 on-base percentage and a .610 slugging percentage.

Xander Bogaerts kept his own hitting streak alive Thursday and then again Friday, extending it to 20 games with a fourth-inning single.