Walker Buehler made his fifth start of the season for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the series opener against the Colorado Rockies, but came out of it still wanting better results.
Buehler pitched six innings while giving up three earned runs on six hits. It was a very similar result to the last outing he had against the Cincinnati Reds on May 25.
Buehler’s season has been a mixed bag so far as he works his way back from the second Tommy John surgery of his career.
His first two starts of the year were brief as he was pitching for the first time in two seasons, and the rust was clearly visible. He got knocked around a bit, giving up three runs in each start. His third start was one of his best in recent memory as he went six innings, struck out seven batters and allowed just three baserunners.
His next two starts were somewhere in between those two extremes, including Friday night’s game against the Rockies.
Buehler ran into some trouble early as the Rockies loaded the bases with one out in the opening frame, but he struck out the next two batters to escape the first inning unscathed. The right-hander was happy to get through it and be able to provide some length for his club, via Sarah Wexler of MLB.com:
“In terms of like, my body and my arm, to get through anything like that and then being able to kind of stay in it and feel good later in the innings, I think, is good,” said Buehler. “I just wish I was learning all these kinds of lessons I keep talking about and had good efforts or whatever. So if there’s any positive to it, that’s it. But we’ll keep working.”
It was a snapshot of vintage Buehler and it is an indicator that version of himself is hopefully still in there in some capacity.
However, the Rockies came back and did most of their damage in the third inning when they got to him for three runs. Kris Bryant brought home the first run of the game with an RBI single.
To Buehler’s credit, it was a well executed pitch from Buehler on the outside corner where Will Smith was set up. In a 3-2 count, there aren’t many better pitches a pitcher can make in that situation.
The final three runs the Rockies scored were on mistakes from Buehler. Both were breaking balls left hanging in the middle of the zone and the Rockies made him pay for it.
The first was on a single that turned into a triple and scored an extra run because of a misplay from Andy Pages in the outfield. The second turned into a solo home run for Ezequiel Tovar in the fourth inning.
Despite some struggles from Buehler, Roberts was still happy Buehler was able to throw six innings to help preserve the bullpen and liked that he continued to improve as the game went on:
“I thought as the game went on, he got better,” said Roberts. “I thought that the breaking ball was better, the command better, and that he was getting some quick outs. So it was something to see him get through that sixth inning, I just feel that every time he takes the mound, he’s going to get six innings, which is a win in itself.”
All in all, it was an okay start that is pretty reasonable to expect from a pitcher making just his fifth start in two seasons. However, he still wanted to lead the Dodgers to a win, which left him disappointed after the start:
“You want to come home from a road trip and build momentum, and I did kind of the opposite of that,” said Buehler. “So the results are whatever they are, but that’s the most frustrating thing for me.”
A positive takeaway is that Buehler had his strikeout stuff working with seven in this game and the poise he demonstrated in the first inning.
Something to work on is keeping the ball in the yard as surrounding home runs has been as issue this season. It is a small sample size, but Buehler has given up at least one homer in four of his five starts this season.
He also needs to continue to limit walks better after issuing four free passes to the Rockies.
Evan Phillips returns to Dodgers
On Friday, the Dodgers activated Evan Phillips from the injured list and designated Elieser Hernández for assignment in a corresponding move.
Phillips now joins Blake Treinen, Daniel Hudson and Alex Vesia to form a strong back-end in the Dodgers bullpen. Treinen has been excellent ever since his return and provided a strong presence in Phillips’ absence.
With Phillips back in the fold, the Dodgers bullpen is the closest it has been to full strength this season.
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