Dodgers: Chronicling Walker Buehler’s 16th Start vs. Cardinals

Dodgers Nation will be following Walker Buehler’s starts as he seeks to be the next elite Dodgers pitcher. The Dodgers have a history of dominant players on the mound from Sandy Koufax to Don Drysdale to Clayton Kershaw. As a former first-round pick and a highly touted prospect, Buehler looks to be the next big thing in Los Angeles. All we can do is relax and enjoy the show.

August 22, 2018

Season statistics coming into the game: (6-4, 3.19 ERA)

Season statistics after the game: (6-4, 2.96 ERA)

The Opponent: St. Louis Cardinals

Stadium: Dodger Stadium

Days of Rest: 4

Catcher: Yasmani Grandal

Game Results

Innings Pitched: 7

Earned Runs: 0

Hits: 3

Home Runs: 0

Strikeouts: 9

Walks: 2

Pitch Count: 104

Batters Faced: 25

MLB.com Game Score: 81

History

Walker Buehler entered Wednesday night, coming off four solid performances. He posted a 1.42 ERA over his last 25.1 innings. He won his last start against the Mariners, where he allowed one run and three hits in six innings.

This game was Buehler’s first time facing the Cardinals as he matched up against Jack Flaherty.

Performance

Walker Buehler impressed against the Cardinals, further cementing himself as a frontline starter. He threw the best performance of his career, striking out nine batters in seven scoreless innings. His game score of 81 was the highest of his career. He exited the game with the Dodgers leading 1-0 heading into the eighth inning.

This guy is your No. 2 starter if #Dodgers make the postseason. https://t.co/J4xcVJrvMS

— Michael J. Duarte (@michaeljduarte) August 23, 2018

The Highs

Buehler set a new career high with nine strikeouts. He effectively used his arsenal of pitches to retire Cardinals’ batters on Wednesday night. He threw his offspeed and breaking pitches 40 percent of the time and less than 30 percent of batted balls were considered hard hit.

The Lows

The lows for Buehler come from his teammates more so than his actual personal performance. Despite an impressive year, the Dodgers have won just nine out of 16 of the games that he has started.

On Wednesday, the offense failed to produce behind Buehler, recording just two hits all night. The bullpen blew the game, allowing three runs in the final two innings

Analysis

Buehler has made adjustments and improved his performance with each start. For the fifth consecutive game, he has allowed five hits or fewer, allowed less than three runs and struck out at least six. Although the Dodgers have lost three of his last five starts, Buehler has a 1.11 ERA during that span.