Dodgers Pitcher Walker Buehler Reflects on Birthday Game vs. Nats

In a much anticipated match up of aces, the crowd in Washington D.C. were treated to a duel between their own Stephen Strasburg and the Dodgers young flamethrower, Walker Buehler, who was coincidentally celebrating his 25th birthday.

Strasburg set the pace by throwing four perfect innings of baseball as Dodger batters went down one after another. Once known for his over-powering fastballs, Strasburg has evolved into a more balanced pitcher combining breaking balls and changeups into his pitching strategy.

Hear from @buehlersdayoff following his outing against the #Nationals. pic.twitter.com/R7vEFCoSqa

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) July 28, 2019

In the top of the 5th, the Dodgers were able to get some offense going by putting up a run, but in the bottom of the same inning, Walker gave up 3 runs of his own and that opened up the offense for the rest of the day.

“I threw some good cutters and some decent sliders but the fastball, just didn’t execute enough.”

There were moments of frustration for Buehler and he started criticizing the home plate umpire, Jeremie Rehak, even after he witnessed quick ejections in the first inning of Adam Eaton and manager, Davey Martinez.

“Got myself in bad counts and made some pitches that caught too much of the plate.”

If anything, Buehler was able to watch Strasburg pitch and as Orel Hershiser commented in the broadcast, Strasburg is a pretty comp for Buehler to look at as he evolves into a even more dominant ace in this game.

At 25 and in his second year as a major leaguer, the emotions are definitely still running high, but as most older people will tell you, the experience of learning from your mistakes is priceless. Let’s just hope Walker learns faster than everyone else.

h/t: SportsNetLA.com