Dodgers: Walker Buehler is Not Happy With His Fastball This Year

The Dodgers got the 4-game sweep over the Diamondbacks, that’s the important part. The bats put up a handful of runs in the 4th inning and that was all they would need to roll past Arizona again on Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles. 

But it was a sort of odd outing for Walker Buehler again. The Dodgers ace For the third time this month, Buehler was only able to go 5 innings in his outing. It was the sixth time this year that he has failed to make it past the 6th inning. 

Part of that can be attributed to control. Buehler has thrown over 90 pitches in 3 of his 4 outings this month. Of those 3, he pitches past the 5th inning on just one occasion. After the win, the Dodgers hurler talked about his fastball and not quite having a feel for it yet this season. 

“I think velocity is one thing, and movement is the other, and trying to get it to move a little later, move a little more, throw a little faster, I think is always the thing. But today’s kind of one of those grimy days and you got the guy with the big orange beard to hit a homer and get us a sweep.”

This year is much different for Buehler with his heater. Opposing hitters are posting a .365 batting average, way up from the .202 mark that he put up in 2021. The Dodgers know how important that pitch is for him, and getting it dialed in has to be a priority at this point. 

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For the moment, Walker’s strikeout rate is also down to a career-low. He’s punching out just 7.5 batters per 9 innings, down from his 9.7 career average. But the season is still relatively long, and Buehler has at least 20 more starts to get things locked in. And if there is anyone that can find it, it’s him. 

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