Exasperated Dodgers Pitcher Walker Buehler: ‘I Feel Like I Can Actually Perform Now’
Going up against a team with the worst batting average in MLB in his last start — the Seattle Mariners — Walker Buehler gave up seven hits, three earned runs, and three walks while managing just one strikeout in 4.0 innings.
Buehler and the Los Angeles Dodgers were still able to get a 6-3 win on Tuesday, but more so because the Dodgers relievers gave up just one hit and zero earned runs after Buehler left the game.
In his second game back after spending nearly two months on the injured list with a hip injury, Buehler pitched much like he has all season. The two-time All-Star has simply not looked the same since coming back from a second Tommy John surgery earlier this season. His next start will likely fall Tuesday against Baltimore.
Buehler has given up at least three earned runs in eight of his 10 starts this season, even while pitching less than 5.0 innings in more than half of his starts this season. He is just 1-4, with a 6.09 ERA.
Even with his subpar performances this season, Buehler felt “closer” to his potential in this start than he has in previous ones through the season.
“I’m so tired of saying that I feel closer, but … that’s as close as I’ve felt to the me of old as I’ve felt this year,” Buehler said, via The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya. “I’ve been saying this, but I gotta perform and gotta perform, but I feel like I can actually perform now.”
“It’s not gonna be easy for me and I’m not going to go down lightly,” Buehler said. “I feel like I can compete in the major leagues and compete in big games the way I felt today. Now, it’s kind of honing that in.”
At the moment, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged the team doesn’t have alternatives, particularly with Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the IL, and River Ryan and Dustin May out for the season. The Dodgers even have had to bring up Bobby Miller to the rotation. Prior to allowing three runs in six innings Friday against Tampa Bay, Miller was 1-3 with an 8.02 ERA.
Still, the Dodgers are hopeful to get Glasnow and Yamamoto back by the end of the regular season, which means Buehler won’t have long to make good on his improvements.
Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Have you subscribed to our YouTube Channel yet? Subscribe and hit that notification bell to stay up to date on all the latest Dodgers news, rumors, interviews, live streams, and more!
