Despite Walker Buehler dealing with a blister on his right index finger, the Los Angeles Dodgers entrusted him to start their first postseason game for a second consecutive year. He navigated four innings, then was back on the mound for Game 1 of the National League Division Series.
Buehler again was limited to just four innings, and while he only allowed one run, the San Diego Padres made it a laborious outing. He issued four walks, with three of those coming in the second inning to allow the Padres to load the bases with one out.
Buehler struck out Jurickson Profar but then fell behind 3-0 to Trent Grishamn. He uncorked three consecutive fastballs to get another strikeout and keep the game knotted in a scoreless tie at the time.
“That felt like Atlanta to me, and I’m sure it did to everyone watching the game,” Buehler said, referencing a rocky start against the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the 2018 NLDS that saw him allow a grand slam and five runs in five innings.
“Moments will speed up and things like that, and luckily I feel like I’d been there and failed before and kind of learned from that. I got lucky, made some pitches and got out of it.”
While Buehler was credited by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Justin Turner for gutting through the start, he shifted credit to those who followed him.
“It’s hard to fathom what Dustin May, Victor, Treinen and then Kenley did. To come out and shut them down like that is a testament to what we do here,” Buehler said. “I’ve got a lot of pride being a part of this.”
The 26-year-old ultimately proved to be effectively wild, but most important health and his blister were non-issues. “Physically, I felt great. I think the ball was coming out of my hand well. I just missed a lot with it,” Buehler noted.
“I’d rather feel really, really good and move forward positively. It is what it is. … Sometimes you miss a bunch of times in the same spot and you don’t know why. You want to figure it out quicker than you did, but at the end of the day we won the game and that’s all I really care about.”
May remains available for Game 3
Dustin May was first out of the bullpen on Tuesday night, following Buehler with two perfect innings. The relief appearance was essentially treated as bullpen session between starts.
“To have Walker going, not knowing how long he’s going to go, but then with Clayton going [Wednesday], the idea was for Dustin to take on a run tonight, to have him available for (Game) 3,” Roberts explained.
“We’ll figure out if it’s a start or coming out of the ‘pen.”
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