Walker Buehler went six innings in each of his first three starts this season, which was a welcomed change for the right-hander as he often had still be building up at the beginning of each campaign because of being slow played during Spring Training.
However, Buehler lacked his usual velocity and only managed four strikeouts in each of the three outings. He was aware of both issues and expected to see improvements in the near future. That came Thursday night as Buehler set season highs with seven innings pitched and nine strikeouts.
“I just thought the fastball was better. I think that was more like myself or what I’ve done in the past. We’ll just keep building on that,” he said after the Dodgers’ 3-2 loss to the San Diego Padres.
Part of Buehler’s fastball being more effective was a byproduct of making adjustments to his mechanics during a between-starts bullpen session. “Just trying to use my legs a little better, land a little firmer,” Buehler explained.
“Seemed to be coming out a little bit better today, so I think we’re on the right train with that. … When you land better you create more leverage and I’m able to get the hand moving a little bit faster and a little bit cleaner.”
Heading into the outing, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts noted that he believed Buehler’s delivery was allowing for batters to get a better look at the pitch coming out of his hand. Buehler felt his fastball seeing an uptick in swing and miss stemmed from ironing out the kinks.
“I think it’s more of a result of the mechanical stuff,” he said. “I think direction is a big thing and using whatever force you can produce from your legs efficiently, I think is a big deal in getting that lined up and sequenced a little bit better.
“I just kind of think they go hand in hand for me.”
Buehler not surprised by Dodgers, Padres
Each four meetings between the Dodgers and Padres so far this season has been closely contested, with one going into extras. San Diego is currently in third place in the National League West, but most consider them the Dodgers’ biggest threat.
“I think we’ve talked about it plenty, about us two. To be honest with you, we’re both really talented teams that know how to play good baseball,” Buehler said. “You’ve got to assume there’s going to be a few nail-biters in there. We’ll come back and try to play good baseball [Friday].”
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