Inside the interview room at Dodger Stadium, Walker Buhler seemed conflicted.
“I wish it had been better,” Buehler said.
In the corridor outside, the surgeon who repaired the elbow twice was beaming.
From a medical point of view, the team doctor Neal El Attrache said Buehler’s return to the mound Monday night was a resounding triumph.
So what if Buehler worked hard during the first two innings of the Dodgers 6-3 win over Miami Marlins?
See more information: Walker Buehler shows some rust but overcomes it in his return to the Dodgers
So what if the former All-Star was charged with three earned runs?
So what if his high pitch count forced him out of the game after just four innings?
“What he showed today is that he has full functional performance in the elbow,” ElAttrache said.
ElAttrache, who has operated on everyone from Kobe Bryant to Tom Brady, pointed out how an excited Buehler threw a fastball in the first inning that was clocked at 157.6 mph.
Manager David Roberts said before the game that he didn’t expect Buehler to hit 96-97 mph in his first major league game in 23 months, but the former All-Star threw 13 pitches that produced readings of 96 mph or faster.
“I think tonight proved to him that he’s there when he needs him,” ElAttrache said.
ElAttrache was further encouraged by the way Buehler pitched in the third and fourth innings, in which he eliminated the Marlins.
“The shape of some of his balls was devastating, falling from north to south,” ElAttrache said. “It shows that the tendon is healthy because you need that healthy tendon to rotate it like that.”
ElAttrache said those two innings offered a glimpse into how effective Buehler could be again.
Throwing fastballs in the 94-95 mph range.
Mixing up his curveball, slider and changeup.
Occasionally going back and delivering a 97 or 98 mph heater.
“Once he settled in,” ElAttrache said, “he threw a lot of really quality pitches.”
It should be noted that Buehler was playing against the Marlins, not the Philadelphia Phillies or Atlanta Braves.
Even in a league where some teams are projected to lose, the Marlins stand out for being terrible. They were 15 and a half games out of first place after Monday night’s loss, the largest deficit of any team in the major leagues.
Still, ElAttrache was optimistic.
A few months after Buehler was sidelined for the 2022 season, ElAttrache had his ulnar collateral ligament replaced, which he had repaired seven years earlier. He also operated on the deep flexor and pronator tendons and removed a calcium deposit in the elbow.
Simply returning to the major leagues was a significant milestone. But ElAttrache was hopeful he could be more than just another pitcher. Buehler was too.
This is no small feat for the Dodger.
Buehler rediscovering his All-Star form and complementing Tyler Glasnow at the top of the rotation would solidify the Dodgers’ status as World Series favorites.
Buehler’s stumble would leave the team exposed if the injury-prone Glasnow fell again or Yoshinobu Yamamoto fatigue in the final stages of the season.
“I just want to win,” Buehler said. “For me, it has always been [about] being a guy that 25 other guys want to have the ball when we need to win a game.”
See more information: ‘Property of the Game’: Former Dodgers Ace Walker Buehler Is Ready to Return
The right-hander praised Glasnow and Yamamoto. He said he was looking forward to the break Clayton Kershaw It is Bobby Miller returning to rotation.
“There are a lot of good things that come from the talent we have, how close we are and how we encourage each other,” he said. “I’m excited about it and I just want to be a cog in it. I don’t think I’ll be number 1 now [starter] on our team, and that’s fine with me. But I would like to get closer to that conversation.”
Monday night was the first step.
The next one will be on Sunday. The Dodgers will close out a three-game series against the second-place San Diego Padres at Petco Park and Buehler is scheduled to be on the mound.
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This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.
