His first two games back from second Tommy John surgery were a little shaky, but Walker Buhlerthe notoriously picky right-hander who can be as hard on himself as any major league player, didn’t appear to be getting overly impatient or frustrated with his performance, at least in the eyes of his manager.
“Takes time,” Dodger manager David Roberts said of Buehler, the former ace who spent nearly 23 months between big league starts before his May 6 return. “What his ceiling is, we’ll find out, but going back to 2019 or 2020 Walker… I think he understands it’s going to be a process.”
That process was greatly accelerated on Saturday night when Buehler gave up just three hits in six scoreless innings, struck out seven and walked none in a 4-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds before a crowd of 49,239 at Dodger Stadium.
Roberts said before the game that Buehler, who was tagged for six earned runs and 11 hits, including three home runs, in 7 ⅓ innings of his first two starts against Miami and San Diego, needed to improve his command of all his pitches.
Buehler threw 55 of his 78 pitches for strikes and struck out 11 of 21 batters Saturday night. Although he only induced five hits, an indication that he has yet to regain his classic 2019-20 form, Buehler struck out 18 hits.
He used a knuckle curve averaging 78.5 mph to end three of his outs, a slider averaging 81.9 mph to end two outs, and a fastball averaging 94.9 mph and a fastball with averaged 91.3 mph on his other two puffs.
Michael Grove, a converted starter who had carved out a more leveraged role in the absence of the injured Evan Phillips and relievers Joe Kelly and Ryan Brasier, struck out two of three batters in a scoreless seventh inning, and Daniel Hudson retired the team in order with a strikeout in the eighth.
Right-hander JP Feyereisen then retired the team in the ninth to seal the Dodgers’ 19th victory in 25 games through April 21.
The Dodgers had just one hit in the first four innings against Reds starter Graham Ashcraft, but they forced the right-hander to throw 90 pitches in that span, working long at-bats and missing 21 pitches.
That hit was decisive, an RBI single from the rookie center fielder Andy Pages which highlighted a fourth place in two races. Freddie Freeman opened the round with a walk and took second place Teoscar Hernandez unique walk.
Pages hit an RBI single to center field for a 1-0 lead, Hernández advancing to third and Pages taking second on the throw. Gavin Lux followed with a dribble down the first base line for a groundout that scored Pages for a 2-0 lead.
The Dodgers nearly gave back half of that lead in the top of the fifth after Jake Fraley’s catchable shot to the gap in left-center was picked up by Pages and left fielder Miguel Vargas for a triple.
Pages appeared to ask for the ball when he stretched his right arm as he headed toward the gap, but Vargas, a converted infielder who was making his Dodgers debut in 2024 after being recalled from triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday, , displayed Pages as he cut in front of the center fielder in an attempt to make the catch.
The ball got past both outfielders, but Buehler escaped the runner’s jam, causing Jeimer Candelario to pop out to catcher and Jonathan India to ground out to second.
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The Dodgers extended the lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth when Miguel Rojas lined a double to the left field corner and scored on Freeman’s two-out RBI single to center.
They went ahead to a 4-0 lead in the eighth when Freeman led off with a double to right and scored on Teoscar Hernández’s RBI single to right.
Rehabilitation Report
Bobby Miller, sidelined since April 14 because of shoulder inflammation, took down the mound at Dodger Stadium on Saturday. Roberts said the right-hander will throw a three-inning simulated game this week and, barring a setback, will begin a minor league rehab period next week.
Closer Evan Phillipswho was placed on the 15-day injured list because of a strained right hamstring on May 5, threw a 20-pitch, all-effort bullpen workout on Saturday, and although the right-hander said he is “pain free” and feeling “great,” Roberts said he is at least a week away from returning.
Clayton Kershawwho expects to return from shoulder surgery in late July or early August, also threw himself off the stadium mound before Saturday night, spinning curveballs off the mound for the first time in his rehab.
Betting respirator
Mookie Bets wasn’t in the lineup for the first time in 48 games on Saturday night, Roberts said he had planned earlier this week to give the shortstop and leadoff man a break.
“Mookie wants to play every day, but I feel like we’re playing 13 games in a row, it’s a good time,” Roberts said. “Night game before a day game, we’ll let him recharge and get him back there [Sunday.] I think it just keeps him strong and allows him to watch a baseball game.”
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This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.
