MILWAUKEE — There were indications if one was searching for a different Walker Buehler following his second Tommy John operation. A change was made to Buehler’s delivery, as the right-hander eschewed his custom of covering his head with his hands. He did not kick his leg as hard. He took a shorter stride to the plate, especially after the stretch. When the former Los Angeles Dodgers rising star entered the mound in major league baseball on Wednesday night at American Family Field, there were clear, noticeable differences.
Unfortunately, the outcomes were eerily identical. Before Buehler hit the mound for his first big-league start in two months, he had a three-run lead, but the same problems kept happening. The right-hander’s annoyance did not explode into a torrent of profanity until the second batter of the evening. A batter later, Buehler walked the bases loaded before he could record an out, leading to more. With a string of untimely bad defense, which included a Mookie Betts mistake in right field that resulted in the game’s winning run, and further doubts from its starter, the Dodgers fell 5–4, ending a five-game winning streak.
“He was out of sync tonight,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of a return that looked like much of the same.
Unfortunately, the outcomes were eerily identical. Before Buehler hit the mound for his first big-league start in two months, he had a three-run lead, but the same problems kept happening. The right-hander’s annoyance did not explode into a torrent of profanity until the second batter of the evening. A batter later, Buehler walked the bases loaded before he could record an out, leading to more. With a string of untimely bad defense, which included a Mookie Betts mistake in right field that resulted in the game’s winning run, and further doubts from its starter, the Dodgers fell 5–4, ending a five-game winning streak.
“I keep trying this and that and this and that and I haven’t found kind of what sticks,” Buehler said.
Upon his recovery from his second major operation, Buehler’s one constant has been his inconsistent nature. Before the Dodgers placed him back on the injured list in June due to a hip ailment, he had a 5.84 ERA through his first eight starts. Buehler used that time to reflect, stating last month that “I needed to be somewhere different” in an effort to rediscover himself. That has not materialized. His delivery is still erratic and unsatisfactory.
“Just too many misfires,” Buehler said. “Too many holes in my delivery in terms of where little things can go wrong. … Just too many little different things are going wrong in the delivery that I’m not controlling it the way I want to.”
More of the same was his first sample back. Even though Buehler had numerous of the same command concerns during two of his three minor league rehabilitation starts, the Dodgers still decided to call him up. Despite the fact that he has not consistently done so since his return, the team still has faith in his background and thinks his arsenal is strong enough to get hitters out. It would be beneficial to have Buehler back to a productive level if the Dodgers hope to reach their October goals.
That is why the Dodgers will wait. How understanding?
“That’s a fair question,” Roberts said Wednesday afternoon. “I don’t know that answer. I think that with the track record, he certainly deserves a longer runway. But what that means … is that three starts? Is it four or five starts? I just don’t know right now.”
His final line on Wednesday against the Milwaukee Brewers was a frustrating performance that just missed being worse. He gave up four runs, just one of which was earned, and recorded just 10 outs on 87 pitches. Thanks in part to Kevin Kiermaier’s 99 mph throw to the plate that prevented Brice Turang from scoring on a sacrifice fly, Buehler was able to escape giving up a run after walking the bases loaded in the first. In the fourth inning, he left a runner on base that Clayton Kershaw’s sharp eye would assist keep off the board: The Dodgers were able to secure an out on appeal when the left-hander realized that Brewers infielder Joey Ortiz had slid into second base, made a foot toward first base, and not retouched second before heading for third.
Still, the Brewers got to him. A full-count fastball was thrown to Jake Bauers, who leaped on it and scored a solo home run over the plate. After Nick Ahmed mishandled Sal Frelick’s ground ball to prolong the second inning, Turang hit a curveball that crossed Kiermaier’s head in center and over the plate for a triple. The early score was leveled by a soft-hit single by Jackson Chourio; however, the tie would only hold through the fourth inning. Against a drawn-in Dodgers infield, Ortiz hit a soft grounder, but Kiké Hernández’s glove at third let the ball to trickle out for another run.
In 57 days, Buehler claimed to be “closer” to where he was when he last took a major-league mound. The discomfort in his twice-repaired elbow has subsided. His hip does not either. Recent bullpen sessions have left him feeling inspired. However, translating that into actual efficiency has proven challenging.
Even though Roberts admitted before the game that he was not sure what to expect from his night’s starter, it was a far cry from the comeback that Buehler and the Dodgers had hoped for. The Dodgers have a challenging way of life.
They do not have a lot of leash to offer him, after all. Despite losing on Wednesday, they are no longer tied for the top record in the sport, they have played some of their greatest baseball in months. Additionally, it reduced their lead in the division to two and a half games while the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres kept winning at an incredible rate.
“At the end of the day, there’s a standard of performing here,” Buehler said. “I’m very aware of where I’m at in that standard.”
That increases the stakes, which are noticeable each time Buehler takes the mound.
“When you’re here, it is about performance, and we all know that,” Roberts said. “So it’s not from lack of effort, lack of searching, lack of compete, but you know, at some point we just got to get the production.”
(Photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
