‘We got Walker Buehler back’
by Cary Osborne
There was something about walking in from the bullpen on Monday that Walker Buehler missed so much.
And before he threw his first pitch on a Major League mound in nearly two years, there were people he missed so much cheering him on. There were 44,970 of them at Dodger Stadium on Monday — 14,000 more fans than the combined attendance of his six Minor League rehabilitation starts.
“It’s meant a lot to me and my family to play here and be part of the success of this organization and sort of to come back and have that feeling (again), that was really cool,” Buehler said.
A second Tommy John surgery in Aug. 2022, grueling rehabilitation and uneven performances in those six Minor League starts led to this moment.
“We got Walker Buehler back,” said manager Dave Roberts.
The two-time All-Star and big-game pitcher went four innings — admittedly amped in the beginning, admittedly tired toward the end — on Monday in his first Major League start since June 10, 2022. He allowed six hits, hit a batter, walked none and surrendered three runs. Buheler threw 77 pitches and struck out four batters in the Dodgers’ 6–3 win against the Marlins.
His first pitch — a four-seam fastball swung and missed at by Miami’s Jazz Chisholm Jr. — was 96.1 mph, which was faster than any of the 348 pitches Buehler threw in the Minors.
His eighth pitch was 97.6 mph.
Buehler looked back at the DodgerVision board, as he often does, and the velocity brought him some confidence.
“I didn’t think there was 98 in there still or 97 or whatever it was,” Buehler said. “But I think that helps the adrenaline of being back. Normally, I try and temper that, and I’ve been somewhat concerned about the velocity a little bit. So you kind of try and ride it and see what’s in there. I think the next (start) I’ll probably feel the same and be able to temper it a little bit knowing that it’s in there.”
His fastest pitch in 2022 was on June 10 of that season— a 97.8 mph heater.
“I was just happy to see him out there pitching for us in the big leagues,” said Dodger catcher Will Smith. “I thought he looked good. He came out throwing hard, the velo was there. … It’s been a long time for him since he’s been out there, so kind of settling (the nerves) down, I thought he settled in in the third or fourth inning.”
Buehler was unlucky with Chisholm to lead off the game. The Marlins center fielder chopped a grounder to the third base side and reached base on an infield single. With №2 hitter Bryan De La Cruz up, Chisholm stole second base, and Buehler was already under pressure.
Chisholm ended up scoring on a De La Cruz two-strike single. De La Cruz later scored on a Jesús Sanchez single.
The Dodger right-hander allowed a home run to Nick Gordon to leadoff the second inning, a ball that clipped the glove of a leaping Andy Pages in right field.
Then he settled in.
Buehler struck out the first two batters he faced in the third inning and ended his evening on a double-play grounder in the fourth.
Four of the six hits he allowed were with two strikes. It told him exactly what he needs to work on for the next start. And now the expectations of himself rise.
“Ceremonial is done and now I can focus on trying to be good and helping our team,” Buehler said.
Others are counting on that as well.
“When we put together this roster and his anticipation, he was right there in the center of it,” Roberts said. “And so to get him back is going to make everyone around him better. Getting a staple part of the rotation with his track record, the compete, having him as an active player in the dugout, being an active member of the team — that’s impactful. I really do believe this is the floor, and it’s only going to get better as far as the execution, the ability to go deeper in games as he gets his legs under him.”
Os (Ohtani and Outman) and More Offense
The Dodgers have now tallied 12 home runs over their last three games after four more on Monday.
Shohei Ohtani hit the farthest — a 441-foot shot in the first inning.
Freddie Freeman made it the first time the Dodgers have gone back-to-back this season. Teoscar Hernández hit his ninth of the season. But James Outman hit the most-needed homer.
The Dodger outfielder, who finished third in the 2023 National League Rookie of the Year balloting, has been scuffling at the plate and was a topic of discussion in the pregame presser with manager Dave Roberts.
Roberts backed his outfielder.
Outman responded.
His 437-foot home run — a two-run shot in the second inning that gave the Dodgers a 5–3 lead — is the longest homer of his career. Outman nearly hit a second in the fourth inning on a deep drive that fell foul.
Outman last homered on April 9. In his 16 games between that game and Monday, he had two extra-base hits and batted .156/.255/.200/.455.
“To be honest, we were talking today and I was kind of worrying about my swing, so I just wanted to go up there and compete,” Outman said.
