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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
NEW YORK — All year long, Walker Buehler wondered if he could ever get back to where he was when his fastball was dominant and his confidence unmatched. By the time he took the mound for Game 3 of the World Series, he had evolved over the past six months from exploring to embracing to surviving. If the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to have a chance in the biggest game, Buehler figured, they’ll basically have to reinvent themselves every time they play in October.
And somehow, an old Buehler showed up for what might have been his last game as a Dodger.
In front of a hostile Yankee Stadium crowd and against a hopeless but dominant New York Yankees batting lineup, Buehler suddenly got on a lively fastball and scored five innings in a 4-2 come-from-behind victory on Monday night. He got through the inning without giving up a run. The Dodgers have an overwhelming lead in the World Series, 3-0, and are one win away from their first title in four years and their first full-season championship since 1988. Buehler’s best self showed up just in time to put the team there. .
“There’s a lot of questions about him,” Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts said. “But when the light comes on, this is the real Walker Buehler.”
Freddie Freeman, looking healthier than he has been this month, hit his third home run in six consecutive at-bats in the first inning, giving the Dodgers an immediate two-run lead. Betts continued his impressive October, scoring on a nine-pitch at-bat in the top of the third inning and then making a sprawling catch in the bottom of the fourth. Overall, the Dodgers continued to be solid on defense and stingy on offense.
However, it was Buehler who set the tone, allowing only four bases (two due to hits and two due to walks) and striking out five. It was surprising, but it also felt nostalgic. Buehler previously pitched seven scoreless innings in Game 3 of the 2018 World Series against the Boston Red Sox, and pitched one run in six innings in Game 3 of the 2020 World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays. His 0.50 ERA is the sixth-lowest of any pitcher to start a World Series since earned runs became an official statistic in 1913. This may not be a coincidence.
“It’s a cruel thing to say, but I think you need adrenaline and things like that to really get you going mentally,” Buehler said. “I wish I could have felt that way all year. I can say I’m excited to pitch in every game I’ve been in, but something’s different in the playoffs.
“It’s really encouraging for me personally to make it through the playoffs the way I do, at least in the long run, because I know it’s there and I just kind of unleash it a little bit. The feeling that the organization is counting on me today to win playoff games – that I like to feel and puts me in a certain place mentally, I think it’s a little difficult to reproduce.”
Buehler, a free agent at the end of the season, had six swings and whiffs on his fastball, the most since 2021. That year, Buehler finished fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting, posting a 16-4 record and a 2.47 ERA. He was 27 years old and looked like one of the best pitchers in the game. He then struggled for the first two and a half months of 2022, underwent a second Tommy John surgery, and did not return to a major league mound until May of this season.
Buehler posted a 5.84 ERA in the first eight games of the regular season and a 4.93 ERA in the final eight games. During that time, he went on the disabled list with a hip injury and took a hiatus at a private performance facility in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, hoping to rediscover himself.
Buehler was added to the Dodgers’ postseason rotation after the likes of Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw and Gavin Stone were unable to contribute due to injuries. But October brought out something different in him. The incident started in Game 3 of the National League District Series, when Buehler gave up six runs in the second inning and the Dodgers defense made a series of mistakes, but after that he saved the bullpen with three scoreless innings. In Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, he used a very effective curveball to get out of the jam and kept the New York Mets scoreless until the fourth inning. In Game 3 of the World Series, that fastball returned. So was everything else.
“I think his stuff was the best all year,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I thought his fastball had life. His cutter was good. His breaking ball was good. He threw all quadrants, kept guys honest and kept them at bay. There was no stress.”
Buehler felt comfortable pitching down the stretch in his final start at Citi Field. Buehler explained that throwing at normal speed requires applying more force, which is much more tiring than pitching from a windup, but it keeps his mechanics solid. It can also be a tool to disrupt the timing of opposing batters.
Buehler started Game 3 with a leadoff walk, followed by Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, and Giancarlo Stanton, who were all retired in that order. Shortly after, he struck out four consecutive players with four different pitches: fastball, curveball, sweeper, and sinker. The Yankees threatened in the fourth inning with a double by Stanton and a single by Anthony Volpe, but Teoscar Hernandez homered off Stanton, ending the inning. Buehler then broke through the bottom of the fifth inning, leaving the game to the Dodgers’ strong relievers.
Starting pitching was by far the biggest concern for the Dodgers in this series and in the playoffs. Still, Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Buehler combined for a 1.62 ERA, limiting the Yankees’ biggest advantage and putting the team just shy of its first title since the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season. Close to 1 win. Buehler won his last two starts in these playoffs, leading to a win in Game 6 of the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, which put the Dodgers’ season opener on the line, and pitching one run in six innings against the Rays in the next round. returned to.
Four years later, after falling from superior to inferior, injured, recovered, incapacitated, and finally insecure, the man re-emerged at the most critical moment.
“It’s worth it to play the regular season,” Buehler said.
