The Los Angeles Dodgers fell to the San Diego Padres in a 6-5 loss in Game 3 of the National League Division Series, nearly clawing their way back to another come from behind win.
An early lead provided the Dodgers with a different feel as Walker Buehler took the mound with the ability to pitch ahead when taking the mound in the bottom half of the first. A quick inning was a welcomed sign for them as they’ve played from behind all series, however, it wouldn’t last.
In the bottom of the second inning, the Padres capitalized on a pair of errors, one from Freddie Freeman, and a missed double play opportunity by Miguel Rojas. The latter extended the inning, without recording a single out.
The Padres put the Dodgers in a 6-1 deficit after Buehler allowed a two-run homer to Fernando Tatis Jr., and a gut punch in a pivotal playoff game.
“Mentally, you’re down 6-1, you just gave up six runs, and at some point, even in a five-game series, the bullpen usage is a thing,” Buehler said. “You give up the homer to (Ronald) Acuña (Jr.) in ’18, and got through three (innings) after that. Kind of a similar situation. I remember having a ton of pride for getting through five innings in that game and kind of feel similarly about this one.
“Obviously, Teo (Hernández) lands a big punch for us and gets us back in there. We come up one run short. Gave up the homer to (Fernando) Tatis (Jr.), there was a bunch of mayhem and I made a bad 0-2 pitch, and he kind of does what he does. You can’t give up six runs in an inning in the playoffs and expect to win.
“There’s some things I have some pride about, but at the end of the day, I put us in a really bad spot. We fought back but the spot was too big.”
Despite all of this, Buehler explained that he felt good in all phases, before and during his start on Tuesday against the Padres.
“Physically, I felt great,” Buehler said. “Emotionally, good. I think it was just one of those squirrelly innings that’s hard to kind of explain. Some ground balls here and ground balls there, just a weird one. And obviously the throw to second, (Manny) Machado is kind of in a weird spot. That kind of is what it is. I’m not an umpire guy, but that’s an interesting play, and I think that changes a lot of what happens in that inning maybe.
“All that is well and good; I gave up a two-run homer after that. At the end of the day it’s on me as a starting pitcher. This game is the reason that I’m here. The reason I’m still on this roster is to throw today’s game. I wasn’t good enough.”
After the disastrous second inning, Buehler cruised through three more frames, providing the Dodgers with five complete innings.
Looking back, his outing was marred by what could have been plus-results in the amount of ground balls in the second innings that weren’t converted to outs. Dodgers coaches echoed that sentiment, pinpointing the extra opportunities given as a big reason.
“I think so. I thought obviously the pitch to Tatis was a bad pitch,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But I think leading up to that, there were just balls that we just didn’t convert into outs, and it builds the stress in the inning.
“Obviously that play with Freddie and the ground ball to Miggy that we couldn’t get the lead runner. We couldn’t get Merrill there at second base, and it just continues to stress the inning. Peralta gets a ball that kind of sneaks inside the line. So there’s a lot of soft contact.
“I thought Walker did a nice job of keeping his composure and still giving us some length and throwing some zeros after that. But again, when you give a good team extra outs it’s hard to throw up zeros.”
Has Walker Buehler pitched his final game with the Dodgers?/h2>
With Buehler being in the final year of his contract, he is scheduled to be a free agent at the conclusion of the year.
He was drafted and developed by the Dodgers, and following his most recent elbow surgery, enters an unknown stage in his career. His start against the Padres showed that when complimentary baseball is played, his game can be there, but his future in Los Angeles isn’t certain to continue.
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