When the Los Angeles Dodgers took a 2-1 lead in the National League Championship Series, it was on the heels of Walker Buehler turning in a bounce-back start against the New York Mets at Citi Field.
The right-hander allowed three hits and collected six strikeouts against two walks in four scoreless innings. He became the first pitcher in MLB history to throw 90 or more pitches in a postseason start of four innings or less while not giving up a run.
The start was Buehler’s second of the postseason and his 17th with the Dodgers, which trails only Clayton Kershaw’s 32 for the most in franchise history. He went on to start one more game in the World Series against the New York Yankees to give him 18 with the Dodgers.
“I think that’s a team stat, to be honest with you,” Buehler said of the achievement.
“We’ve been in the playoffs every year I’ve been here and healthy, at least. I’ve been very fortunate to get the ball. The trust thing or whatever, we kind of developed through the years to let me have the ball.
“This year it’s kind of a pretty good example of that just because of the way the regular season went. But, yeah, it’s a cool stat and a cool thing. But to me that’s about our team.”
Buehler struggled in his first postseason start against the San Diego Padres, but he did not allow himself to be overcome with pressure when he took the mound against the Mets or Yankees.
“I don’t think ‘pressure’ is kind of the right word. It’s so overused, but pressure is a privilege. Talking about how many starts I’ve gotten to make, that’s the privilege part of it, right?” Buehler said.
“I’ve gotten to do this a lot of times, and these games certainly get me excited but they don’t kind of overwhelm me like they used to when I was young my first couple starts.”
Walker Buehler appreciated Dodgers’ trust
The Dodgers gave Buehler every opportunity to pitch through some struggles throughout the year and haven’t hesitated to put him into pressure environments so far in October.
“We talked about it before my last start, but the big-game thing or pitching in moments like this or on the road, or whatever you want to call it, for me the most important thing about being a teammate or a starting pitcher is that your team trusts you in tough spots,” Buehler said.
“It’s humbling and a really big compliment for me to hear that from some of the guys.”
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