With Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu combining to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation, the trio additionally is on track to combine for for National League history by season’s end.
Per STATS LLC, Buehler (11-3, .786), Kershaw (13-3, .813) and Ryu (12-4, .750) are on pace to become the first set of three pitchers from a single NL team make a minimum of 25 starts and finish with at least a .750 winning percentage in a season.
When Kershaw and Rich Hill both began the year on the 10-day injured list, and as Buehler essentially used the first month as his Spring Training, Ryu emerged as the ace of the staff.
He went 10-2 with a 1.73 ERA in the first half and was named the NL starter in the 2019 MLB All-Star Game. The All-Star selection was a first for Ryu, and he became the league’s first Korean pitcher to start the Midsummer Classic.
Ryu’s dominance has tapered off in his past two outings and it’s prompted the Dodgers to explore an adjustment for September. Manger Dave Roberts said the club is considering skipping Ryu in the rotation or curtailing his starts over the final month of the regular season.
That may ultimately apply to Kershaw as well. Like in year’s past, the Dodgers have guarded against pushing him in starts, even when it appeared Kershaw could throw another inning or two. Home runs have remained a bit of problem for the left-hander but he otherwise has continued to successfully evolve.
Buehler’s Achille’s heel this season have been road starts. He’s 5-0 with a 2.13 ERA in 12 starts at Dodger Stadium, compared to a more pedestrian 6-3 and 4.01 ERA in 13 outings on the road.
Buehler did just author a dominant performance in his Petco Park debut by holding the Padres scoreless over six innings. He finished the night with 11 strikeouts, giving Buehler 26 over 15 innings pitched in two starts against the Padres.
It was more of the same for the 25-year-old as he’s dominated San Diego throughout the course of his young career. Buehler now is 4-0 with a 0.64 ERA and 42 strikeouts in four starts against the Padres.
Per STATS, since ERA became official in 1913, the only other pitcher to go 4-0 with a sub-1.00 ERA and at least 40 strikeouts through his first four starts against a single opponent was Pedro Martinez overpowering the Seattle Mariners.
With the Dodgers cruising to a seventh consecutive NL West title, three-quarters of their postseason rotation is essentially set. However, which order they will appear in, and who will join Buehler, Kershaw and Ryu as a fourth starter has yet to be settled.
