The Los Angeles Dodgers pulled out a 4-1 win in Wednesday’s rain-shortened Cactus League meeting against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday. On the mound for his third start of the spring was Walker Buehler, who battled with bouts of inconsistency.
The right-hander allowed just one run with four strikeouts in his targeted goal of four innings, but yielded three hits and three walks during the outing.
It was a second consecutive shaky start for Buehler, who threw 50 pitches in 2.1 innings against the Oakland Athletics last week. He was solid during his 2020 Spring Training debut, blanking the Colorado Rockies in two innings.
In three overall Cactus League starts, Buehler is 1-1 with a 3.24 ERA and 1.32 WHIP across 8.1 innings of work. He has struggled with command at times, striking out eight total batters in comparison to five walks.
Buehler revealed that he is pleased with the amount of reps he has gotten in Cactus League play, but is still trying to iron out some kinks, via SportsNet LA:
“It’s a step forward. Just trying to figure some stuff out still. Spring Training is long enough that we have the luxury of doing that. … Not as sharp as I would want to be but at least opposed to other years at least I have one (Spring Training). It’s been good. … I feel good. I’m trying to figure some stuff out but I feel a lot of us are in some way and I can be a little hypercritical, too. … Just trying to get my fastball back to where I want it.”
Buehler has already tied his career high for most starts in Spring Training, which he originally set in 2018. Shoulder/arm trouble limited him to just one Cactus League outing last year.
He adjusted his routine over the winter by continuously throwing leading up to pitchers and catchers reporting to Camelback Ranch.
Of course, that’s now proven to be a bit of a moot point. MLB cancelled all remaining Spring Training games and has delayed the start of the 2020 season for at least two weeks. It’s unclear if Buehler and the Dodgers would have an opportunity to play more Cactus League games prior to the regular season beginning.
The Dodgers are keeping Camelback Ranch open for players to attend voluntary workouts.
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