Despite Walker Buehler battling what he and the Los Angeles Dodgers have described as a blister on his right index finger, the 26-year-old has started Game 1 of each series this postseason.
Buehler and the Dodgers have maintained the blister is not having an impact, though issuing what was a career-high four walks against the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series suggested otherwise. So too did Buehler’s five walks in a loss to the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series.
It’s the most free passes Buehler has handed out in his career (regular season and postseason). Despite that, he limited the Braves to just one run — on a Freddie Freeman homer — over five-plus innings.
“I’ve got to stop walking guys and get deeper into games,” Buehler said. “It was nice to get up for the sixth. Not nice to give up two hits in the sixth, but I physically feel good and was happy to get a little bit deeper into a game finally.”
During the Fox broadcast, Tom Verducci said he observed a throwing session of Buehler’s and noted that two blisters — with the second being on his middle finger — was covered up. During pregame warmups, Fox cameras showed a Dodgers training placing a Band-Aid over Buehler’s index finger.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts confirmed Buehler is dealing with two blisters, but said they have taken “turns” over the past month in terms of being problematic.
And when explicitly asked about his health, Buehler responded, “I feel good,” and he later reiterated the priority is simply on improving.
“I feel like I’ve been decently successful, but I don’t want to walk guys. I don’t want to walk five guys in a game,” Buehler added.
“I don’t want to walk four, I don’t want to walk three. At the end of the day we’re trying to keep runs off the board and that’s the most important thing, but I can go deeper. I can be better. Looking at it that way is never going to change for me.”
Optimism remains
Despite Buehler dealing with multiple blisters and not meeting expectations, the Dodgers are encouraged with his current standing.
“Actually it held up as good as we’ve seen it in the last month,” Roberts said. “That’s why he was able to really get to that 100-pitch mark. I was really pleased with it.”
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