While the Los Angeles Dodgers were hardly in any position to withstand another injury to a member of their starting rotation, it’s a reality they faced Friday night when Walker Buehler was removed from his outing in the sixth inning.
Shortly after, the Dodgers announced their top pitching prospect was forced to an early exit by rib soreness. Following the win, manager Dave Roberts explained Buehler had been dealing with some discomfort since being hit by a line drive on May 21.
It caught up to him in the sixth inning, as Roberts noticed Buehler wasn’t getting full extension on his pitches. Upon visiting the mound with a trainer, Roberts was told by his young pitcher that he was in pain and having difficulty breathing.
Buehler was sent for x-rays, which did not reveal any additional or significant injury, and he was diagnosed with bruised ribs.
While that’s a positive development, Roberts said the Dodgers aren’t certain when Buehler might get back on the mound, per Kaelan Jones of MLB.com:
“Our timetable with Walker, right now, is really wide open,” Roberts said, “because we don’t want to jeopardize anything if we can with certain things.”
Buehler is 4-1 with a 2.63 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in nine starts for the Dodgers this season. He’s collected 54 strikeouts against 11 walks in 51.1 innings pitched, filling in admirably while the likes of Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Kenta Maeda and Hyun-Jin Ryu have landed on the disabled list.
Although the Dodgers called up Daniel Corcino from Triple-A Oklahoma City, it was not at the expense of Buehler. Instead, Pat Venditte was optioned and Dennis Santana was transferred to the 60-day DL.
While Buehler remains on the active roster at present time, he could wind up on the disabled list as a corresponding move to the possible returns of Hill or Maeda in the coming days.
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