In just his fifth game as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Dave Roberts was faced with a dilemma. Ross Stripling, in his MLB debut, was working on a no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.
Stripling survived the attrition that set in during Spring Training and was named the club’s fifth starter days before the regular season began. He was entering his first full year since undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Therefore, Stripling was working on a pitch count and innings limit in his debut. Roberts pulled the right-hander from a no-hitter with one out in the eighth inning. The Dodgers went on to lose the game.
Roberts found himself in a similar scenario in September 2016, when Rich Hill was working on a perfect game. Hill had battled blisters, so Roberts removed the veteran southpaw after seven spotless innings.
The opener of the Mexico Series presented the third-year manager with yet another no-hitter that required a decision. Though, this time Roberts found it much easier to remove Walker Buehler after six innings, as seen on SportsNet LA
“I think of the ones from Stripling to Rich Hill, this was the easiest. Where he was at with his pitch count, essentially at the highest point he’s ever been up to, with three innings left, it was pretty much a no-brainer for me. I was just excited he threw the ball the way he did and gave us a chance to win. It’s a special night for all of us.”
The start was Buehler’s third of his career for the Dodgers. The organization has been open with the fact that their top pitching prospect is operating on an innings limit this season.
Therefore, unlike with Stripling and Hill, there really wasn’t much doubt as to whether or not Buehler would be lifted. His eight strikeouts and six innings both set career highs for the 23-year-old.
Buehler’s 93 pitches were one shy of the total he threw over five innings against the Giants last weekend. While Buehler wasn’t able to single-handedly make history, Tony Cingrani, Yimi Garcia and Adam Liberatore backed him to complete the Dodgers’ first combined no-hitter.
