The Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation has been on a roll as of late, and right-hander Walker Buehler kept that going on Friday night with a strong outing in the 10-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the series opener at PNC Park.
The Dodgers offense staked Buehler a 5-0 lead before he even took the mound, allowing him to pound the strike zone early and often.
Overall he made it through six innings, allowing just five hits and one run while striking out six and walking just one. When discussing his outing, Buehler was pleased with how his curve ball was working to compliment his entire pitch mix, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“Getting back into shape and getting a little feel for a few different things so kind of figuring out the mix. Landed some breaking balls which is always big for me, so another good outing and obviously getting a 5-0 lead in the first inning doesn’t hurt.”
Pitching with a big lead isn’t always easy, and Buehler credited Austin Barnes for keeping him focused throughout the course of the start:
“I think when you pitch with a lead sometimes you can get a little careless and just throw fastballs and get ahead. But to kind of keep your mind going, you have to tip your cap to Barnes for keeping me in there and keeping me engaged. So it’s kind of a tricky deal pitching with a lead like that but we’ll obviously take it every time.”
The win improved Buehler to 5-1 on the season to go along with a 3.58 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 52 strikeouts and 11 walks in 55.1 innings across 10 starts.
Buehler missed most of Spring Training this year with an arm issue, so he didn’t quite look like his usual self in his first few starts of the regular season. He has now given up three earned runs or fewer in six straight outings, returning to his 2018 form when he established himself as one of the bright young pitchers in baseball.
The Dodgers rotation was hampered by injuries to begin the year, but over the last month-plus they have gotten healthy and are pitching like the best starters in baseball.
As a staff, the Dodgers starters have pitched to a minuscule 2.09 ERA over the last 25 games, with Los Angeles winning 18 of those.
