Walker Buehler is set to face the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night after the Los Angeles Dodgers took care of business in the series opener.
Buehler has had his ups and downs this season as he tries to return and adjust on the heels of his second Tommy John surgery. Hopefully, the Rockies — one of the worst teams in baseball — can provide Buehler with a chance at a strong outing.
The Rockies have the third-worst record in MLB heading into play on Tuesday. And while their offense isn’t the major problem facing their roster — 12th in batting average, 16th in OPS and 19th in total runs scored — it’s far from an elite group.
But the Rockies weren’t always among the basement-dwellers of the sport. In fact, as Buehler reflected on his career up to this point on The Just Baseball Show, he noted a particular Rockies team as one of the best he’s faced.
“Colorado in ’18, I think it was just a lot of guys that growing up, you know their names. Daniel Murphy was on that team, Ian Desmond, CarGo was still there. That team felt really deep and ’18 Boston was really deep. And the Braves the last few years, you can’t not mention that team. Those are the ones that come to mind. I’m sure I’m forgetting some crazy lineup. That’s part of it. There’s a lot more ways to be a successful Major League hitter now than there was 10 years ago, at least perception-wise. So I think fans, organizations and everyone is getting smarter in that way.”
Buehler was in his second Major League season in 2018, but his first full year and what the league considered his rookie season based on service time rules. His finished third in National League Rookie of the Year award voting that season and had a strong campaign that saw him finish with a 2.62 ERA in 23 starts.
He faced the Rockies — a team that featured Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon, DJ LeMahieu and others — six times that season. The Rockies finished with 91 wins and lost in the National League Division Series to the Milwaukee Brewers, who went on to lose to the Dodgers in the NLCS.
In six starts, Buehler tossed 37.2 innings and had a 2.15 ERA, a 0.876 WHIP and 38 strikeouts. Despite the talent on the Rockies side, he found ways to be successful.
Today, that matchup is completely different, with Buehler two Tommy John surgeries deep and the Rockies being one of the worst teams in baseball yet again. But Buehler is still going to fight for the same results he had against a talented Rockies team in 2018.
Walker Buehler adjusting pitch mix
Buehler endured an inconsistent performance last week as he faced former teammate Corey Seager and the Texas Rangers.
The Dodgers fell to the Rangers in a 3-2 loss in the middle game of their series, which saw Buehler allow three runs (two earned) on seven hits over five innings of work.
Buehler tallied just two strikeouts, but of bigger note was a dramatically new pitch mix. The right-hander went away from his primary four-seam fastball and in its place relied on a heavy mix of sinkers and cutters.
Make sure to follow Dodger Blue on Instagram! It’s the best way to see exclusive coverage from games and events, get your questions answered, and more!
