Walker Buehler endured another inconsistent performance on Wednesday as he faced former teammate Corey Seager and the Texas Rangers.
The Los Angeles 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.
“We went back and looked at some stuff, kind of what’s been working and what’s not,” Buehler explained. “Talked a lot about the next things and trying to turn from rehab to performing, so kind of lean in to what has been going well and for the most part I feel pretty good about it.
“I think, first time trying to pitch that way, I was pretty happy with the first four, and then obviously Corey (Seager) put a good swing on it. Ironic that it was a four-seamer that we’ve kind of gone away from. You can analyze the whole however many pitches I threw and feel really [expletive] about one of them.”
The 29-year-old threw just five four-seam fastballs against the Rangers, allowing a 100% hard-hit rate on every one. That included what held as a game-winning three-run home run by Seager.
“I had thrown him everything else,” Buehler noted. “Corey is one of the best hitters in the league. It is what it is. It sucks that he’s my buddy and he clipped me, but at the end of the day, people don’t give out $300 million for no reason. He’s as good as there is in this game. I tried to go in and left it over the plate, so it is what it is.”
Buehler is allowing a .429 batting average with an .886 slugging percentage on his four-seam fastball this season. Making an adjustment is a calculated decision as he and the Dodgers aim to smoothen out some struggles as Buehler tries to find a groove since returning from a second Tommy john surgery.
“I mean there’s only so much you can do in a rehab scenario, right? However long it took, it was 20 months, 24 months, whatever it was. It’s hard to simulate throwing a 1-2 fastball to a Major League hitter and try to strike them out,” Buehler said.
“It’s just different and I’d like to happen sooner rather than later. I’m going to keep trying to figure out how to be successful in the meantime. And I think today was a good start in terms of, I’ve never thrown probably 80% cutter two-seamer, like that’s never been what I do.
“I think we have a team that is kind of assumed with the talent that we’re going to be pretty successful. And I’m not just going to walk out there and keep getting killed trying to do what I used to do. I want to be successful, and I want to help our team win. And so if that means I have to adjust, that’s what I have to do.”
Can Walker Buehler find his fastball?
Buehler’s stuff has trended down since the sticky substance ban and in the early data from his return this year.
His primary pitch has been a problem, allowing a hard hit rate, with a diminished spin rate and overall metrics that didn’t project well. Buehler has a solid sample to pull from at this point, and making this drastic of a change signal that the front office is aware of how volatile it is.
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