Game 3 of the National League Division Series figured to be a pivotal matchup regardless of what unfolded between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers leading up to it.
The possibilities were one team could be on the verge of completing a sweep or it was going to be a swing game after the first two contests were split.
As both the Dodgers and Padres look to take hold of the NLDS, Walker Buehler gets to make his first postseason start since 2021.
Buehler has a long history of starting big games for the Dodgers, and being successful in them. But his outing Tuesday night at Petco Park represents a different challenge.
Buehler missed October baseball in each of the last two years because of the recovery process from a second career Tommy John surgery. The Dodgers have nevertheless maintained their confidence in the right-hander, who equally embraces his reputation.
“It’s kind of the only thing I care about,” answered Buehler with a grin when asked about having been labeled a ‘big-game pitcher.’
Buehler is a career 3-3 with a 2.94 ERA and 3.16 FIP in 15 playoff starts. That doesn’t include also taking the ball asa. rookie against the Colorado Rockies in a Game 163 to decide the NL West title in 2018.
Buehler allowed just one hit over 6.2 scoreless innings as the Dodgers wrapped up their fifth of what became seven consecutive division titles.
“We play in these games every year. Every team that plays in the playoffs plays in the swing game or the big momentum game,” Buehler said. “I just happen to be starting this one.
“If I’m Game 6, Game 7, Game 3, Game whatever, I’ve thrown in all these games. That’s not the stuff I get super wrapped up in. I want to try and go make a quality start and put our team in a position to win the game.”
Another layer for Buehler to navigate is what’s sure to be an energetic, if not hostile, environment. That already was to be expected given the stakes and recent history between the Dodgers and Padres, but it’s ratcheted up in the wake of Manny Machado throwing a baseball toward manager Dave Roberts, and fans hurling items at Jurickson Profar and Fernando Tatis Jr.
“I think embracing it or channelling it because it’s going to happen,” Buehler said of how to handle the emotions. “And especially here, obviously, being an hour and a half down the road, it kind of tends to lead to that kind of stuff.
“The energy of our fans and their fans is something that all of us kind of live for in some way. Having done this playoff thing a few times, I think hopefully I learned how to channel that a little bit and make it productive for yourself instead of kind of detrimental.
“I’m looking forward to it. It’s always fun to play in a big, packed place, and everyone’s got intensity and energy and all that stuff.”
Walker Buehler robbed
According to multiple reports, Buehler and his wife McKenzie were surrounded by a group of people at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia over the weekend, and he was robbed of a watch valued at more than $100,000.
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