Walker Buehler tied for his longest start of the season Tuesday night and despite allowing three home runs, the Los Angeles Dodgers managed to come away with a win over the Seattle Mariners in the opener of their Interleague series.
Heading into the start, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained his belief Buehler has pitched well this year and primarily hurt by mistake pitches resulting in home runs. That remained the case against the Mariners, with Mitch Haniger clubbing two long balls. Sandwiched between those was a two-run shot by Kyle Seager.
The Dodgers rallied in the seventh and eighth innings, capped off by Gavin Lux delivering a game-winning three-run home run. “The offense picked me up,” Buehler said after the win.
“Right now we’ll take them anyway we can get them: late, early, doesn’t matter. We’ve got a happy clubhouse. Now come out and play well [Wednesday]. … A little bit frustrating for me personally, but as I said, as long as we’re winning, I’m good.”
The Dodgers are just 3-7 in their last 10 games, and have only won six of the last 20. They remain in third place in the National League West standings, though are only three games back of the San Francisco Giants.
“It’s been a tough couple weeks for us,” Buehler acknowledged. “I don’t think there’s any way to kind of sugarcoat it, but a big hit and big win can obviously change the tide. I think it’s a big win in a lot of ways.”
Lux borrowed from Buehler
Following the Dodgers’ win, Justin Turner brought attention to the slim-fitting pants Lux wore for the game. Lux revealed they were a pair of Buehler’s and he chose to fit into them with the right-hander on the mound.
“But they might be here to stay now,” Lux added. “We’ll see.”
As for the show of excitement after hitting the home run, that resonated with Buehler. “Obviously you could see kind of the pent-up emotion inside him come out, which is a good thing and something that we want,” Buehler said.
“If he keeps hitting the ball like that, he can yell and scream whatever he pleases. I think it’s big for us as a unit.”
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