Walker Buehler provided the exact lift the Los Angeles Dodgers needed with a short bullpen on Saturday night, and his effort was rewarded by the team clawing out a victory in 10 innings against the New York Mets for a second consecutive night.
Buehler didn’t allow a hit until Michael Conforto’s two-out home run in the fourth inning. Taijuan Walker upheld the 1-0 lead by turning in six no-hit innings himself. Walker’s fortunes then changed when Will Smith tied the game with one out in the seventh.
The comeback win, coupled with the San Francisco Giants falling to the Colorado Rockies, pulled L.A. to four games back of first place in the National League West. It was their first day gaining any sort of ground in the standings since July 28, when Buehler also pitched.
“I think there’s a little bit of urgency for us, and I think we’re playing like that finally,” Buehler said. “I’m a piece of that, and I want to go out and win. … Good team win for us and kind of representative of what we do in a lot of ways.”
The need for urgency has been a talking point throughout the season, with the likes of manager Dave Roberts, Mookie Betts and Clayton Kershaw among those calling for it.
The Dodgers still face a tall order to chase down a Giants team that has continued to prove doubters wrong and still holds the best record in baseball. The only head-to-head meetings remaining between the NL West rivals is a three-game set at Oracle Park from Sept. 3-5.
Roberts: Buehler went to higher level
After Smith’s home run tied the game, the Mets responded by putting the first two on in the bottom of the seventh inning. Buehler’s command started to wane a bit as his pitch count reached triple digits.
He responded to strike out two batters in a row and was aided by Smith making a running catch in foul territory to end the inning.
“There’s a switch that goes on with the great ones. I think he understood where he was at in the lineup, where he was at with his pitch count, and he was smelling the finish line,” Roberts said of Buehler.
“Guys like that just have a way of turning it up a dial. He did that, which he has done time and time again.”
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