SAN DIEGO — Though starter Walker Buehler no longer pitches for the Dodgers, he still finds it satisfying to beat one of Los Angeles’ top rivals, the Padres.
“Of course,” Buehler said, emphatically.
Buehler tossed 6 scoreless innings to lead the Red Sox to a 10-2 victory at Petco Park on Friday.
This win adds to Buehler’s impressive resume against the Padres. The 31-year-old righty, who pitched for the Dodgers from 2017-24, improved to 7-1 with a 1.67 ERA in 13 career starts (81 innings) against San Diego.
He considers Friday’s win to be one of his top performances of this season.
“Yeah, I’ve probably had three good ones all year that really I will remember,” Buehler said. “But 11 a.m. against the White Sox is not one you really hang your hat on.”
Buehler was referring to his Patriots’ Day start April 21 against Chicago, when he allowed just one run in 7 innings at Fenway, as not being overly impressive.
“This and Philly are probably the two best against big boy playoff teams,” Buehler said.
Buehler allowed two runs, one earned, against the Phillies in Philadelphia on July 21.
“I’ve pitched here a lot and had some success here,” he said. “So to come back and throw good, I think is a big step forward for me; and try to build on it.”
The Red Sox (65-52) are pushing for their first playoff berth since 2021. They sit in first place in the AL Wild Card race.
Buehler’s performance against playoff-caliber teams is particularly noteworthy given his reputation as a big-game pitcher. He has a 3.04 ERA in 19 postseason outings (18 starts). He recorded the final out of the 2024 World Series, striking out Yankees’ Alex Verdugo swinging to save the Dodgers’ 7-6 victory in Game 5.
“Let’s not like sugarcoat it — the biggest thing that people talk about (with) me is pitching in the playoffs. And so when you face teams that are going to be in the playoffs, I think they’re in some way drastically more important for me,“ Buehler said. ”Facing a really good team I think has been something that I’ve tried to hang my hat on for a long time. And it’s a good baseball team over there.”
Manager Alex Cora said before Friday’s game that it’s important for Buehler to throw strikes with his fastball.
“When he’s good, he throws competitive fastballs,” Cora said.
Buehler did that Friday, using his fastball 47% of the time.
He was efficient, throwing 64% strikes over his 6 scoreless innings. He pitched around four hits and two walks while striking out four.
“Felt good with the fastball in the bullpen,” Buehler said. “Was part of the plan. Found some stuff the past couple starts in terms of how I want my back leg to work. And tonight it was much improved for me. I think for me, knowing where my hand is out front, if that happens, then I feel like I can kind of do whatever I want and can be one of the better guys in baseball. And obviously this year I haven’t been there, but tonight I felt like I kind of knew where my hand was. So obviously a pretty improved result.”
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