Walker Buehler’s climb back to the Majors didn’t get off to a great start Friday night. In his first rehab appearance for Triple-A Oklahoma City he got the start and didn’t have his best stuff. While the stat line wasn’t awesome, there was a note from manager Dave Roberts on Saturday that paints a picture of what’s to come for Buehler.
In his start for the Triple-A club Buehler went 4.0 innings and allowed four runs on eight hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Roberts said Buehler’s fastball started losing velocity in the fourth inning. The club’s new goal is to get five innings out of Buehler in his next start per Jack Harris of the LA Times.
The likelihood that Buehler was just going to find his best stuff in his first appearance after some time away was slim. He needs to get back into game shape which is why he’s making these starts. Had he lit it up Friday, perhaps the team would’ve felt good enough to bring him back up. The odds always leaned toward this outcome though where he struggles some and has to continue building up his strength and stamina.
Numbers will matter less for Buehler than just ensuring his velocity is staying up and he’s capable of giving the Dodgers more than just a few innings. It’s a big ask since he is coming off a second Tommy John surgery, which is why patience is so important. Don’t be surprised if this is a prolonged MiLB stint for Buehler where he’s not coming back up until he looks more like himself.