Dodgers Defeat Padres Behind Buehler’s Dominant Outing

The Dodgers and Padres faced off on Sunday afternoon in the final game of the three-game series for the two teams. Walker Buehler got the start in this one and he did not disappoint. The  young phenom continued his dominance over San Diego in seven masterful innings.

Walker Buehler is a pleasure to watch pitch. 7 innings on 93 pitches. He had 8 SO and no walks. Gives up 1 ER on 4 H. Leaves with a 2-1 lead.

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— AlaNNa Rizzo (@alannarizzo) May 27, 2018

You almost feel bad for San Diego. Buehler did not allow a hit against them in his last outing, and they could barely touch him in this one. All game long he had hitters behind on heaters and chasing breaking balls.

His seven dominant innings of one-run ball brought his earned run average to 2.20 on the year. Perhaps more importantly, Buehler did not allow a single walk in the outing. That sort of control will certainly limit his pitch count and allow him to go much deeper into games.

Josh Fields and Tony Cingrani finished the game behind Buehler. The pair allowed just one hit a piece and both has one strike out as well.

Late Offensive Explosion

As has been the case most of the year, the Dodgers waited until pretty late in the game to put this one away. Leading by just one run heading into the eighth, a Kenley Jansen save situation seemed inevitable. That was until Max Muncy came to the plate. He parked a ball into the left-field pavilion for his 6th homerun of the year and 17th run batted in.

Cody Bellinger came up a few batters later and out one over the center field wall. That was Cody’s 8th of the year, and his 25th run knocked in.

Analysis

The combination of starting pitching and relief works really made this game special. Buehler dominated, Cingrani held up his end of the deal, and Josh Fields cleaned up. The offensive explosion was great too, but the pitching really needed a boost. They’ll be getting that boost later this week, when Clayton Kershaw makes his return from the disabled list.