Dodgers: Chronicling Walker Buehler’s 15th Start vs. Mariners

Dodgers Nation will be following Walker Buehler’s starts as he seeks to be the next elite Dodgers pitcher. The Dodgers have a history of dominant players on the mound from Sandy Koufax to Don Drysdale to Clayton Kershaw. As a former first-round pick and a highly touted prospect, Buehler looks to be the next big thing in Los Angeles. All we can do is relax and enjoy the show. You can see the entire collection here.

August 11, 2018

Season statistics coming into the game: (5-4, 3.32 ERA)

Season statistics after the game: (6-4, 3.19 ERA)

The Opponent: Seattle Mariners

Stadium: Safeco Field

Days of Rest: 5

Catcher: Yasmani Grandal

Game Results

Innings Pitched: 6

Earned Runs: 1

Hits: 3

Home Runs: 1

Strikeouts: 8

Walks: 2

Pitch Count: 93

Batters Faced: 24

MLB.com Game Score: 65

History

Walker Buehler faced the Mariners for the first time in his career. This was also Buehler’s first time pitching at an American League ballpark. He had thrown the ball well in his previous outings, allowing a total of just three runs over his last three starts.

Performance

Walker Buehler continued on his recent success with another superb outing in Seattle. He threw seven innings, allowing just one run on three hits. For the first time since June, Buehler also received more than three runs of support from the Dodger offense. The Dodgers scored 11 runs to give Buehler his sixth victory of the year.

The Highs

Throughout the night, Buehler utilized each of his pitches well. He used his four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, slider and knuckle curve as the outpitch to execute a strikeout.

#Dodgers Walker Buehler 2018 Pitch Quality

4.71 QOPA (Top 28% MLB)

Velocity (Top 12% MLB)

CH (Top 4%)
SL (Top 4%)
CU (Top 9%)
FF (Top 9%)
FT (Top 9%)@buehlersdayoff @Joe_Davis @Nomar5 @TheRealJHair @realnedcolletti @LAJohnHartung @OrelHershiser @alannarizzo @AM570LASports pic.twitter.com/m56XeHLKUR

— MLB Quality of Pitch (@qopbaseball) August 18, 2018

Buehler also allowed just three hits on Friday. Of his 15 starts this year, he has allowed over five hits only three times.

The Lows

One of the few flaws with Buehler was his inefficiency in the middle innings of his outing. Buehler threw at least 19 pitches in each inning between the second and fourth innings. Those innings brought his pitch count high and limited Buehler to six innings.

Analysis

With another spectacular start, Walker Buehler has solidified himself as a top-of-the-rotation pitcher. He already has 12 starts this year where he has allowed two runs or fewer. Buehler has also performed well against playoff-caliber teams. Each of his last five starts have come against teams with records above .500, meaning down the stretch Dave Roberts will likely rely heavily on his rookie pitcher.