Walker Buehler Makes 2019 Debut For Dodgers

Tuesday held special importance for Dodgers fans. Moreover, Tuesday night’s game at Camelback Ranch was ‘Buehler’s Day On’. Surely, the kid who wears number 21 didn’t let down, he is the same guy we all remember dazzling last season.

The Dodgers official twitter account gave a highlight glimpse for those who missed it:

.@buehlersdayoff back on the mound, just like we like it. pic.twitter.com/QxtLsda5UK

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 20, 2019

Without question, the most important note of the night was that Buehler was hitting between 97 and 99 miles per hour on the radar gun. David Vassegh released a tweet to confirm the good news.

Walker Buehler worked out of an early 1st inning jam, pitching scoreless first inning. Buehler’s fastball was 97-99mph #Dodgers #Indians

— . (@THEREAL_DV) March 20, 2019

Why is this important? Buehler has suffered lately from ‘dead arm’ which just means there’s a bit of fatigue dwelling in that young right wing. Surely, if he’s dialing it up to those digits the first time he steps on the mound; one can wager he’s feeling pretty good.

Buehler’s final linescore was 2.2 innings pitched, three hits allowed, one earned run, no walks, and two strikeouts.

Equally important – the Dodgers seemed to have dodged a major bullet. This appearance likely means that Buehler makes his next appearance in the Freeway Series against the Angels over the weekend. Then, he will be slotted into the rotation normally when the regular season begins.

With Clayton Kershaw on the shelf, the Dodgers are going to need Walker Buehler to assume the role of ‘ace’ in the rotation even if he’s not pitching Opening Day. He seems ready for that challenge physically, which is the best we could hope for.