Dodgers looking for rookie Buehler to consume innings
Brewers have chased L.A. starters early in first two games
LOS ANGELES — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts came into the postseason willing to let his starters go deeper into games.
He has yet to find someone who can stick around.
Hyun-jin Ryu lasted 4⅓ innings in Game 2 against the Milwaukee Brewers. Ace Clayton Kershaw managed three innings in Game 1.
Now, it’s Walker Buehler’s turn.
The rookie starts Monday night at Dodger Stadium, where in the regular season he was 4-3 with a 1.93 ERA in 13 games (12 starts).
“Obviously threw the ball pretty good at home. But that’s what you’re supposed to do. You protect your home field,” Buehler said Sunday. “Obviously, 50,000 Dodger fans behind you doesn’t hurt. And sleeping in the same city that you’re going to play in and not having to fly anywhere is big.”
Buehler made his postseason debut in the NL Division Series at Atlanta. The right-hander allowed five runs in the second inning of a 6-5 loss. He settled down after that in a five-inning outing.
“You could say that there was a little bit of nerves and anxiety, but that happens,” Buehler said. “My first time there, I think I handled it fine. My heartbeat, I felt good with. I was more upset about kind of the decision to throw certain pitches.”
Buehler, 24, has drawn comparisons to Kershaw based on his throwing ability, results and competitiveness. He also projects an image of calm, and he’s not one to dwell on a clunker.
“I know what happened and I was there, so I’m more of a positive feedback guy,” he said. “The only games I want to watch are the good ones and move forward and stick with what I have.”
What Buehler had in the NL tiebreaker game was very good.
He worked into the seventh, allowing one hit, in a 5-2 victory over Colorado that gave the Dodgers a record sixth consecutive division title. He retired his first six batters in the scoreless outing.
That’s the version of Buehler that Roberts wants to see against a Brewers lineup featuring Christian Yelich, Ryan Braun and Jesus Aguilar.
But if Buehler doesn’t last long, Roberts already knows what he’s got in his bullpen.
“Our guys have performed really consistent for me,” Roberts said.
The Dodgers rallied late in the first two games in Milwaukee, scoring four runs in the eighth and ninth of Game 1 only to lose 6-5 and scoring a combined four runs over the seventh and eighth to win 4-3 in Game 2.
For Brewers starter Jhoulys Chacin, Game 3 is a return to the scene of his team’s worst loss of the season.
He was charged with nine runs — eight earned — and five hits in a 21-5 rout on Aug. 2. Cody Bellinger hit a grand slam off the 30-year-old right-hander, who lasted just 4⅓ innings.
“It wasn’t my best game there, but during the season you got one or two bad games,” Chacin said. “I know people might talk about that a lot. But I’m just going to go out, just try to give my team a chance to win the game and just have fun.”