SLY WALKER
Buehler’s gem on the mound helps deliver NL West title to Dodgers
Walker Buehler wedged his slender frame through a teeming throng inside the Dodger Stadium clubhouse Monday. He sloshed across puddles of celebratory alcohol spilled because of his right arm. He caught sight of a stooped figure wearing ski goggles and a Dodgers blue parka. Buehler opened his arms to embrace the man in front of him.
“I’m so proud of you,” Tommy Lasorda said. “You’re going to be a Dodger for a long time.”
All around the 24-yearold budding ace and the 91year-old Hall of Famer, the Dodgers consecrated their sixth consecutive National League West title after a 5-2 victory over Colorado.
They reclaimed their crown in the 163rd game of the season, one game beyond the number required by the sport and far later than the team intended. They needed a midsummer surge to offset an early-season swoon, and a tiebreaker to hold off the red-hot Rockies. The trauma only heightened the triumph.
Comatose in April and adrift in August, the Dodgers ended the regular season in the same spot they have occupied since 2013. They will host the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of a National League Division Series on Thursday, hoping to secure the World Series championship that has eluded them since 1988.
“This one is sweeter because everybody gave up on us in April,” closer Kenley Jansen said. “Like, ‘Oh, this is not the Dodgers’ year.’ We turned our season around and here we are again.”
To do so, the Dodgers called upon Buehler, their swaggering rookie starter. His polite teammates refer to his confidence — “You don’t have to tell Walker how good he is,” Clayton Kershaw said — and others offer a more candid way to describe an arsenal that includes a 98-mph fastball, multiple effective breaking
balls and an unflappable demeanor. He inspires expletives. “He’s gross,” Cody Bellinger said. “I mean, he’s cocky as hell, too.”
Buehler (8-5) earned the superlatives Monday. He stomped a division rival in front of 47,816 and then swore over the sound system for those who stayed to cheer him.
Operating with imprecise command, the righthander still showed his surfeit of talent across 62⁄3 innings of one-hit baseball. He induced a slew of soft contact and silenced a team that had won nine of its last 10 games to force Game 163.
At the plate, Buehler even delivered a run-scoring single.
His teammates supplied enough support. Bellinger and Max Muncy blunted the upper-90s heat from starter German Marquez (14-11) with two two-run home runs. The only sour note arose in the ninth inning, when Jansen gave up two home runs.
Manager Dave Roberts vowed to speak with Jansen before the NLDS. En route to the World Series in 2017, Jansen anchored the bullpen. To reach that summit once more, the team may rely on its rotation of Kershaw, Buehler, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Rich Hill.
Buehler was an interloper in September 2017. He will be a vital cog in the journey this October.
He looked electric at the start of Monday’s game, as eight of his 13 pitches in the first inning were fastballs clocked at 98 mph or higher. He retired the first six batters he faced and worked around a hit batsman and a walk in the third inning.
An inning later, he issued a 10-pitch walk to outfielder David Dahl but otherwise kept the Rockies quiet.
While Buehler rolled, general manager Farhan Zaidi allowed himself a moment of nostalgia. Buehler was the first player drafted in Los Angeles by Zaidi and by Andrew Friedman, president of baseball operations. They chose Buehler out of Vanderbilt in June 2015 on the advice of scout Marty Lamb, scouting director Billy Gasparino and vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes.
The group knew Buehler needed an elbow reconstruction. They believed his talent outweighed the risk.
Buehler underwent surgery two months after the Dodgers selected him with the 24th overall pick. He debuted professionally July 7, 2016, with the Class-A Great Lake Loons.
Less than 14 months later, he reached the majors, and established himself as a cornerstone in 2018.
“That’s what you think about when you’re building an organization,” Zaidi said. “So I do think it was pretty special for him to get it done today.”
The Dodgers caught a sizable break against Marquez in the fourth inning, when catcher Tony Wolters dropped a third strike that allowed Muncy to reach first base after striking out on a 98-mph fastball.
The right-hander struck out the next two batters — effectively striking out the side — but still had to face Bellinger.
Bellinger hit a 95-mph fastball for a two-run home run to end the scoreless deadlock. Another home run came in the fifth, when Muncy sent a 99-mph fastball into the left-field bleachers.
Buehler wavered, ever so slightly, in the sixth inning. Outfielder Charlie Blackmon produced a one-out single to end Buehler’s no-hit bid.
Second baseman Enrique Hernandez aided Buehler with a sliding stop on a groundout by second baseman DJ LeMahieu. Buehler ended the inning with a 90-mph changeup, which Dahl tapped into the dirt.
“Big-Game Walker, you know. … He’s not afraid of a big moment,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez and Buehler teamed at the plate in the sixth inning. Hernandez hit a two-out double against left-hander Harrison Musgrave. Buehler followed with his seventh hit of the year, a single to right field that brought home Hernandez for a fifth run.
The day for Buehler ended midway through the seventh inning. He walked outfielder Carlos Gonzalez after two deep flyouts. Roberts signaled for Pedro Baez. Buehler handed the baseball to the manager and shook third baseman Justin Turner’s hand. The crowd chanted Buehler’s name as he walked off the diamond. The rookie acknowledged them with a small wave.
“That’s the dream,” Buehler said. “That’s what we play this game for, is those moments.”
Baez picked up the final out of the seventh inning and the first of the eighth. Kenta Maeda finished the inning. Jansen teetered in the ninth, a harbinger for the future, but not enough to quash the team’s achievement.
After the final out, the players gathered along the third base line. Roberts waved to the fans. Turner addressed the crowd, and so did Matt Kemp. Then they handed a live microphone to Buehler — a risky proposition.
“This is the loudest I’ve ever seen this place,” Buehler said. “We need this the whole ... playoffs.”
Buehler covered his mouth after dropping his second expletive on television in a 17-day span. In the clubhouse, he cited youthful exuberance and Southern roots.
“I apologize to all the children, all the parents, all listening ears,” Buehler said. “But I’m from Kentucky. We don’t really hold back when we’re a little excited.”
Buehler offered no other apologies for his demeanor. As the party raged around him, someone teed him up: Did you know you were going to win today?
Buehler curled his upper lip into a grin.
“I won’t say yes,” Buehler said. “But, yes.”