The Los Angeles Dodgers survived the NL Wild Card Recreation, and their reward is a date with the 107-win San Francisco Giants within the NLDS.
Since Max Scherzer began the Wild Card Recreation for L.A., Walker Buehler will get the nod Friday evening in Recreation 1 of the NLDS.
The 27-year-old isn’t any stranger to huge video games, so he shouldn’t have any hassle working in an intense setting in San Francisco.
Right here’s what you could know going into his begin.
Buehler Is Coming Off Of A Stellar Common Season
L.A.’s beginning rotation suffered numerous setbacks all through the 2021 season, however Buehler was one of many lone constants.
He stayed wholesome all 12 months lengthy and gave the Dodgers some elite manufacturing.
The righty posted a 2.47 ERA, 3.16 FIP, and 0.97 WHIP over 33 begins.
He racked up an enormous bWAR of 6.7, so don’t be stunned if he receives votes in each the Cy Younger and MVP race.
Walker Buehler, 81mph Curveball (sword) and elevated 95mph Fastball (Sword Okay), Overlay. pic.twitter.com/ebfOuRm4R8
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 18, 2021
Buehler had some unbelievable runs all through the common season.
For instance, from early July to late August, he had a streak of 10 consecutive begins by which he didn’t enable greater than two runs in any outing.
He had a 1.33 ERA over that span.
Equally, earlier within the 12 months, he had a nine-start stretch by which he didn’t enable greater than three runs in any outing.
His ERA was 1.53 over that span.
The Dodgers went 22-11 in Buehler’s begins within the common season, which is basically no shock when you think about how dominant he was.
Will it carry over into the playoffs?
His Postseason Observe Document Suggests That The Dodgers Are Giving The Ball To The Proper Man In Recreation 1 Of The NLDS
For a man that’s simply 27 years of age, Buehler has quite a lot of playoff expertise beneath his belt.
As soon as he throws a pitch on Friday evening, he’ll have appeared in 4 consecutive postseasons.
Each time he will get the ball on an enormous stage, he delivers huge outcomes.
He made 5 begins throughout L.A.’s run to the 2020 World Sequence title, and he dazzled, posting a 1.80 ERA, 2.55 FIP, and .196 opponent batting common.
He didn’t enable greater than two runs in any of his begins within the 2020 playoffs.
General, he has made 11 profession begins within the postseason, and he has registered a 2.35 ERA, 2.66 FIP, and .179 opponent batting common.
Highest Okay/9 in Postseason historical past (min. 50 IP)
1. Kenley Jansen (12.46)
2. Walker Buehler (12.18)
3. Gerrit Cole (11.57)— New York Yankees Stats (@nyyankeesstats) October 5, 2021
There’s no want to elucidate how spectacular that’s.
How Does Buehler Match Up In opposition to The Giants?
Buehler made six begins in opposition to the Giants within the common season, and the outcomes have been incredible.
He pitched to a 2.19 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in opposition to San Fran.
That’s a 107-win Giants crew we’re speaking about.
The Giants had the sixth-best run-scoring offense in baseball within the common season, however none of that mattered to Buehler.
He clearly doesn’t thoughts dealing with them.
He might very effectively face San Francisco twice on this NLDS, however it doesn’t seem to be he has any motive to dread the duty.
All indicators level to the previous first-round decide having a memorable collection in opposition to the Giants.
However hey, possibly we’re getting forward of ourselves.
We’ll have to attend and see what really occurs.
In spite of everything, the video games are performed for a motive.
https://www.thecoldwire.com/walker-buehler-thrust-into-game-1-starting-role/ | Walker Buehler Thrust Into Recreation 1 Beginning Position