The Houston Astros stole the headlines Saturday night with their combined no-hitter against the Mariners, but it was Dodgers starter Walker Buehler who might have had the best individual performance of the night.
Buehler struck out 15 Padres batters and walked none in a complete-game 4-1 victory. He allowed five hits and improved to 10-2 on the season.
Dodgers’ Walker Buehler dazzles with 15-strikeout complete game in win over Padres https://t.co/rF0i1thQVP
— L.A. Times Sports (@latimessports) August 4, 2019
Young and dominant
The Washington Nationals roughed up Buehler a bit in his previous start, tagging him for seven earned runs. So he clearly was motivated to come out stronger Saturday night, and it worked.
Buehler struck out the side in the top of the first against three good hitters: Fernando Tatis Jr., Wil Myers and Manny Machado. He didn’t give up his first hit until the third, a ground-ball single from Greg Garcia, and he also struck out the final two batters he faced in the ninth. His final pitch, No. 110 on the night, was a whiff from Eric Hosmer.
“It’s hard to imagine having more command than he did tonight, just being ahead, ” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “He was as dominant as you can be.”
Walker is not a walker. He’s a strikeouter.
— Howard Cole (@Howard_Cole) August 4, 2019
Second time this season
Buehler is a 25-year-old in his second season who missed time with Tommy John surgery during his minor-league career.
But after that bit of a slow start, he’s become one of the game’s most dominant pitchers. Just how dominant? This is the second time he’s had a 15K, no-walk performance this season (he struck out 16 Rockies on June 21). The only others to do that twice in a season in the past 100 years? Two guys named Dwight Gooden and Pedro Martinez.
Pitchers with multiple 15+ K, 0 BB games in a single season (since at least 1908):
2019 Walker Buehler
2000 Pedro Martinez
1999 Pedro Martinez
1984 Dwight GoodenThat’s it.
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 4, 2019
