Buehler finds positives as he continues to work his way back

LOS ANGELES -- Now five starts into his return from a second Tommy John surgery, Walker Buehler continues to make progress. He’s also still reacclimating to all that comes with being on a big league mound.

Facing the Rockies on Friday night at Dodger Stadium, the right-hander was tagged for four runs (three earned) in six innings in the Dodgers’ 4-1 loss. He matched his season high with seven strikeouts, but tied a career high with four walks issued.

“You want to come home from a road trip and build momentum, and I did kind of the opposite of that,” said Buehler. “So the results are whatever they are, but that's the most frustrating thing for me.”

The Dodgers have understood that there were going to be ups and downs as Buehler adjusts to pitching in the Majors after nearly two years away. In the early going, a couple of recurring issues have cropped up. One of those is first-inning difficulties. Although he didn’t give up a run in the opening frame on Friday, he labored, allowing two hits and a walk while needing 28 pitches to get through it.

“You want to kind of get into the game, establish some type of a rhythm and don't want to get stressed right out of the gate,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “But that's what happened tonight. But it was good for him to somewhat limit damage.”

The long ball has proven to be a problem, as well, with Buehler having surrendered at least one homer in four of his five starts. On Friday, it was an Ezequiel Tovar solo shot in the fourth inning, which came on a slider left over the heart of the plate.

But it was the third inning when Colorado did most of its damage. With two outs and runners on first and second, Kris Bryant lined a sharp single to left to bring in the game’s first run. Brendan Rodgers followed that with a liner to center, where a misplay by Andy Pages allowed both runners to score (the second not being charged to Buehler). In all, Buehler threw 25 pitches that inning while permitting three hits and two walks.

“In terms of like, my body and my arm, to get through anything like that and then being able to kind of stay in it and feel good later in the innings, I think, is good,” said Buehler. “I just wish I was learning all these kinds of lessons I keep talking about and had good efforts or whatever. So if there's any positive to it, that's it. But we'll keep working.”

The fact that Buehler was able to stay in as long as he did is an encouraging sign. In each of his first two starts, Buehler faced 18 batters; in each of his next two, he faced 21. The goal for Friday, Roberts said pregame, was 23 or 24 batters. Buehler was efficient enough to be able to get through 27 batters, which he did on 92 pitches -- the most he’s thrown in a start this year.

“I thought as the game went on, he got better,” said Roberts. “I thought that the breaking ball was better, the command better, and that he was getting some quick outs. So it was something to see him get through that sixth inning, I just feel that every time he takes the mound, he's going to get six innings, which is a win in itself.”

Always candid about how he’s feeling and what he’s observed about himself, Buehler was once again frank when asked to assess where he was overall after a few weeks back.

“Physically, I'm probably exceeding where I thought I was going to be,” said Buehler. “But performance-wise, I feel [poorly]. I think my expectations of myself, I think I'm not anywhere close to where I want to be.

“I think if you take a layoff like that, you're going have the same expectations you always have. But you start tallying these starts, I think it's kind of ‘put up or shut up’ time for me, at least mentally. And these last few, obviously, haven’t been good enough.”