Buehler gets refresher on 'delicacies' of starting pitching

SAN DIEGO -- Getting Walker Buehler back on the active roster after a 22-month absence was a big step in the right direction for the Dodgers. Now it’s about Buehler finding the rhythm and groove that once made him one of the best pitchers in the National League.

In his second start since coming off the injured list, Buehler showed some positive signs, but it was also clear that there’s still a lot of work left to be done. Buehler allowed three runs on five hits over just 3 1/3 innings in the Dodgers’ 4-0 loss to the Padres on Sunday afternoon at Petco Park.

“We just can’t lose sight of the fact that he hasn’t pitched in two years,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “For me, I’m not going to put much stock in two outings. I think getting him back here, back in competition mode is a good thing, and I think the stuff is good. Again, it’s just more harnessing all that stuff.”

Much like his first start against the Marlins, Buehler struggled out of the gate. Fernando Tatis Jr. welcomed him back with a solo homer to deep center field to open the scoring in the first inning. Three pitches later, Jake Cronenworth also took Buehler deep to give the Padres a quick 2-0 lead.

Buehler was able to get out of a jam in the second inning and pitched a clean third, his best frame of the game. But the inconsistencies continued in the fourth, as he gave up a one-out single to Jackson Merrill before walking Luis Campusano and hitting Ha-Seong Kim with a pitch, ending Buehler’s outing after he recorded just 10 outs.

For the second consecutive start, Buehler’s velocity on the heater was better than expected -- 95.7 mph average on his four-seamer on Sunday. That’s the one positive to continue taking out of each of Buehler’s first two outings. Buehler, however, is still not getting the level of swing and miss he was accustomed to before the injury.

Of the 77 pitches he threw Sunday, the right-hander got just five whiffs. Only one came on the four-seamer, the pitch he threw the most against the Padres. Both Tatis and Cronenworth hit their homers off the four-seamer.

“I think right now everything is a little backwards for me,” Buehler said. “Like the [Luis] Arraez at-bat, I got him 0-2 and I threw a pretty good breaking ball that he check-swung a little bit. I threw another curveball, and it was right down the middle. Those being reverse order, you have a pretty good chance. But what I did didn’t work, and it doesn’t work.”

Even with some of those struggles, Buehler said he felt more encouraged after this outing than he did against the Marlins. He noted that his endurance was much better than it was on Monday and had better overall mechanics and throws than in his season debut.

Of course, his mechanics still need to get better. He mentioned the pitch mix needs to improve. Even in the third inning, Buehler was late to cover the first-base bag, another reminder that it’s going to take time for him to piece together everything that comes with starting every fifth or sixth day.

“There’s just these little -- weird way to say it -- but delicacies to starting pitching that, when you don’t do it for a long time, you kind of got to figure them out,” Buehler said. “And that’s kind of where I’m at.”

After two starts, the Dodgers and Buehler aren’t concerned with the lack of production. Buehler reiterated that, while it may look different than it did three years ago, his stuff should still be good enough to consistently get big league hitters out.

Over the next few months, the Dodgers will also remain patient with Buehler. There’s no exact timeline of when Buehler will be graded just like every other pitcher on the staff. There’s also the understanding that the best Dodgers team includes Buehler pitching at a high level going into October.

“We have a lot of really talented people here,” Buehler said. “And most people believe if you’re not putting the team in a really good position to win, you shouldn’t be starting games. I’m not freaked out. I’m actually pretty encouraged by a lot of the things I’ve done. …

“But, yeah, a few more starts that I’m kind of giving myself a little bit of grace. And then after that, that kind of ‘happy to be here’ thing will go away.”