World Series: More big-game Buehler, more power from Freeman and the Dodgers are on the doorstep of a title
by Cary Osborne
Walker Buehler walked out to the Dodger bullpen to make his pregame warm-up pitches for Game 3 of the World Series on Monday. By the time he had reached mid-center field, he started to scan the outfield decks at Yankee Stadium.
Buehler had little familiarity with the ballpark. In fact, he had never pitched here before.
What he is familiar with is pitching well in the postseason.
Buehler’s heater was a discovery. The pitch was its best of the season. Buehler also got help from the Dodger defense — particularly in the fourth inning with two run-saving plays in the outfield. And he exited the game after five shutout innings.
Freddie Freeman gave him an early lead with his third consecutive game in this series with a home run, and the Dodger bullpen worked the final four innings in the Dodgers’ 4–2 victory.
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The Dodgers lead the World Series 3–0 — one win away from winning it all.
Buehler, admittedly, was amped for his opportunity to put his team in that position.
“I think, as kind of brutal as it is to say, it takes that adrenaline and stuff to kind of really get me going mentally. I wish I would have felt that all year. I could tell you I’m excited to pitch every single game I’ve ever gone out there, but there is something different in the playoffs,” Buehler said. “At least long term for me, to get through the playoffs in the way that I have, it’s really encouraging for me personally because I know it’s in there and I’ve just got to unlock it a little bit. But that feeling of there’s an organization relying on me today to win a playoff game, I think it’s kind of the weight that I like feeling and kind of gets me in a certain place mentally that it’s kind of hard to replicate.”
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Buehler threw his four-seamer 34 times, and fearlessly threw it in the strikezone 68% of the time. His 15 swings-and-miss and called strikes with the pitch are a season best — regular and postseason.
It was the set-up pitch for him. He earned four of his 15 outs with the four-seamer but threw a first-pitch strike with it eight times.
“Tonight I thought his stuff was as good as it’s been all year,” said manager Dave Roberts. “I thought the fastball had life. The cutter was good. The curveball was good. He pitched all quadrants and kept those guys honest, kept them at bay. There was no stress. … Obviously there was a little bit of emotions, adrenaline, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more from Walker tonight.”
In a season of ups and downs, that pitch was generally a culprit.
Opponents had their way with the pitch this season, batting .333 with a .667 slugging percentage against it. Buehler allowed a .696 slugging percentage against his four-seamer in the regular season — the second-highest slugging percentage among all Major Leaguers who threw the pitch at least 300 times this season.
Not on the biggest stage of the season.
“It’s kind of like it used to be a little bit, or a little bit closer obviously,” Buehler said of the four-seamer. “Got a couple of swing and miss early in the game, and that kind of resets you mentally to think, ‘Oh, I’ve got a good one going today or whatever. Yeah, it felt good.”
Buehler also was boosted by a Mookie Betts diving catch in the fourth inning with Giancarlo Stanton on second base and Teoscar Hernández throwing Stanton out at home on a single from Anthony Volpe.
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Dodger pitching in totality has been a standout in this series — particularly against American League MVP favorite Aaron Judge. Judge went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout in Game 3. He is 1-for-12 with seven strikeouts and the one walk.
The Yankees are 4-for-20 against Dodger pitching with runners in scoring position and have scored seven runs in the three games.
Dodger starters — beginning with Jack Flaherty in Game 1, going to Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2 and Buehler in Game 3 — have gone 16 2/3 innings and have allowed three earned runs.
That trio pitched 18 1/3 innings in four games in the National League Championship Series.
The Dodger offense left numerous chances on the table in the game, leaving the bases loaded in the third inning and leaving two on in the fourth and seventh.
Freeman’s homer, though, was a jolt. Mookie Betts added an RBI single in the third. And Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt was out of the game in the third inning. The Dodgers added one more with a Kiké Hernández’s RBI single in the sixth inning.
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Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-3 with a walk. He said the shoulder that he partially separated in Game 2 wasn’t an issue.
“If it was more of the right shoulder, then I think it would have impacted my swing,” he said. “Thankfully, it was my left, so I don’t think it really did.”
The Dodgers will go into Tuesday’s Game 4 with a bullpen game. The offense done just enough to get them to this point.
“There’s just got to be urgency,” Roberts said. “I just don’t want to let these guys up for air.”
World Series: More big-game Buehler, more power from Freeman and the Dodgers are on the doorstep… was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.