CINCINNATI, OHIO - APRIL 19: Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell walks to the dugout during a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels at Great American Ball Park on April 19, 2024 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jeff Dean/Getty Images)
Walker Buehler stymies the Reds with 6 dominant innings in the streaking Dodgers’ 4-0 victory.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Walker Buehler pitched six sharp innings with seven strikeouts in his third start since returning from Tommy John surgery, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 4-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night.
Buehler (1-1) yielded three hits and no walks in a dominant performance to earn his first major league victory since May 24, 2022. After looking somewhat shaky and wild in his first two starts back from his second Tommy John procedure, the two-time All-Star controlled his breaking pitches against Cincinnati and rediscovered the form he has usually shown when healthy during his first six seasons with the Dodgers.
Buehler said he changed his position on the rubber since his last start, and “a lot of things clicked into place.”
It was finally fun again,” Buehler said with a smile. “No, it’s just good to put one together. … The (velocity) wasn’t as good as it has been, not that that was intentional, but I think I was really trying to command it, and that’s what happens. I think there’s enough velo in there to still be pretty good. Just felt like it finally worked.”
Buehler and his three relievers combined on a three-hitter, with the bullpen pitching three perfect innings.
“He’s confident by nature, but I still think that when you go out there and do it, that solidifies the confidence, especially coming back from Tommy John,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
Freddie Freeman had two hits and drove in a run for the Dodgers, who have won 18 of 24 games to surge 7 1/2 games ahead of San Diego atop the NL West. Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages also had run-scoring hits for Los Angeles.
“A healthy Walker Buehler, that’s huge for us,” Freeman said. “You can’t say enough about him. I feel for someone who’s gone through injuries like that. It’s been a long road back for him. Whatever happens down the road, so be it.”
Graham Ashcraft (3-3) yielded three hits, three walks and three runs over five innings for the Reds, who have lost two straight and 14 of 17. Cincinnati was shut out for the fourth time this season.
“They put some good swings on the ball, (but) there was only one hard-hit ball throughout the game,” Ashcraft said. “Of course, the walks killed me.”
The Reds lost despite handling Shohei Ohtani, who went 0 for 4 for only the fifth time since joining the Dodgers. Mookie Betts also got his first rest day of the season for the Dodgers, who moved Ohtani to the leadoff spot.
Ashcraft held the Dodgers hitless for the first three innings, but he walked Freeman and Hernández in the fourth before Pages delivered an RBI single. Hernández then scored on Gavin Lux’s groundout.
