Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler struck out six in 4⅔ scoreless innings in his second rehab start for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday night.
Facing the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Rockies’ top minor league affiliate, Buehler retired 14 of his 16 batters faced, allowing only a fourth-inning double and a two-out single in the fifth inning. He was pulled with two outs in the fifth inning after 65 pitches.
Two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 first inning for Walker Buehler! pic.twitter.com/etHT2oZUpx
— Oklahoma City Baseball Club (@okc_baseball) April 7, 2024
Buehler on Saturday was much sharper than in his first rehab start last Sunday in Tacoma, in which he retired his first seven batters faced but ended up allowing three runs in 3⅓ innings, throwing 54 pitches.
“I f****ed it all up but god d**n it was good to be back out there!” Buehler said in a tweet on April 1 that has since been deleted.
Buehler threw 42 of his 65 pitches for strikes on Saturday and got 12 swinging strikes, seven on his knuckle curve. Buehler’s fastball averaged 93.8 mph in this one, topping out at 95.9 mph, the latter coming in the fifth inning.
It’s unclear what the next step will be for Buehler. On March 29, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Buehler would likely need four rehab starts, “give or take a start” before he rejoins the team. Next week, Oklahoma City is at Round Rock in Texas while locally, Low-A Rancho Cucamonga is home to face Stockton.