LOS ANGELES_The pitches came fast and furiously, mid-90 mph fastballs that set up three straight devastating two-strike sliders. In consecutive at-bats to begin Saturday's game, Fernando Tatis Jr., Wil Myers and Manny Machado each struck out.
A week after getting roughed up in Washington, Walker Buehler was locked in from the start.
"Right then, I thought his delivery was so clean," manager Dave Roberts said. "That first inning really set the tone."
Buehler dominated against the San Diego Padres, tossing his second career complete game in a dazzling 15-strikeout display. After recording the final out in the Dodgers' 4-1 win _ a two-strike 94 mph cutter Eric Hosmer couldn't catch up to _ the 54,010 crowd at Dodger Stadium gave him a raucous standing ovation.
"It's hard to imagine having more command than he did tonight, just being ahead," Roberts said. "He was as dominant as you can be."
A first-time All-Star this year, Buehler was uncharacteristically clunky against the Nationals in a seven-run (four earned) outing last Sunday. Back at home Saturday _ he entered the night with a 2.51 career ERA in Dodger Stadium _ he displayed perhaps the most important trait shared among the Dodgers (73-40) starting rotation.
Resiliency.
"We're pretty process-oriented around here," Buehler said. "I don't know if one game changes a whole lot. Obviously wanted to get back on track."
Buehler had a strikeout in every inning, didn't issue a walk, and didn't allow an extra-base hit until a Manuel Margot solo home run in the eighth.
Trouble was rare and quickly handled. A two-on, no-out jam in the fourth _ contrived by a leadoff error and single _ was negated with a strikeout of Hosmer and double-play from Hunter Renfroe. Two innings later, he dialed up another inning-ending double-play against Myers.
"He was keeping them on their heels, going in (and) out," catcher Will Smith said. "They were constantly behind."
Buehler (10-2) became the youngest Dodgers pitcher to reach double-digit wins in a season since Clayton Kershaw in 2013. He registered his fourth double-digit strikeout game this year (he hasn't walked a batter in any of them). And he only needed 110 pitches to do it.
"I learned how to do that when I was on a pitch count here early in my career," Buehler said. "Having 75 or 80 pitches, and wanting to get deep into games, teaches you that stuff."
At the plate, Justin Turner opened the scoring with a fourth-inning solo homer off Padres (51-59) starter Cal Quantrill (4-3). Smith sparked a three-run fifth inning _ two were unearned _ by aggressively stretching for a leadoff double on a shallow blooper to left.
"He was thinking two out of the box," Roberts said. "Those are things that, when you're as talented as we are, when you can layer that in, it makes this team that much more unique."
So does the pitching staff's ability to bounce back.
The Dodgers' best three starters _ including Buehler, Kershaw and current Cy Young candidate Hyun-Jin Ryu _ have been able to quickly rebound from their rare rough starts all year. Since the beginning of May, the trio has collected 40 quality starts (at least six innings, no more than three earned runs) in 47 opportunities, 12 of which belong to Buehler.
Kershaw remains the only one of the three who had consecutive non-quality starts in that span, and that was when he threw at hitter-friendly Chase Field and Coors Field in back-to-back outings. As a result, the Dodgers have only suffered two losing streaks of more than two games en route to owning the best record in baseball.
"We have a lot of good starting pitchers," Roberts. "That's what's allowed us to sustain this momentum all season."
