Dodgers' Walker Buehler lied to pitching coach before World Series relief appearance
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In a neat twist to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 2024 World Series triumph, it was Walker Buehler who shut the door in the bottom of the ninth inning of their decisive 7-6 win over the New York Yankees in Game 5. Buehler has had his fair share of struggles throughout the season, and he’s endured a plethora of injury woes over the past few seasons, so for him to be the last man standing on the mound is quite the redemption story.
It was a pleasant surprise that Buehler was available out of the Dodgers bullpen in the first place after pitching five innings in their Game 3 win. Buehler was simply hell-bent on getting his World Series moment, and he revealed that he even lied to pitching coach Mark Prior in the process.
“I lied to Mark, too. Mark called down and said, 'What the f**k are you doing down there?' I said, 'I told y'all I'll be down here.' He goes, 'Have you thrown?' I said, 'Yeah, I'm fine.’ … I haven’t touched the ball [since Game 3],” Buehler said with a wry smile on his face in an appearance on on the "On Base With Mookie Betts" podcast, via Matthew Moreno of Dodger Blue.
Walker Buehler revealed new details of his save in Game 5 of the World Series, specifically that he told a small lie to Mark Prior. pic.twitter.com/gqP287ZDdd
— Matthew Moreno (@Matthew__Moreno) November 19, 2024
The good news was that Buehler’s warm-up throws in the bullpen were deemed good enough for him to take the ball heading into the bottom of the ninth, and he did manage to take the Dodgers home.
“I turned to [Brent Honeywell] and Joe [Kelly] and I said, ‘Did that look crispy?’ They go, ‘Oh yeah.’ Alright, let’s roll!” Buehler added.
Buehler did indeed roll; he struck out two of the batters he faced, with his curveball looking very nasty, and with the Dodgers in need of just three outs, he got the job done — even if it took a little fib for that to happen.
Will World Series hero Walker Buehler stay with the Dodgers?
The Dodgers have a few decisions to make with regards to their starting rotation heading into the 2025 season. Three of their starting pitchers — Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, and Clayton Kershaw — are currently on the open market, and it’s not quite clear how many starters they want to have on the roster considering the fact that they went through plenty of injuries in 2024.
Buehler, for his part, has done enough to warrant a new deal with the Dodgers. In four playoff games (three starts), Buehler put up an ERA of 3.60 in 15 innings to go with 13 strikeouts.
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