Buehler delivers vintage outing to earn win in Phillies debut

PHILADELPHIA -- One way or another, newcomer Walker Buehler is going to help the Phillies down the stretch.

Ideally, he'd pitch well enough to compel the club to consider him for the postseason roster. If nothing else, his addition to the rotation will give each of Philadelphia's starters some extra rest leading up to October.

Making his Phillies debut, Buehler tossed five innings of one-run ball in an 8-2 win over the Royals on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park. He allowed five hits while striking out three, walking one and hitting a batter.

“Some really positive stuff in terms of what we’ve been working on and being able to execute it in some pressure situations,” Buehler said. “I’m pretty pleased with it, to be honest.”

Added manager Rob Thomson: “He gave us exactly what we needed.”

Buehler’s teammates welcomed him by providing plenty of run support on a night when they racked up 14 hits. Six Phillies had multihit games, including Bryce Harper -- who hit a two-run homer for his 26th of the season -- and Harrison Bader, who turned in his fifth straight multihit effort.

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The Phillies’ fifth straight win, coupled with the Mets’ seventh straight loss, extended Philadelphia’s lead in the NL East to 12 games. Their magic number to clinch the division is down to three.

“He fits right in; fits into that mold of being a Philadelphia baseball player,” Harper said of Buehler, a two-time World Series champion with the Dodgers. “Obviously, he’s pitched in big situations, big moments, deep into the postseason. So getting a guy like that in our clubhouse is huge for us.”

For Buehler, it was the first of what should be three starts for him in the coming weeks. That's not a lot of time to prove he can be an impact arm for a team with World Series aspirations -- especially given the Phillies' incumbent starters.

Cristopher Sánchez and Ranger Suárez are likely locked into the first two postseason starts. While not as consistent as that left-handed duo, fellow southpaw Jesús Luzardo has looked as dominant as anyone on the staff at times this season.

The Phillies also figure to split up those lefties with right-hander -- and longtime rotation cornerstone -- Aaron Nola, who is coming off arguably his best outing in an otherwise disappointing season.

With teams needing only four starters for the postseason, what would Buehler have to show in order to enter that mix?

"We've got four guys going pretty good right now," said manager Rob Thomson. "So, he's got to dominate pretty much."

What about a bullpen role?

"Yeah, I mean that's in the conversation," Thomson said. "No doubt."

Even in that case, the Phillies would like to see Buehler unlock some of the swing-and-miss stuff that made him a perennial Cy Young contender with the Dodgers. From 2018-21, the righty averaged 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings while posting a 2.82 ERA over 95 appearances.

Of course, Buehler's career was derailed when he underwent his second Tommy John surgery in 2022.

Buehler missed the entire 2023 season, then went 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA in 16 starts with the Dodgers in '24. After signing with the Red Sox last offseason, he posted a 5.45 ERA in 23 outings (22 starts) -- and averaged only a 6.73 K/9 rate.

When asked what he'd be looking for, in general, to gauge if a pitcher could potentially contribute out of the bullpen, Thomson said: "Usually, bullpen guys are swing-and-miss guys. So that's what you want."

Buehler induced 11 whiffs in his Phillies debut, tied for his second most in any outing this season -- and his most since getting a season-high 12 swings and misses on June 17.

“It’s a lot easier to get swing-and-miss when you throw stuff off of the heater,” Buehler said. “So most of the year, and even last year, I struggled a lot with the fastball command. … If I can get my arm to the right slot and to move the way I want and all this baseball mumbo jumbo stuff, the feel of everything kind of comes back.

“There’s room for kind of an uptick, hopefully, but to be able to execute and make some pitches is a great first step.”

Assuming the Phillies stick with a six-man rotation through the end of the regular season -- something Thomson said is the plan "at this moment” -- Buehler would have two more starts.

The first is lined up to come against the D-backs in Arizona next Friday. The other would be on Aug. 26 against the Twins at Citizens Bank Park.

There is also an off-day in between each of those outings, meaning every starter in Philadelphia's rotation will essentially be getting two extra days of rest between starts.

And that's where Buehler adds value, regardless of how he performs. For the Phillies, it was worth the low-risk move of signing Buehler to a Minor League deal.

“There’s some teams,” Buehler said, “that still want to grab the game by the horns and say, ‘Listen, this guy’s been really good in the playoffs, hopefully we can fix him. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, we gave him the minimum for three weeks.’”