SAN DIEGO -- As they head toward the stretch, the Red Sox, like the other contenders, are making evaluations about their club.
That made Friday night a start to watch for Walker Buehler, whose topsy-turvy first season with Boston has been a source of consternation, particularly for the highly competitive right-hander himself.
In a big spot, Buehler came through with perhaps his finest effort of the season, firing six scoreless innings to lead the Red Sox to a 10-2 victory over the Padres in the opener of a compelling three-game series between clubs that have nearly identical records.
It was Buehler’s first start of six-plus scoreless innings since May 18, 2024 against the Reds.
“You’ve got to go,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “He knows it. It’s not a lack of work. He executed today. Now he needs to turn the page and be ready for Houston [on Wednesday].”
Backed by improved command of his fastball, Buehler (7-6, 5.40 ERA) looked at home in his latest return to Southern California, holding the Padres (64-52) to four hits while walking two and striking out four.
The Red Sox (65-52) moved within three games of first-place Toronto in the AL East.
“Out here in Southern California, the ball works a little differently. And your numbers in terms of movement, stuff is always good here,” Buehler said. “I felt good with the fastball in the bullpen, and that was part of the plan.”
The former Dodger is now 2-1 with a 2.18 ERA in six career regular-season starts at Petco Park.
If it didn’t have the intensity of some of the Dodgers-Padres rivalry games Buehler pitched in over the years, the results were still satisfying given the way his season has transpired to date.
“Let’s not sugarcoat it,” Buehler said. “The biggest thing that people talk about with me is pitching in the playoffs. And so when you face teams that are going to be in the playoffs, I think they're in some way drastically more important for me.”
Did Buehler feel like this was his best start with the Red Sox? The always-candid 31-year-old admitted there aren’t a lot of others to pick from.
“I’ve probably had three good ones all year that, really, I will remember,” said Buehler. “But, you know, 11 a.m. against the White Sox [on Patriots Day] is not one you really hang your hat on. But this one and Philly [on July 21] are probably the two best against big-boy playoff teams. I’ve pitched here a lot and had some success here.”
While there’s very little that is pleasant to Buehler about inconsistency, the one thing he can draw back to is last season, when he had similar struggles with the Dodgers and then came through when it mattered most in October.
“Obviously, I've been kind of the odd man out [with the rest of the] rotation being good, so I guess sky's the limit if I can figure it out,” Buehler said. “But at the same time, I also feel like if I'm the worst guy on a rotation, then we're in a pretty good spot. And if I can kind of grab some magic like I did last year, things will go really well for us.
“I felt like that tonight. Hopefully I can just kind of build on it and hope I can get on a two or three month run here.“
For Buehler, it was a marked upgrade from the last time he pitched in this part of the country, when he walked seven over four innings in Anaheim on June 23.
When Buehler had a mini-surge of three straight solid starts from July 5-21, he cited the improvement of his arm angle.
After hitting a rut in his last two starts that preceded this one, Buehler went back to the drawing board with more tweaks.
“I found some stuff the past couple of starts in terms of how I want my back leg to work. And tonight, it was much improved for me,” Buehler said. “I think for me, knowing where my hand is out front [is important]. And if that happens, I feel like I can kind of do whatever I want, and it can be one of the better guys in baseball.
“Obviously, this year I haven't kind of been there. But tonight, I felt like I kind of knew where my hand was. So obviously a pretty improved result.”