Padres’ Walker Buehler meltdown makes his June rebound look like fool’s gold

Walker Buehler was just getting good again. The Padres starting pitcher was providing a much-needed spark for an otherwise underwhelming starting rotation. For most of June, he was giving the Friars solid innings and a reason to believe the rotation had unlocked something in the 31-year-old vet. He went 2-0 with a 1.71 ERA over five June starts, struck out 27 batters in 26 1/3 innings and allowed exactly one earned run in each of those outings.

After posting a 5.14 ERA in April and a 4.39 ERA in May, it looked like he had turned a corner. Then July decided to rip that whole thing apart.

Buehler has allowed 16 earned runs over his last two starts, covering just nine innings. He was tagged for nine earned runs in four innings when the Padres were completely waxed in a 23-3 loss to the Cubs on July 1. Then, with San Diego trying to build off avoiding a sweep by the Dodgers, he came back home and was tagged again in five innings in an 8-0 loss to the Diamondbacks.

Walker Buehler’s June rebound suddenly looks impossible for the Padres to trust

Bad nights happen. Two in a row, and the concern grows from that point. The problem is that his June run had started to feel like one of the few clean answers on a roster running out of them.

San Diego needed Buehler to keep games close and give the offense a little room to breathe. Now it looks like the floor has caved in. 

Buehler isn’t alone in the struggle. Since the start of July, the A’s (8.83) are the only team with an ERA worse than the Padres’ (8.25) starting pitching. To be fair, Buehler had two of those starts, but it doesn’t erase what has been a poor run on the mound for a team extremely dependent on its rotation.

There is a glimmer of hope here. The Padres’ xERA over that same span is 4.01, which places them tied for 15th in the majors. But it’s hard to care too much about expected numbers when two out of the six games ended with the opposition scoring double-digit runs. 

Craig Stammen put it well after the Diamondbacks loss. “That didn’t look good, feel good, taste good. We’ve got to wash that off real quick and get back at it,” the Padres manager said.

That is pretty much the only way to describe it. And there’s no elegant spin here. The Padres are getting dangerously close to having to wash this season off with it. 

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