Walker Buehler could be setting himself up for Padres redemption moment vs Dodgers

Let’s go ahead and circle the day we’re going to see Walker Buehler against the Dodgers in a Padres uniform. Buehler spent the best years of his career in Los Angeles. He became an All-Star and finished in the top 10 of Cy Young voting there. He was also a fixture in the rotation in October for LA. The 2019 rotation with Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Rich Hill, and Kenta Maeda was completely absurd.

Now, he is on the other side of the rivalry, and the timing is starting to look pretty good for the Padres. They’re scheduled to face the Dodgers from June 26-28, and the rotation could line up with Buehler taking the ball against his former team. And Buehler is actually pitching well enough to make it count.

Since May 10, the Padres are 5-2 in Buehler’s starts. He owns a 2-1 record with a 2.92 ERA and 29 strikeouts over seven appearances in that stretch. And considering how the Padres’ rotation has been held together this season, that’s why it counts.

The Padres are getting the version of Walker Buehler they hoped for

When the Padres brought in Buehler, no one was expecting the 2019 or 2021 version at all. They just needed to fill the back-end of the rotation with an affordable veteran arm with some upside.

The Dodgers are sitting comfortably on top of the NL West at 45-27. The Padres are 37-33, seven games back in second place. In mid-June, that’s not a death sentence, but it does kind of telegraph where this season is  headed for both teams. The Dodgers are tracking toward a fifth consecutive NL West title. The Padres, meanwhile, are staring at the possibility of finishing second for the third consecutive season, unless the Diamondbacks have something to say about it.

The Padres shouldn’t be treating every Dodgers series like a symbolic rivalry weekend. At some point, these games have to become practical. Win the series and cut into the lead. Make the division feel a little less like another Dodgers march. So this isn’t just about a redemption story for Buehler. It’s whether the Padres can turn a primetime matchup into something that actually impacts the standings.

If he gets the ball, it will be about the Padres asking a former Dodgers star to help them punch back at the team still standing above them. 

Beating the Dodgers is always nice. Doing it with Walker Buehler would be the cherry on top.

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