Walker Buehler outshines regressing Roki Sasaki in Padres win over Dodgers
SAN DIEGO –– It was a battle of Dodgers pitching phenoms at Petco Park on Friday night.The former one, in Walker Buehler.The current one, in Roki Sasaki.In a 7-1 Padres win, there was no comparing their two performances.While Sasaki took a major step backwards in his up-and-down sophomore season, walking five batters and giving up a three-run homer in a shaky four-plus-inning outing, Buehler tapped back into his dominant form of old for San Diego, cruising through 5 ⅓ innings of one-run ball to hand the Padres the opening game of this pivotal mid-season rivalry series.That Buehler was ready for the moment was no surprise.Before the game, manager Dave Roberts was only half-joking when he said the former Dodgers ace would “love nothing more than to shove it up our you-know-what.”Sasaki’s struggles, however, represented a more foreboding development in a campaign suddenly headed back in the wrong direction.He lacked command from the start, walking three of his first five hitters while grinding through long, foul-ball-extended at-bats.Then, after getting Ty France to an 0-2 count with two aboard in the second inning, he threw a low slider that France launched to left for a no-doubt three-run blast.The Dodgers would trail the rest of the way, failing to solve Buehler before squandering a bases-loaded, one-out opportunity after he exited in the top of the sixth.
The Padres didn’t even have to go to lockdown closer Mason Miller, either, not after their offense tagged Dodgers reliever Jonathan Hernández with four runs in the eighth to pull away.For Buehler –– now on his third organization since getting the last out of the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series title –– the outing continued his recent turnaround, giving him a 3.81 ERA this season and a 1.71 mark since the start of June.For Sasaki –– who has now allowed 13 runs in 14 innings over his last three starts –– the dud continued his recent regression, leaving him on Friday to be outshined by hi...