After his Red Sox debut went poorly against the Rangers last week, Walker Buehler pitched in front of the Fenway Park crowd for the first time on Friday. His home debut in Boston didn't go much better.
Fortunately for Buehler, the Red Sox were able to secure the 13-9 win against the St. Louis Cardinals, improving to 4-4 for the season. The veteran pitcher, who is now 1-1 with an 8.68 ERA in two starts, became the first Red Sox pitcher to allow 5+ runs in a home opener and still get the win since 2011.
Buehler made things difficult for his team after the Red Sox dominated the game early. The 30-year-old addressed his struggles after the game, in which he allowed five runs on seven hits in just five innings.
The former Dodgers All-Star said that he feels physically good, making his poor start frustrating. Per Chris Cotillo of MassLive, Buehler sounded frustrated that he couldn't keep his hot finish to last season going.
"It’s been so long since I’ve been so dominant as I want to be or been the guy that I want to be. I’ve had it for two or three starts at a time throughout the past year and a half, especially in the playoffs. But you don’t make many playoff rosters with a 7.00, 8.00 or 9.00 ERA. I’m not going to keep hanging my hat on the fact I showed up in October. I want to show up in April, May, June, July and August and go about it that way."Walker Buehler
Buehler missed all of the 2023 season and some of the 2024 season after undergoing a Tommy John surgery. He struggled in his 16 starts with Los Angeles last season before stepping up in a big way in the playoffs, closing out Game 5 of the World Series. Two of his three postseason starts were scoreless, finishing the playoffs with a 3.60 ERA in 15 innings.
So far, it looks like Buehler wasn't able to get over the hump and is back to his regular season self. As long as the two-time All-Star can stay healthy, however, he should have plenty of chances to play himself back into form. He desperately needs to do it for himself after signing a one-year "prove it" deal with the Red Sox in the offseason.