April 26th, 2022 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka Prior to his fourth start of the season against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Monday night, 27-year-old Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler had been having an un-Buehler-like 2022 season.
Had.
Oh, sure, the Lexington, KY native, and Dodgers first-round draft pick in 2015 out of Vanderbilt was 2-1 heading into Monday night’s contest, but he had an un-Buehler-like 4.03 ERA, having allowed seven earned runs in his (to that point) 15.2 innings pitched. He had also walked an un-Buehler-like six batters while striking out 11 of the 68 batters he had faced. He had also given up two home runs and five doubles.
Had.
On Monday night, Buehler pitched a complete game, three-hit, 10-strikeout shutout against the Snakes. It was his third career complete game and his first career shutout. It was also the only complete game pitched in Major League Baseball thus far this season and improved his ERA to a (now) team-best 2.55.
“He said, ‘I’m not coming out of this game (after the eighth inning),’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters postgame. “I trusted him. I believed him.”
Buehler did not come out of the game. Instead, he retired the side in the bottom of the ninth on 10 pitches, bringing his total pitch count to 108 on the night, of which 75 were strikes, en route to his first career shut out.
“It’s something I know he’s always wanted, so for him to get that and throw the baseball like he did, just really happy for him,” Roberts added.
“Will (Smith) did a great job of steering me through it and threw a lot more curveballs than I have been and kind of got us back on track,” Buehler told SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson after his brilliant performance. “So, a good night and offense got us going early, so it made my job a little easier.
“Just another milestone that I wanted and something that I think is beneficial for a team, and yeah, it’s exciting.”
(Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)
That offense included a monster 425-foot solo home run to (very deep) left field by the aforementioned Smith.
(Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)
With the win, the Dodgers remain a half-game ahead of the (currently) red-hot San Francisco Giants for the NL West Division lead.
It also makes Buehler an early favorite for the 2022 National League Cy Young Award.
Play Ball!
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