For years, Walker Buehler has tortured the San Diego Padres. In 13 career starts against them, he’s 7-1 with a 1.67 ERA, holding them to a .187 batting average and fanning 83 over 81 innings.
The right-hander won’t get a chance to add to those numbers any time soon because he now wears their uniform. Buehler will make his San Diego debut Monday night when the Padres open a three-game series against the visiting San Francisco Giants.
The guy who played a key role in World Series titles in 2020 and ’24 with the Los Angeles Dodgers could be just as critical to the Padres’ postseason chances as he was to the team from Chavez Ravine. Those who have panned San Diego’s chances this year point to a rotation that on paper might not have enough depth.
General manager A.J. Preller addressed that concern in the offseason by inking Buehler and right-hander German Marquez, who won the fifth spot in the starting rotation. The 31-year-old Buehler’s 2.18 career ERA at Petco Park is the fourth best for any pitcher since the bayside ballpark opened for the 2004 season.
He’s excited about pitching in a pitcher’s park and for the team he’s dominated.
“I wanted to play in the playoffs and go to a place that has a chance to win,” Buehler said. “This was the opportunity I was most excited about and I’m glad it’s worked out.”
Buehler draws an opponent he’s beaten with consistency in his career. He’s 7-2 with a 2.79 ERA in 14 career games, 12 of them starts, against San Francisco. He’s whiffed 76 over 71 innings.
If the season’s first weekend is any indication, runs might be at a premium in this series. While the Padres managed only seven runs while losing two of three to Detroit, the Giants tallied just one run in being swept in three games by the New York Yankees.
That run occurred Saturday in a 3-1 defeat when Matt Chapman singled home Jung Hoo Lee in the third inning. The weekend’s futility made San Francisco only the second team in MLB history to be swept in a season-opening series while scoring no more than one run.
First-year manager Tony Vitello, making the rare jump from college baseball coach to big league manager, took part of the blame for the first two losses when he mentioned making a passionate speech to his players days before the season opener. Vitello felt it made his team too emotional.
His players seemed willing to fall on the sword.
“These first three games haven’t gone the way that we wanted to but that’s how baseball goes,” said shortstop Willy Adames. “Obviously, we don’t want to start the season like that but we have a new series … new day to start fresh and start rolling.”
The Giants hope to start a roll behind right-hander Landen Roupp, who in 22 outings last year went 7-7 with a 3.80 ERA. Roupp is 0-2 with a 3.86 ERA in seven career games against San Diego, four of them starts.
San Francisco won just three of 13 meetings with the Padres last year, going 1-5 at Petco Park.
–Field Level Media
