On Friday, Walker Buehler put in his most disastrous start since joining the Boston Red Sox this past offseason. Facing the New York Yankees, Buehler allowed seven hits, seven runs (five earned), and two walks while striking out two over just two innings. The Yankees quickly took a 7-0 lead, which proved too much for the Red Sox to overcome as they lost 9-6.
It was the second straight start in which Buehler allowed five earned runs. He is now 4-4 with a 5.18 ERA and 44 strikeouts over 10 starts on the season.
After the game, Buehler did not mince words expressing how disappointed he was in his performance. “This organization put a lot of faith in me this offseason and I’ve been f—ing embarrassing for us," Buehler said, via Christopher Smith of MassLive.
“It’s tough,” Buehler added. “It’s obviously a big game and a big rivalry that I was excited to be a part of. And for it to go the way that it did is super disappointing, especially after the past two, three weeks of kind of prep and throwing and all that kinda [expletive] and how I’m feeling. Physically I feel great and for it to happen that way, it sucks.”
Before Buehler briefly went on the injured list in May, he had strung together four good starts in a row, including three consecutive wins at the end of April. Since returning, though, Buehler has lost three of his four starts and his ERA has risen nearly a point.
“I feel like I’ve said this for two years straight now but I feel like I’m getting closer as weird as that sounds,” Buehler said, via Smith. “But for me to have kind of the four- or five-start stretch that I had right before I went on the IL of being largely successful and then to have these couple in a row is [expletive] super disappointing.”
Though Buehler put together several quality starts before his shoulder injury and was previously a hero for the Los Angeles Dodgers by clinching their World Series win last fall, he hasn't been consistent since returning from his second Tommy John surgery, which caused him to miss nearly two years of baseball until his return in 2024. Buehler does say he's "getting closer," but he still is nowhere near his All-Star form back in 2021.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Red Sox Pitcher Walker Buehler Offers Blunt, Profane Quote on His Pitching Struggles.