Dylan Hernández: Walker Buehler's return was encouraging. Can he can build on it?
Published in Baseball
LOS ANGELES — Inside the interview room at Dodger Stadium, Walker Buehler sounded conflicted.
"I wish it could've gone better," Buehler said.
In the hallway outside, the surgeon who twice repaired his elbow was beaming.
From a medical perspective, team physician Neal ElAttrache said, Buehler's return to the mound on Monday night was a resounding triumph.
So what if Buehler labored through the first two innings of the Dodgers' 6-3 victory over the Miami Marlins?
So what if the former All-Star was charged with three earned runs?
So what if his elevated pitch count forced him out of the game after only four innings?
"What he showed today is that he has complete function performance back in his elbow," ElAttrache said.
ElAttrache, who has operated on superstars such as Kobe Bryant and Tom Brady, pointed to how an amped-up Buehler threw a fastball in the first inning that was clocked at 97.6 mph.
Manager Dave Roberts said before the game that he didn't expect Buehler to be touching 96-97 mph in his first major league game in 23 months, but the former All-Star delivered 13 pitches of 96 mph or faster.
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