Red Sox Encouraged By ‘Big’ Walker Buehler Improvements

Boston Red Sox pitcher Walker Buehler made clear improvements in Saturday’s victory over the Washington Nationals.

Buehler, who carried a 6.45 ERA into Nationals Park, held the opponent to three runs (two earned) across five-plus innings of work in the blowout win — and in the biggest personal win of all, he issued zero walks.

“It’s a step forward,” Buehler said following the game, per The Boston Globe’s Tim Healey.

“I keep saying I’m closer, I’m closer, I’m closer, and today I think there was genuinely some difference that gave me [confidence]. Confidence is a big thing in this game. The way I was moving and able to get through the first and feel like I knew what the ball was going to do is huge.”

Buehler had just one clean inning on the afternoon, so he wasn’t exactly perfect, but continuing to get outs and work his way through traffic was enough to inspire confidence moving forward.

“Way better … That’s big for us,” catcher Carlos Narváez said. “… Sometimes I think he wants to execute too perfect at the top of the zone and in the corners. The reality is, he’s got too many weapons. It’s not only fastball/[breaking ball], like other pitchers. So anytime we’re going to use the fastball in the zone, be confident in the zone. If they clip it, they clip it. But we don’t need to run away from the fastball. It’s a good pitch.”

The Red Sox have other options that are expected to soon come available, so if the veteran hopes to keep his spot in the rotation, he’ll have to continue building off his first acceptable start in weeks.