Walker Buehler

He also got his first career MLB run batted in in his 47th plate appearance.

Walker Anthony Buehler (born July 28, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 14th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign and instead honored his commitment to Vanderbilt University.

As a freshman in 2013, he made 9 starts and appeared in 16 games.

He had a 4–3 record with a 3.14 earned run average (ERA) and 57 strikeouts.

He played college baseball for the Vanderbilt Commodores and was a member of their 2014 College World Series championship team.

As a sophomore, he went 12–2 with 111 strikeouts and a 2.64 ERA and was a member of the 2014 College World Series championship team.

On June 16, 2014, Buehler pitched innings of no-hit relief, retiring the first nine batters he faced and striking out seven batters in Vanderbilt's win over University of California Irvine.

After the 2014 season Buehler played for Team USA and the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL).

He posted a 0.63 earned run average with 24 strikeouts over innings pitched for the Red Sox.

In the 2014 CCBL playoffs, he did not allow a run in innings, won both of his starts, and was a co-winner of MVP honors, leading the Red Sox to the league championship.

Buehler was selected by the Dodgers 24th overall in the 2015 MLB draft out of Vanderbilt and made his MLB debut in 2017.

In 2015, as a junior he posted a 2.95 ERA in innings for the Commodores while striking out 92 and walking 30.

Over the course of his three-year college career, he went 21–7 with a 2.87 ERA in 51 games, striking out 260 against only 86 walks.

Buehler was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the 24th overall selection of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft and signed on July 17, 2015, for a $1.78 million bonus.

Soon after his signing, it was revealed that he would require Tommy John surgery and would therefore be sidelined for a year and a half with recovery.

He finally made his professional baseball debut on August 23, 2016, for the Arizona League Dodgers, striking out three and retiring all six batters he faced.

He was then promoted to the Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League on August 28.

He appeared in two games for the Loons, making one start, and did not allow a run or a hit in the three innings he pitched.

Buehler began the 2017 season with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League and allowed only three runs in innings over five starts before he was promoted to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League on May 2.

While with the Drillers, he made 11 starts with a 3.49 ERA and was selected to appear in the mid-season Texas League all-star game.

He was promoted to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers at mid-season where he made three starts before transitioning to the bullpen in preparation for a potential September major league callup.

He had a 4.63 ERA in innings for Oklahoma City.

At the end of the season, he was selected as the Dodgers minor league pitcher of the year.

The Dodgers added Buehler to the major league roster for the first time on September 6, 2017, and he made his major league debut that night with two scoreless innings of relief against the Colorado Rockies.

His first MLB strikeout was against Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies.

He picked up his first major league win with a scoreless inning of relief against the Philadelphia Phillies on September 21.

Overall, Buehler appeared in eight Dodgers games in 2017, allowing eight runs in innings (7.71 ERA) with 12 strikeouts and eight walks.

Buehler made his first major league start on April 23, 2018, against the Miami Marlins, pitching five scoreless innings.

On May 4, against the San Diego Padres, he took a no-hitter through six innings, with eight strikeouts, until being taken out of the game after 93 pitches.

Three relief pitchers combined to finish it off as the Dodgers won 4–0, the first combined no-hitter in franchise history.

He was placed on the disabled list on June 21 because of a rib injury.

He returned to make an appearance out of the bullpen on June 28 but allowed five earned runs in one inning before returning to the disabled list.

On July 13, Buehler made his first start in over a month against the Los Angeles Angels, allowing two solo home runs to Kole Calhoun but no other earned runs.

He set a new career high in strikeouts with nine on August 22.

After three more nine-strikeout starts, he struck out 12 on September 19 against the Colorado Rockies.

On October 1, Buehler started the NL West Tie-Breaker Game against the Colorado Rockies.

He picked up the win, giving up only one hit and allowing no runner to advance past second base.

He was an All-Star in 2019 and 2021 and helped the Dodgers win the 2020 World Series.

Buehler attended Henry Clay High School in Lexington, Kentucky.