It took all of seven pitches for Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler to exceed the expectations of manager Dave Roberts, who prefaced Buehler’s first major league start in 23 months on Monday night by saying, “I don’t expect to see the 96-97 mph that he had before [Tommy John] surgery.”
After completing his warmup pitches with Rage Against the Machine’s “Bulls on Parade” blaring on the Dodger Stadium public-address system, Buehler went into his windup with the signature high leg-kick and fired his first pitch, a 96-mph fastball, by Miami leadoff man Jazz Chisholm Jr. for strike one.
Buehler hit 97 mph with his seventh pitch of the game, a fastball that Chisholm fouled off, and just for good measure, Buehler touched 97.