Dodgers RHP Buehler to start Game 3 of World Series at Yankee Stadium

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Right-hander Walker Buehler will start Game 3 of the World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Manager Dave Roberts made the announcement before Game 2 on Saturday for the Dodgers, who won the series opener 6-3 on Freddie Freeman's walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning.

Game 3 will be at Yankee Stadium on Monday night.

“We just love Walker in big games,” Roberts said. “The road isn’t going to faze him. It also allows him potentially to be available for a Game 7, too.”

Buehler has made two postseason starts for the Dodgers this fall, both on the road. He took a loss in San Diego on Oct. 8 after giving up six runs in the second inning of his five-inning start, but he rebounded to throw four scoreless innings with six strikeouts against the Mets in Game 3 of the NLCS on Oct. 16.

Buehler has been a mainstay of the Dodgers' rotation when healthy over the past seven years, but the 30-year-old veteran is still working his way back to full strength after undergoing his second Tommy John surgery late in the 2022 season.

Buehler attempted to return for last season's playoffs, but couldn't do it. He finally got back to the Dodgers in early May, but he struggled through eight starts before going back on the injured list with a hip injury.

The two-time NL All-Star missed nearly two months of the regular season before returning in mid-August and making several improved starts down the stretch. Buehler has rarely been at his best since getting back to the majors, and he finished the regular season 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA.

He still represents the best option to Roberts, who is attempting to win a championship with a starting rotation decimated by injury.

High-priced acquisition Tyler Glasnow was declared out for the season in early August due to elbow fatigue after making a career-high 22 starts. Longtime Dodgers superstar Clayton Kershaw didn't return from offseason shoulder surgery until late July, and he made only seven starts before being sidelined by a bone spur that eventually led to him being ruled out for the season.

Dustin May, a staple of the Dodgers' postseason staff while winning the World Series in 2020, hasn't pitched since May 2023 due to a series of injuries. Tony Gonsolin, a 2020 contributor and a 2022 All-Star, had Tommy John surgery in late 2023 and couldn't return this season.

Gavin Stone made 25 starts this season, but then had right shoulder surgery and will probably be out until 2026. Bobby Miller began the year in Los Angeles' rotation, but lost his mojo and got sent to the minors repeatedly during the regular season.

World Series Game 2 starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto likely isn't operating at full strength, either. The $325 million right-hander spent two months of the regular season sidelined by shoulder fatigue, and he hasn't made a start longer than five innings or 79 pitches since his return in early September.

Even Game 1 starter Jack Flaherty felt tightness in his hamstring moments before he allowed Giancarlo Stanton's mammoth two-run homer in the sixth inning Friday night, Roberts revealed Saturday.

The Dodgers don't expect the injury to be a problem going forward for Flaherty. The Burbank native and recent Dodgers acquisition was sharp in the World Series opener, throwing 5 1/3 innings of five-hit ball with six strikeouts while going head to head with Yankees ace Gerrit Cole.

Buehler could be in his final series with Los Angeles before he heads into free agency this winter. He has spent his entire career with the Dodgers, who chose him with the 24th overall pick in the 2015 draft.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB