Dodgers’ Walker Buehler says he has been ‘not good enough’

Walker Buehler was hit hard for the second time in his three starts this season and gave a harsh assessment of how he’s been performing.

The Los Angeles Dodgers starter surrendered five runs in four innings on Thursday as his team lost 11-7 to the St. Louis Cardinals. He was asked after the game whether his brief spring training is playing a role in his early struggles. Buehler declined to give any blame to the late start and said he needs to be better.

Buehler on if his limited spring has hurt him: "I think any reasoning or any cause is, it’s bull crap. At some point it’s me not making the pitches. And I should be able to do that my first outing of the spring. This being my third start of the season, it’s just not good enough."

— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) April 11, 2019

Buehler did not throw a bullpen until early March and did not make his Cactus League debut until the middle of the month, so he barely had any spring outings before making his season debut. The Dodgers have not said why that is the case.

Buehler is up to an 8.25 ERA for the year, well off the 2.62 ERA mark he posted last year. On the bright side, he did smack a home run, so his hitting seems up to speed.