Several Boston Red Sox fans on Monday sounded fed up with starting pitcher Walker Buehler.
Buehler had about the worst first inning imaginable against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. Red Sox batters gave Buehler a 3-0 lead before he threw his first pitch, but the veteran right-hander squandered it immediately.
Angels leadoff hitter Zach Neto rudely greeted Buehler with a home run off Walker’s first pitch.
A couple of outs sandwiched back-to-back walks to Mike Trout and Taylor Ward. Buehler completely unraveled after a Jo Adell single drove in Trout.
Buehler hit the next batter, LaMonte Wade Jr., to load the bases. The Red Sox hurler then walked the next two batters to allow two more runs to score. The lineup turned over to Neto, who became the second player to get hit by a pitch in the inning. Nolan Schanuel mercifully flew out to end the inning with Boston trailing 5-3.
Red Sox fans were understandably not happy with Buehler, with many suggesting Boston send him back to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora stuck with Buehler despite the abominable 39-pitch inning. Buehler salvaged his outing a little bit by throwing three shutout innings before leaving the mound. However, the damage was already done. He gave up five runs on three hits, five walks, and two HBPs in Boston’s 9-5 loss.
Buehler leveraged a standout 2024 playoff run with the Dodgers last season into a lucrative one-year contract with the Red Sox. Given his bloated 6.29 ERA across 13 starts, it’s safe to say that Buehler has not lived up to the deal thus far.
