Buehler set for new perspective with start in Padres-Dodgers rivalry

On Friday night, Walker Buehler will finally have a chance to revisit the Dodgers-Padres rivalry -- he'll just be weighing in on the other side of it.

It was with the Dodgers, of course, that Buehler's career began and quickly peaked. He briefly debuted in 2017, and in less than a year, had muscled his way into the front-end of Los Angeles' stacked rotation.

From 2018-21 -- his age 23 through 26 seasons -- Buehler posted a 2.82 ERA in 95 appearances (94 starts) with a sub-1 WHIP (0.99) and 620 strikeouts in 564 innings. His 14.4 fWAR over that period was seventh in MLB. He was especially tough on the Padres -- in 12 regular season starts, most of which took place well before San Diego had re-achieved challenger status in the National League West, he had a 1.80 ERA against them.

But Buehler barely factored into the rivalry from 2022 through 2024, between injuries and ineffectiveness, as his career in Los Angeles came to a disappointing end.

Buehler has actually already made his official "remember me?" appearance against the Dodgers; he started against them for the Red Sox last July 27. That game, ironically, ended up being forgettable at best (4 2/3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 4 K). It was further clouded by the rest of his 2025 campaign, which one could argue was his worst to date; in addition to his 5.45 ERA in 112 1/3 innings, he allowed 120 hits, walked 55 batters and surrendered 22 home runs. The Red Sox, in the thick of a heated American League Wild Card race, released him on Aug. 29.

The Padres took a flier on Buehler this past offseason. He got off to a similarly uninspiring start this year. But the now-31-year-old right-hander has been different of late. He's allowed one run in each of his four starts in June, good for a 1.71 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 21 innings.

You'd never call it the return of vintage Buehler, the guy the Padres used to pray they might avoid on each of their trips through Los Angeles. In his last time out on Saturday against the Rangers, he matched his season-high strikeout total … of seven. He's a different kind of fastball pitcher than he used to be, this year leaning more heavily on his cutter than his four-seamer (which, once one of the most valuable in baseball, had been among the worst from 2022-25.) Whiffs, never a huge part of his game, remain incredibly scarce. Hard contact is sometimes unavoidable.

But for the Padres, down Nick Pivetta, Germán Márquez and now Lucas Giolito and never entirely certain what they'll be getting from Michael King, Randy Vásquez or Griffin Canning, Buehler's recent success has been a major development. A team that couldn't buy a win a few weeks back is coming off handing the Braves their first three-game sweep of the season.

Whether the Padres can keep the ball rolling against the Dodgers on Friday probably will be up to Buehler. To say he hasn't faced a better offense all year would be an understatement, being that there isn't a better offense in the Majors, and his recent success hasn't exactly come against the best MLB has to offer.

But this rivalry, historically, has brought out the best in Buehler, even under the most unlikely circumstances -- see his throwing six innings as part of the Dodgers combined no-hitter in San Diego on May 4, 2018, in what was his third career start.

The Padres probably won't see a repeat of that performance, but you never know.