Dodgers Postgame: Walker Buehler discusses outing, feeling as close to normal as he has since return

Walker when you look at this outing it seemed like there were opportunities you were getting ahead in the count so it seemed like you going to continue to have success just kind of missing that putaway pitch have you been feeling that as of late and what do you think potentially leading to that yeah I mean you know in general getting NO2 is kind of a weird victory for me right now but um you know I felt like I was kind of o02 or 20 the whole night and um you know made a couple bad pitches pan got me twice and um he was a tough one he doesn't come off the heater and tried to throw kind of the front hip two seamer and he kind of smother hooked it and hit it hard and uh for two in the first but um I I'm so tired of saying that I feel closer but uh I kind of explained to people I felt like a bad version of myself in 21 and and I think that's is that's as close as I felt to to kind of me of old as I have you know as I felt this year and um yeah I I don't want to I didn't throw the ball well and and our team really helped me out and and got us back in the game and I don't want to sound too optimistic about it just because of of kind of the results but you know I I came out of that one feeling pretty good about where I'm at and and what we've done this week in terms of the delivery and um now now it's you know I've been saying it's I got to perform and I got to perform but I I feel like I can actually perform now and and you know I'm going to have five six days to to throw and and feel the same thing that I've been feeling the past three or four days and um you know I feel better about it and and and I think also like this is the kind of power of being on a team like this right I I can throw the ball not great you know we get we get their guy out of there quickly and and kind of chip away at it and and then explode and we got guys off the bench that are veteran players and and really prepared and and J it's a big Homer and wins this the game so um yeah it sucks you know it's hard to say like keep sticking with me but I I feel a lot better about it and and obviously it's nice not to lose every game that I start you like I guess looked at just kind of the last few outings and me kind of saying with that it's a building block yeah do you feel like I guess just the differences and you kind of talk about delivery but like this week feels like just another step for you kind of leading into your next outing yeah I mean before I had the hip thing honestly I felt very kind of hopeless in terms of the way my delivery was working and and um felt very ler for me and and I think not so much in Milwaukee but the bullpen in St Louis and then today have kind of given me at least mentally some um hope is too desperate of award but I feel a lot better about the way that that I've am able to throw the baseball and and now I've got to go get results and and all that stuff but um you know hopefully I get a couple more starts to to figure it out and and get kind of that confidence built back up but you know I think I feel better about tonight than the line would suggest and and it's been a long time since I felt that way what are you been feeling closer is it closer just with where you want your delivery to be yeah there's um I don't want to get too like technical just cuz it is what it is but there's some things that you have to do in delivery that uh I haven't been drifting down the mound at all I haven't gotten any forward move and and I've just kind of been stuck and and when you're stuck all that weight transfers and your hand can kind of go anywhere and and tonight I felt like I actually got out forward and um start of moving a little quicker which puts my hand in a lot closer a lot more similar position more often and to me tonight like the misses I actually if I miss by 2 feet to the left my hand told me that I had missed by 2 feet to the left it wasn't kind of this weird mystery that I've been dealing with for a long time and um everything just made a lot more sense and I wish I would have performed better in saying that but um it it just it felt a lot more like how I know how to pick up my leg and and throw a baseball and the the time of the year kind of being what it is and you know right guys will be coming back in theory right in the next couple of weeks I mean how much kind of a Do or Die feel does do these next couple of St Happ yeah I mean I need to go go do it and that's kind of all there is to it obviously we have a lot of talent in this room and um you know we're not we're not going to be limping into September trying to get the season over and let me make four starts and hopefully I feel better right we're trying to get ready for the playoffs and and to go and and win games so um you know it's kind of time for me to to prove I I deserve a place in that and um you know at the end of the day like I'm pretty comfortable with that in terms of if I feel like myself like I think I can go perform and and do that and um hopefully tonight is you know the first of a building block in the right direction that I kind of haven't felt in a long time so yeah you know my guess is right the normal offseason normal screen training all that kind of stuff would help and you know kind of going forward whatever but how confident are you that this is given the situation that you can still find that thing you know be kind of Before Time runs out here yeah I mean I I think there's a lot of misconceptions on what happens in rehab and and it's not necessarily the physical stuff all the time and um I'm not even saying it's mental you just get into this like lull of throwing to throw and and not really pushing the way that you can or you're so scared to hurt your elbow again or whatever and listen there's risk in throwing a baseball 96 miles an hour and and trying to go pitch and um I think my my body in some ways like my body and my head are are accepting of that risk and um um I I just feel a lot Freer and and I feel Freer mentally so you know at the end of the day like I want this team to be successful and and I want to be a part of that so um you know we got whatever five weeks until playoffs and and hopefully I can you know do a few things to to show i' belong on this team I mean if they do kind of tap you on the shoulder and just say hey this the space kind of isn't there the results have been there like would you kind of be understanding of that situation yeah um you know it's like going to not going to be easy for me or or I'm not going to go down lightly right like I feel like I can compete in the major leagues and compete in big games the way I felt today now it's kind of honing that in but you know at the end of the day there's a lot of guys that have thrown the ball great and and we have I have full faith in in the three or four guys ahead of me at the time and um you know it is what it is but you know I'm not going to cross that bridge before we get there has it crossed your mind that all you know given your contractual situation right you'll be a about my contract but I mean I guess just the fact that this could be there's not a whole lot to talk about like I have a 6 like I'm trying to figure out how to get people out in the major leagues like fre agencies for talking about when you have a 25 and and you're rolling through the league you know I I really don't care and to be honest with you I've played here my whole career I love playing here um we've won a World Series here that's all I G a about right thank you guys