The Dodgers' Walker Buehler is finally starting to adjust to his reality

Walker Buehler held his glove to his chest and screamed into the October night.

Bases loaded, two outs, full score and Buehler had hit Francisco Lindor with… a curveball?

On the key pitch in an 8-0 victory over the New York Mets in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, Buehler revealed what kind of pitcher he could be.

By pitching four scoreless innings in a victory that gave the Dodgers a two-games-to-one lead, Buehler demonstrated the gradual change he had made during the most demanding season of his career.

Nothing illustrated Buehler's development like his strikeout against Lindor in the second inning that gave him a two-run lead.

“Right there,” said manager Dave Roberts, “was the pitch.”

There was a time when Buehler wouldn't have even considered throwing an off-speed pitch in this situation.

“Oh, in 2018, 2019, 2020 I would have thrown a fastball,” Buehler said with a smile.

At that time he was nicknamed Butane. He attacked hitters with a high-90s fastball and a hit-it-if-you-can attitude.

Walker Buehler celebrates after hitting New York's Francisco Lindor to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning of NLCS Game 3.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

He returned from his second Tommy John surgery this season and was a changed pitcher. His fastball wasn't as explosive.

He still found it difficult to betray his instincts.

In mid-June, the Dodgers received a visit from the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers. Buehler started the middle game of a three-game series. At this point, he was relying less on his four-seam fastball than ever before.

But in the fifth inning he encountered a similar situation to Wednesday night: a run lead, two players on, full count and one of baseball's most feared hitters at the plate.

The batter in question was Corey Seager, who was the World Series most valuable player when Buehler was the No. 1 starter for the Dodgers' championship team in 2020.

Buehler threw a 96 mph fastball to Seager. Seager started the pitch halfway up the right field pavilion. The Rangers won the game.

When asked how the pitcher who threw that fastball to Seager became the pitcher who threw that curveball to Lindor, Roberts replied: “I think it was a lot of lessons that he learned and made the pitcher he is today. had to appreciate and understand.”

And what did Bühler learn?

“With 3-2 and the bases loaded, I now have to throw a curveball instead of a heater,” Buehler said.

He smiled.

Buehler was reserved in his postgame press conference, joking about what he was thinking when Lindor came to the plate: “I think the fear of pitching the way I've pitched all year is probably why I channel that fear.”

There were also sincere moments.

Buehler entered the interview room at Citi Field as Kiké Hernández was about to answer a question about Buehler.

Buehler stood in the corner of the room and nodded as Hernández talked about how comfortable he felt on the big stage. He looked down as Hernández explained how much the players trusted him.

Bühler later explained how important this was to him.

“The way Kiké talks about our team having a certain confidence when pitching, I think that's the real goal of every pitcher,” he said. “There's the stats and free agency and all that, but I want to have 25 people in the locker room that believe I'm giving us a really good chance to win. “If I somehow got that done in our locker room, I will “I’ll probably be most proud of it when I’m done.”

At this point, at the end of his first year following his second elbow reconstruction, Buehler has no illusions about his abilities. He didn't complain about being taken out of the game after four innings – his pitch count was already 90 – because the Dodgers no longer needed him to pitch more than six innings like they used to. The next three innings were covered by Michael Kopech, Ryan Brasier and Blake Treinen. After Shohei Ohtani opened the win with a three-run home run in the eighth inning, Roberts called on rookie Ben Casparius to end the game.

Buehler was happy to have the exact moment he had against Lindor.

“When you talk about the operations and the road and all that, I think the ability to make a big pitch in a big place is kind of the last thing you can check off, but the one thing you want to check off most wants everything,” Buehler said. “And tonight that was a big deal for me.”

Before he beat Lindor, the last such moment he could remember was Game 6 of the 2020 NLCS against the Atlanta Braves. The Braves loaded the bases in the second inning with no outs. Buehler struck out the next two batters and forced a third to come short. Of the 13 pitches he threw to those three batters, 11 were fastballs, including 10 in a row.

On Wednesday night, he escaped a similar threat on the same stage. The way he did it was completely different.