Walker Buehler's attempt to own Dodgers falls completely flat after Padres series

On Friday, the Dodgers reunited with not-so-old friend Walker Buehler on Friday in a way fans never would've dreamed. In the opener of a three-game series in San Diego, Buehler took the mound for the Padres.

Although it was nice to see Buehler find a landing spot after his rocky 2025 season, it was hard to digest that it was in San Diego. As fraught as Buehler's last few seasons with the Dodgers were at times, watching him pitch for the Padres made fans feel like we'd stepped into the worst kind of alternate reality.

Unsurprisingly, Dave Roberts was asked about the meeting ahead of Friday's game, and he was good-natured about it. "He would love nothing more than to shove it up our you-know-whats," he said. "We know that. We love him for it."

Buehler clarified there was "no bad blood" between him and the Dodgers but added, "Yeah, I want to kick everyone's a—. I want to beat everyone. Especially in the division and especially a team that has been so successful against the organization I'm with now. I want to be a part of turning that around and I certainly don't want to lose to them. So Doc is not wrong."

He went on to pitch 5 1/3 one-run innings against LA. That one run was a solo homer for Mookie Betts, and the only run the Dodgers would go on to score that day.

The Dodgers got the last laugh, though. They throttled the Padres 15-3 the next day and locked up the series win on Sunday.

Walker Buehler's desire to beat the Dodgers as a Padre ultimately fell flat after a series win for LA

Buehler signed a minor league deal with San Diego at the very beginning of spring training and snuck onto their Opening Day roster after injuries befell the rotation. It took him some time to adjust — he had a 5.40 ERA through is first six starts — but he has a 1.71 ERA in June, which has brought his season ERA down to 3.81.

But the Padres, who were keeping a pretty respectable pace with the Dodgers into late May, have slid to 10 games behind the Dodgers. They're still second in the NL West and only half a game back of a Wild Card spot, but they're not the threat to the Dodgers they've tried so hard to be. They're 2-4 against LA this year with two more series left in the season.

Buehler got his moment. He wasn't able to shove it up the Dodgers' you-know-whats last year as a member of the Red Sox (he gave up three runs and walked five in 4 2/3 innings), but he got his do-over and rose to the occasion this time. It stinks that his team wasn't able to do the same, making Friday's result a footnote on the season.

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