Walker Buehler’s July is off to a nightmare start. The Padres brought him in hoping he could recapture some of that 2022 magic, the version of him that made hitters look helpless. Instead, the last two outings have been historically bad.
Against the Cubs less than a week ago, Buehler got shelled for nine runs on seven hits over just four innings. Three walks, six strikeouts. That’s rough. But what happened next made that look like a warmup act.
Five days later, the Diamondbacks did almost the exact same thing to him. Seven runs, seven hits, two home runs allowed. He lasted five innings this time, which is about the only positive you can squeeze out of it. He struck out four. That’s back-to-back starts where he gave up a combined 16 runs. According to Talkin’ Baseball on X, he’s the first pitcher this season to allow 16 runs through two consecutive outings.
The weird part is June actually looked okay
Before all this fell apart, Buehler was showing some signs of life. Through June, he allowed just one run per start. He wasn’t going deep into games — mostly five innings — but he was giving the Padres a chance. It wasn’t flashy, but it wasn’t a disaster either. Then July hit and everything went sideways.
The Padres offense didn’t help. They got shut out by Brandon Pfaadt and the Diamondbacks staff. Eight hits, zero runs. That’s been a recurring problem all season: runners on base, nothing to show for it. San Diego’s lineup is supposed to be a strength, but it keeps failing when it matters most.
So where does this leave the Padres? They’re 44-46, sitting third in the NL West. Catching the Dodgers feels like a fantasy at this point. The Wild Card is still within reach, but not if the pitching keeps imploding and the bats keep going quiet. Buehler was supposed to be a stabilizing force. Right now, he’s just another problem to figure out.
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