Dodgers Legend Heaps Praise on Walker Buehler Amid First Postseason With Padres

Buehler could face his former team in the NLCS.

Aug 11, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Walker Buehler (10) delivers during the fifth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When Clayton Kershaw was assigned to be Peacock's in-game reporter for its stream of Game 1 of the National League wild-card series between the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, it broke with NBC Sports' usual pattern of pairing a franchise icon with his own team's broadcast.

At least Kershaw knows one member of the Padres' starting rotation as well as anyone.

Kershaw shared a rotation with Walker Buehler in Los Angeles from 2017-24 in Los Angeles. The two were teammates when the Dodgers won the 2020 World Series and again in 2024 — when Buehler closed out the Dodgers' Game 5 win over the New York Yankees for the championship.

After Buehler signed a prove-it minor league contract with the Padres in February, he went 9-6 with a 4.63 ERA in 32 starts. While Buehler might have had something to prove to the baseball industry, Kershaw had already seen it all from the 32-year-old right-hander.

"Going through the arm surgeries that he's had to go through and everything that he's had to go through, and, for him to have the year that he had — you know he had his ups and downs — but for like starts of like 10 in a row and 11 starts in a row, he pitched really well," Kershaw told Marty Caswell. "So I'm happy for that."

Over his final 13 regular season starts, Buehler went 4-1 with a 3.62 ERA and averaged 5 innings per start. The Padres won 10 of the 13 games.

"Ultimately, Walker is somebody that you want on the mound," Kershaw told Caswell. "He wants to compete. He knows how to compete. He seems to thrive in bigger moments. In situations like this, he might find himself in a really big spot, and that's probably a good thing for the Padres."

Buehler is currently on the Paternity List, but will return to the National League Division Series when the series comes back to San Diego in Game 3.

If Buehler ends up facing the Dodgers in 2026, it would only be in a National League Championship Series game, which will be on FOX. Kershaw won't be working the broadcast in that case. But he can — and likely will — tune in to watch his former teammate from afar regardless.

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