Before Game 1 hero Austin Riley changed Monday's NLCS opener with one swing, the biggest takeaway from last night’s Dodgers/Braves showdown at Globe Life Field was Walker Buehler’s pants, which, even by the 26-year-old’s standards, looked mighty tight. We're talking tighter than the jeans Jonah Hill wore in Superbad or Kramer’s “slim-fit” Dungarees from Seinfeld.
Though the strike zone eluded Buehler at times (he issued five walks), the Dodgers ace still racked up seven strikeouts over five innings of one-run ball in Monday's no-decision. But all anyone, including reporter Michael Duarte of NBC Los Angeles, could talk about were his painted-on pants, which quickly became a meme on Twitter.
Predictably, Buehler did not appreciate the subject being raised in the wake of L.A.’s ninth-inning collapse (four of Atlanta’s five runs came in the final frame), scolding Duarte for his line of questioning before abruptly leaving the podium.
Did Duarte overstep his journalistic bounds or was the question fair game given how much attention the right-hander’s pants received on social media? Buehler’s curt response was reminiscent of a similar exchange between Bryce Harper and a media member in 2012 when the All-Star outfielder was asked if he’d throw back a cold one in Toronto, where the legal drinking age is only 19. A devout Mormon, Harper famously dismissed the reporter’s inquiry as a “clown question” before turning the conversation back to baseball.
There was a time when baggy pants ruled the day in MLB—Manny Ramirez and CC Sabathia were at the forefront of this movement—but clearly, Buehler lives on the opposite end of that fashion spectrum. The Dodgers will look to rebound in Game 2 Tuesday night at 6:05 ET on FS1. Tony Gonsolin—who is filling in for injured starter Clayton Kershaw—and fellow rookie Ian Anderson will toe the rubber in that one.
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