The big-league baptism of Walker Buehler — the moment when the potency of his talent intersected with the urgency of its advent with the Dodgers — occurred April 28 inside the dugout at AT&T Park.
Mired midway through its worst 40-game opening stretch since arriving in Los Angeles, the team had done something relatively rare that afternoon against the Giants: It had taken the lead. And then, in the bottom of the first inning, Yasmani Grandal watched from the bench as Buehler gave back two runs in a 35-pitch inning. He gave up a succession of singles, walked a batter, lost a wild pitch, surrendered a stolen base and allowed the San Francisco crowd to reawaken.