During the Boston Red Sox's recent hot streak, when they took series wins from the New York Yankees (twice), the Tampa Bay Rays and the Seattle Mariners, good pitching was the key. The Red Sox won six games from June 10-17, and their starters combined for a 0.89 ERA during that span.
That success screeched to a halt when Walker Buehler took the mound on June 18. Buehler only posted 3.1 innings and let up eight runs on eight hits with four walks and two strikeouts. The righty only fared marginally better in his next start — he surrendered five runs on three hits and a staggering, season-high seven walks against the Angels on June 23.
Buehler's posted an 11.57 ERA over 16.1 innings over four starts in June. It's been, by far, his worst month in a Red Sox uniform, and possibly the worst of his career. He's looked so shaken up that reporters asked if he's healthy after Boston's 9-5 loss in Anaheim.
"I don't want to talk about that," Buehler said, per Sean McAdam of MassLive.
Red Sox's Walker Buehler, Alex Cora give conflicting answers about Buehler potentially being injured
Interesting contrast in Red Sox clubhouse. "Are you sure Buehler is healthy?" Cora: "100 percent.' But when Buehler was asked if he was currently pitching through anything, he said: "I don't want to talk about that."
— Sean McAdam (@Sean_McAdam) June 24, 2025
His response is a curious contrast to Red Sox manager Alex Cora's answer to the same question. He said Buehler is "100 percent" healthy.
The disparity in Buehler and Cora's answers is strange, but even if Buehler was injured, the Red Sox wouldn't have many options to turn to for the rotation. Richard Fitts was recently added back into the mix because Hunter Dobbins was moved to the 15-day injured list, Tanner Houck is still rehabbing from a right flexor pronator strain, and Kutter Crawford hasn't pitched all season and experienced another setback in his recovery progress.
Regardless of whether Buehler is pitching through something — be it mental or physical — he seemingly doesn't want it out in the open. The veteran is on a one-year deal with the Red Sox, and losing his rotation spot could make it much harder to sign elsewhere this offseason. By the sound of it, Boston has no plans to move Buehler from the rotation.
“We’ll talk about it,” Cora said. "The second and third innings were really good. I mean, velocity was set up, and the movement of pitches were great. But he knows it. You know, we talked a little bit down here.”
Whether Buehler is injured or not, he needs to find the strike zone fast. The Red Sox are back down to a .500 record after a hot streak, during which they beat the Yankees twice (the first of the two series included another insane blowup by Buehler) and took two other series from winning teams. The season is half over and the trade deadline fast approaches — Boston needs to be on the right side of .500 to justify a hard playoff push, and any more disasters from the pitching staff could be detrimental to its position in the market.