Walker Buehler's surprising ninth inning capped the Dodgers' herculean Game 5 push

Walker Buehler's day off turned into his day as the Dodgers exhausted their bullpen options in the late innings on Wednesday night.

The right-hander, who got off to a great start in Game 3 on Monday, was called upon to throw out the ninth pitch and pitched perfectly in the Dodgers' 7-6 victory over the Yankees in Game 5 of the World Series.

From a pitching perspective, Wednesday turned into complete chaos for the Dodgers, as starter Jack Flaherty lasted just 1 ¹/₃ innings and allowed four earned runs on four hits and a walk.

But manager Dave Roberts skillfully controlled his bullpen to get his team to the finish line.

Flaherty was solid in his Game 1 start for the Dodgers, but the right-hander was subbed out early that night. After Juan Soto completed the first inning, Aaron Judge launched his first home run of the series.

Before the inning ended, Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a home run to increase the Dodger deficit to 3-0.

Flaherty managed just one out in the second inning before Roberts began the influx of bullpen arms.

Anthony Banda got the final two outs of the second after Anthony Volpe doubled off Flaherty after the inning and scored on an Alex Verdugo single.

In the third, Ryan Brasier allowed a solo home run to Giancarlo Stanton, giving the Dodgers a 5-0 lead.

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Michael Kopech, Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen and Buehler then combined to pitch 5¹/₃ innings of scoreless relief.

In the middle of that parade was Brusdar Graterol, who gave up one run in his two-thirds of an inning.

He began the sixth game with walks to Soto and Judge, and after Chisholm picked a fielder who passed the runners, Stanton threw a sacrifice fly to score Soto for a 6-5 lead.