Last Saturday at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, PA, there was a pitching match-up that not long ago would have been a good one in the majors. It was Jose Urquidy pitching for the Toledo Mud Hens (Tigers) and Walker Buehler pitching for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Both pitchers have fallen on hard times and the game was a meeting at the Triple-A level, not in the majors. Still, it was important for both as Urquidy is on a rehab assignment for an elbow injury and Buehler has just been unable to get hitters out, which led to his release by the Boston Red Sox.

In a search for pitching since Zack Wheeler was ruled out for the rest of the season, the Phillies have taken a shot at getting Buehler back to where he was earlier in his career. The journey started with a meeting between Buehler and Phillies pitching coach Caleb Cotham, who like Buehler is a Vanderbilt grad, and the next step was Buehler’s start with Lehigh Valley.

Buehler struggled with his control and his pitch count exploded quickly. The first hitter, Toledo’s Hao-Yu Lee, homered against the 31-year-old right-hander to give the Hens an early lead. The outing lasted just three innings because of Buehler’s pitch count – 78 pitches, 47 strikes – and he allowed five hits and walked three batters while striking out five. The result was two runs – one earned – in the outing.

Watch Walker Buehler’s post-game meeting with the media after his start at Coca-Cola Park on Saturday September 6th.

Now, the final part of the Phillies plan for Buehler will play out as he pitches at Citizens Bank Park tonight against the Kansas City Royals, a team fighting for a spot in the A.L. playoffs. It also marks the start of a plan by manager Rob Thomson to go to a six-man rotation for the rest of the season to give a little additional rest to the starters.

As it turns out, Buehler had Philadelphia on his list of teams to talk to this winter when he will be a free agent, so the early audition could be a precursor to him signing with the Phillies long-term. But, all of that depends on what he can do over the next few weeks.