LOS ANGELES — Walker Buehler went four innings and struck out four Monday night for the Los Angeles Dodgers against Miami, his first major league start in nearly two years.

The right-hander allowed three runs and six hits. He threw 77 pitches, including 49 strikes. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game that Buehler’s pitch count would be anywhere from 80 to 85.

Buehler did not factor in the decision, but did depart with the Dodgers holding a 6-3 lead on the strength of four home runs, including Shohei Ohtani‘s fourth in three games.

It was Buehler’s first start since since June 10, 2022, at San Francisco The 29-year-old two-time All-Star had his second Tommy John surgery on Aug. 23 that year. The first reconstructive surgery on his right elbow was in 2015 shortly after he was drafted in the first round by the Dodgers.

Buehler was 0-2 with a 4.15 ERA in six minor league starts this season, mostly with Triple-A Oklahoma City. He had 21 strikeouts and nine walks in 21⅔ innings.

“For Walker to still stay focused on getting ready and seeing the light on the end of the tunnel, I’m proud that he could navigate that. It’s hard, especially the second time around,” Roberts said of Buehler’s comeback. “The compete is still in there. I know it has been caged up for quite a while.”

Buehler allowed four hits his first time through the order, including RBI singles by Bryan De La Cruz and Jesus Sanchez in the first and Nick Gordon‘s solo homer in the second, but only one his second time around.

Buehler threw 13 pitches of 96 mph or more, including a 97.6 mph fastball that leadoff hitter Jazz Chisholm Jr. fouled off in the first inning.

Roberts tried to ramp down expectations about Buehler’s velocity before the game, instead turning the focus to his fastball command.

“I do expect command at some point. That will allow him to do different things,” Roberts said. “If he doesn’t command it, then you are sort of trying to mix and match and trick guys. I still think he’s going to be a very good pitcher. He has weapons to get right and left-handers out and he has to use them.”

Buehler appeared anxious during his warmup pitches before facing Chisholm.

The nerves didn’t subside when the Marlins’ center fielder fouled off four straight pitches and got aboard with an infield single inside the third-base line on the ninth pitch of the at-bat with the infield shifted to the right.

Chisholm stole second and scored on De La Cruz’s base hit to right-center. Buehler retired the next two batters, but De La Cruz scored on Jesús Sánchez’s single to right. Buehler got out of the inning when Tim Anderson was called out on batter interference when Sánchez tried to steal second.

After the Dodgers scored three in the bottom of the first, Gordon tied it with a solo shot just over the right-field wall on a full-count cutter from Buehler that was slightly elevated.

Buehler settled down after that and allowed only two more hits. He put two more Marlins aboard after a throwing error and a hit batter, but prevented any damage.

Buehler threw 25 pitches, with 17 being strikes, in the first. He was at 48 pitches after two innings.

Roberts and the Dodgers are hoping Buehler can return to a semblance of his past form. They’re not focused on his potential role in the playoffs right now.

“It’s about him being good in the regular season. Once we get to October, we’ll figure that out,” Roberts said.

PHILADELPHIA — Zack Wheeler struck out 11 in seven innings, Bryce Harper hit a three-run homer and Kyle Schwarber added a solo shot to help the Philadelphia Phillies complete a four-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants with a 6-1 win on Monday.

Harper went deep off Giants rookie Mason Black, spoiling the major league debut of the right-hander, who pitched into the fifth inning against the team he grew up rooting for.

“I hope he enjoyed it with his family and his teammates and everything else, because you only get one debut,” Harper said.

This season’s Phillies are winning as much as the teams Black cheered for as a kid.

The major-league-leading Phillies (25-11) won their sixth straight and have won 10 of 11 and 17 of 20 to open a three-game lead over Atlanta in the NL East. It’s the team’s best 36-game start to a season since 1993, when Philadelphia won 97 games and reached the World Series, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

The Phillies have also won 10 straight games at Citizens Bank Park, just two wins shy of matching the team record set in 2012. Philadelphia also set a franchise record with 11 straight wins against NL West opponents.

“I feel like we’re winning in different ways every night. And it’s a different player coming up huge, whether it’s a hitter, a pitcher. It’s never the same guy, which is nice,” catcher J.T. Realmuto said. “There’s not too much pressure on one player. We all feel like we play really well together and we have a lot of fun, and guys contribute on a nightly basis.”

Harper homered for the second straight game, and his eighth of the season made it 4-0 against Black (0-1). Black made his major league debut in front of his parents, younger brother, girlfriend and scores of friends and relatives who made the trip to watch him pitch against his boyhood favorite team.

The 24-year-old Black — named the seventh-best prospect in baseball, per MLB.com — was the Giants’ third-round pick in the 2021 draft out of Lehigh University. Black recorded a 1-2-3 first inning that included strikeouts of Realmuto and Harper, the latter caught looking at an 88 mph changeup.

Black gave up 8 hits, 5 runs and 3 walks. He struck out four in 4⅓ innings.

Wheeler (4-3) showed the rookie how it was done. He rebounded from an 0-3 start — he allowed six runs total in his first three starts — to win his fourth straight start. Wheeler allowed one run, walked one and lowered his ERA to 1.64.

“Wheels today did what Zack kind of does every time he goes out there. It was fun to watch and kept us in the game,” Harper said.

Matt Strahm tossed a scoreless eighth, and Orion Kerkering pitched the ninth to complete the five-hitter.

With shortstop Trea Turner out at least six weeks with a left hamstring strain, his replacements are starting to fill the void. Bryson Stott moved from second base to shortstop and made a great grab on a grounder by Wilmer Flores in the first to start an inning-ending double play. Whit Merrifield started at second and gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the fourth.

Harper had a three-run shot in the fifth, and Nick Castellanos, who hit 37 doubles last season, hit his first one of the year later in the inning for a 5-0 lead.

Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm went 0-for-4, ending his hitting streak at 18 games.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

CHICAGO — When Justin Steele was injured on Opening Day, the big question for the Chicago Cubs centered on the state of their rotation without their ace left-hander.

That concern faded away over time.

Steele returned to one of baseball’s best rotations on Monday night, starting the opener of a three-game series against the San Diego Padres, and pitched into the fifth inning. He allowed three hits while striking out two Padres before exiting with two outs in the inning and the game tied at 0-0. It was Steele’s first major league appearance since he strained his left hamstring while making a play on a sacrifice bunt at Texas on March 28.

The 28-year-old Steele was a breakout performer last year, going 16-5 with a 3.06 ERA in 30 starts. He made the NL All-Star team for the first time and finished fifth in balloting for the NL Cy Young Award.

Steele made a rehab start with Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, allowing three runs and six hits in 3 1/3 innings. He was working on a pitch count against San Diego, and when he was removed, he had thrown 68 pitches, 43 for strikes. The Padres’ offense took over from there en route to a 6-3 victory.

Keegan Thompson was optioned to Iowa to make room on the Chicago roster. Thompson is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in seven relief appearances for Chicago this season.

The Cubs had a 21-14 record going into the series against the Padres, more than holding their own while Steele was out.

The rotation has played a key role in Chicago’s fast start. Shota Imanaga, who pitches on Tuesday night, is 5-0 with a 0.78 ERA in his first big league season after signing with the Cubs in January. Jameson Taillon (3-0, 1.13 ERA) and Javier Assad (3-0, 1.66 ERA) have been terrific, and young right-handers Hayden Wesneski and Ben Brown also have provided some valuable innings.

“I think our starting pitching has been excellent,” manager Craig Counsell said. “Obviously some of the guys that were in the rotation all year, Shota and Javy, have been brilliant, and Jameson Taillon’s been excellent, and then Hayden and Ben have come up and been really important.”

Going into the matchup with San Diego, the starting staff had a 2.61 ERA in the team’s past 21 games going back to April 14 — the second-best mark in the NL over that stretch, trailing only Philadelphia (2.53).

“I think all those guys have stepped up and really produced for us,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. “And that’s what you need to get through injuries.”