September 22nd, 2023 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka When 23-year-old Dodgers right-hander Emmet Sheehan made his major league debut at Dodger Stadium back on June 16, 2023, it was against the San Francisco Giants. And though the Dodgers would eventually lose that game by a score of 7-5, it was not because of Sheehan’s stellar 6.0 innings of work, during which he allowed no runs and no hits, while walking two and striking out three.
Since then and prior to Thursday night’s game at Dodger Stadium against the (wait for it…) San Francisco Giants, Sheehan appeared in 10 additional games (nine starts), in which he allowed a combined 30 runs on a combined 41 hits, for a 2-1 record but with a less-than-ideal 5.44 ERA over those 10 games.
On Thursday night in front of a Dodger Stadium crowd of 43,942, the New York, NY native and Dodgers sixth round draft pick in 2021 out of Boston College, allowed one run on no hits to The Hated Ones, with that one run coming on a bases loaded walk by Sheehan with two outs in the top of the fifth inning, after which he was removed by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and replaced by Dodgers righthander Ryan Brasier, for the final out of the inning, thereby missing out on what would have been his fourth win but for that one out in the Dodgers eventual 7-2 pounding of the Giants. Unfortunately, Sheehan had clearly run out of gas, having hit a batter and walking the next three in that fifth inning, again, all with two outs.
“He was fantastic tonight from pitch one. The conviction, the fastball had true life to it, all the secondaries, the slider, the change-up down below,” Roberts said of Sheehan postgame. “I thought he and (Dodgers catcher) Will (Smith) mixed really well tonight … seven of the first nine by way of strikeout. I think when he got to that fifth inning, there was a little bit of running low on the fuel in the tank,” acknowledged the Dodgers skipper.
“I build confidence every start, but for sure, the last two have been great and that’s helped me a lot, especially going into this one,” Sheehan told SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson when asked if he’s more confident on the mound.
As for those seven Dodgers runs, three came off the bat of suddenly-smoking-hot designated hitter J.D. Martinez, who hit a solo home run to right in the fourth inning, a sacrifice fly to right in the sixth, and a RBI single to center in the eighth.
The Dodgers are now 94-58 on the season, having clinched their 10th National League West Division title in the last 11 seasons on September 16. Sheehan also all but guaranteed that he will be included in the Dodgers 2023 postseason starting rotation.
“He’s right there in the conversation,” Roberts told reporters postgame when asked about Sheehan’s postseason chances. “He does something different in sense of he’s just… I think in the organization, he’s probably got one of the first or second… you know, one of the top fastballs in our organization and on this team. And so, it’s just something different, he gets righties and lefties out, and so he’s unique … yeah, he’s right there at the top of the conversation.”
Yes, Emmet Sheehan is The Real Deal.
Play Ball!
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This is going to be an interesting playoffs this year for the Dodgers. No real seasoned go to guy in the starting rotation that has been healthy all year. I like the idea of a mix and match with two lefties in Kershaw and Yarborough. Then bring in a fire balling righty like Sheehan or Pepiot. Keep the hitters off-balance until you get to what has proven to be a pretty strong bullpen. Then hope that Bobby Miller and Lance Lynn can control the game for at least six innings and then give it to the bullpen. Mookie has been cool the last little bit, but hopefully will catch on fire again. A lot of love for JD. And I repent from being a Max Muncy naysayer. His average may not be that good but he is taking care of business. This is one of my favorite dodger teams even if they don’t win at all. They’re still my Los Angeles Dodgers!
Spot on! I look for the Dodgers to limit pitchers to no more than 2 times through the opposing team’s batting order. No doubt Muncy is a runs producer, but he is also one of the worst fielding third basemen in MLB — a DH/first baseman playing third base. One of the decisions Dodgers will face in off season is what to do with Muncy. At $10M (team option) he would be a huge bargain as the team’s primary DH, or a very valuable trade chip. Pay the price for Ohtani, re-sign JD, or keep Muncy and spend payroll dollars elsewhere. Miguel Vargas and Michael Busch have been sharing third base (and occasionally left field) at OKC in last few weeks.