Dodgers’ Emmet Sheehan says timing was key to win over Rangers
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was tracking right-hander Emmet Sheehan’s velocity against the Rangers Saturday, but it wasn’t going to be his primary measurement of the start.
“I think right now, where he’s at, the hitters will tell us the most, not the radar gun,” Roberts said before the Dodgers’ 6-3 win.
Sheehan had both in his first quality start of the season.
Just look at the way he attacked Jake Burger in the sixth inning to close his outing. Sheehan threw three fastballs in the at-bat. That pitch averaged at 95.2 mph on Saturday, almost 1 ½ mph over his season average. And even as his pitch count climbed into the mid-70s, he was sitting at around 94 mph.
Dodger Teoscar Hernández watches his three-run homer clear the left center wall during a win over the Texas Rangers Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
The last pitch he threw was a slider off the plate. Burger was able to get a piece of it, but only enough to ground out to first.
Saturday’s start was Sheehan’s best based on both consistency and results. He held the Rangers to three runs and four hits in six innings.
He’d found a cue in his work between starts. And if the adjustment unlocks a consistent run, that would do a lot to stabilize the Dodgers’ rotation at the back end.
“One of the big things this week was the glove tap,” Sheehan said. “Just timing everything up. Before, I feel like I was getting in good positions, I just wasn’t timing everything up the right way. I think that helped a lot.”
He was cruising through most of it — other than the two home runs he surrendered to Rangers leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo.
Sheehan turned around his start immediately after the first long ball, on the second pitch of the game.
He came in throwing hard, pumping 96.2 mph on the first fastball, a ball inside, and 95.7 on the second. The latter drifted over the plate, and Nimmo lined it to straightaway center field, just over the “395” printed on the wall.
Sheehan, undeterred, retired the next eight batters. Nimmo hit a two-out ground-rule double that bounced over the left-field fence in his next at-bat, but Sheehan struck out Ezequiel Duran on a slider to quickly end the inning.
Only two Rangers besides Nimmo reached base against Sheehan. Evan Carter drew a leadoff walk in the fifth, and Josh Jung led off the sixth with a single into shallow center field.
Other than that, Sheehan recorded six strikeouts and generated mostly groundball contact.
He was also pitching with a lead for most of his outing, thanks to a solo homer from Shohei Ohtani and three-run shot from Teoscar Hernández in the first. The Dodgers added to their lead in the third inning with two walks, a single, and a run-scoring double play.
So, when the Rangers’ lineup turned over again, and Nimmo stepped up to the plate with a runner on base in the sixth, Sheehan was working with a four-run cushion.
Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia celebrates after earning a save during the Dodgers’ win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Sheehan stayed away from his fastball, but Nimmo managed to get a hold of an inside slider.
Again, Sheehan responded with three straight outs, this time all infield grounders.
The Dodgers’ bullpen turned in a scoreless performance for three innings, even with Roberts staying away from closer Edwin Díaz, whose velocity was down Friday in his first blown save of the season.
And in the eighth, center fielder Andy Pages kept up his red-hot offensive start to the season with an RBI single into left field for insurance.
The Dodgers are off to the best offensive start of any National League team, whether they’re measured by runs (89), batting average (.297), slugging percentage (.507) or offensive fWAR (30.0).
The unknown entering the game was Sheehan, who had been working through directional issues in his delivery.
“There’s a little bit of east-west with him, and that’s kind of how he gets his power,” Roberts said. “But I think that towards the end of the year and spring, it got a little bit too east-west, where you’re just not back to front as far as direction.”
Everything was synced up for him Saturday, and even Nimmo couldn’t ruin that breakthrough.
“It can definitely be tough sometimes,” Sheehan said. “The past like month and a half we’ve been trying to work on it. It felt like at times it wasn’t progressing the way it should, but just stuck with it.”
Snell feels good after live BP
Left-hander Blake Snell threw an inning of live batting practice at Dodger Stadium on Saturday before the Dodgers’ game against the Rangers, taking a new step in his rehab progression.
“It’s very big,” Snell said. “…To be able to face two good hitters and feel good — I’ve got a lot of work to do still, but definitely a big step.”
Snell was delayed in his buildup entering spring training, after pitching through the postseason. He also dealt with shoulder issues last season, sidelined for about four months with what the Dodgers identified as inflammation in his left shoulder.
“I feel great,” Snell said. “I’ve done a lot of different things than I did last year when I was in this position. So I feel way better. I’m just very excited about how I feel right now, where I’m at, getting back to some normalcy again feels really good. I just can’t wait to pitch.”
He revisited old workouts, added Pilates to his routine and changed his diet.
Snell, an avid gamer, has also kept up his Twitch livestream activity while on the injured list. He recently responded to a harsh comment from a critic about his injury while streaming, cursing as he challenged anyone to match his World Series contributions amid pain. The clip naturally circulated widely on social media.
“I’m trying to game with my people, then trolls want to get in there and got something to say,” he said and then broke into a smile. “I should watch my language a little bit, but outside of that, it was pretty true. I’m going to have fun, going to be myself. I’ve got to watch my language though. If my mom sees that. … She probably will.”
He’s bracing for her call if she does.
Snell will continue to build up his workload in a simulated game environment, before eventually leaving on a minor-league rehab assignment. He didn’t say how many live BP sessions he’d need before that next step.
“You got to talk to the jefes,” he said.
Sitting in the dugout, Snell nodded up to the field where some of those bosses — president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, general manager Brandon Gomes and Roberts — stood talking.
Roberts later speculated that Snell would build up to about three innings before pitching in games.
“I just miss pitching, it’s what I love,” Snell said. “So to be able to do that again, I was very excited coming to the field today. Like, I finally get to throw and pitch and see where I’m at, see if I’m good, bad, kind of figure myself out.”
On Saturday, he just wanted to throw strikes, see how his stuff played, and get feedback from utility player Tommy Edman and outfielder Alex Call, who faced him.
“The next one I want to be more crisp, want to hit locations more,” he said. “I only have so many starts left before I’m back. So I really have to hone in and make sure these weeks are very important.”
Injury updates
Edman, who underwent ankle surgery this offseason, is still on track to be activated around late May, Roberts said Saturday. In addition to taking live batting practice, he’s been running, but not quite at full speed, according to Roberts.
Shortstop Mookie Betts (strained right oblique) played catch on the field before the game Saturday.
