LOS ANGELES -- Emmet Sheehan had to wait a bit to hear his number called, but the 25-year-old right-hander rose to the occasion.
Sheehan was in line to start Monday’s series opener against the Phillies at Dodger Stadium on Monday, but Anthony Banda was penciled in as the opener with Sheehan expected to pitch the bulk of the innings. It was a move that was both matchup-based -- the Phillies’ top three hitters Harrison Bader, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper are all lefties -- and a way for manager Dave Roberts to get a look at how Sheehan looks in relief as the Dodgers approach October.
“Emmet’s a guy that’s just unfazed by anything,” Roberts said after the Dodgers’ 6-5 loss in extra innings. “He’s in a great spot for a young-ish player. He’s very mature and very confident.”
Immediately upon entering the game with one out in the top of the first after Banda gave up a home run and a walk, Sheehan worked a six-pitch strikeout of J.T. Realmuto and induced a groundout to get out of the opening frame.
Sheehan kept it going. He pitched 5 2/3 hitless innings with seven strikeouts and three walks as the Dodgers raced out to a 3-1 lead behind a Max Muncy home run and a pair of sac flies from Mookie Betts. Sheehan pitched into the seventh inning and looked primed to surpass his career-high pitch count of 96 (vs. the Reds on Aug. 25), but was pulled after allowing a leadoff double from Otto Kemp -- the first and only hit of Sheehan’s outing.
When Sheehan left the game, the Dodgers had a two-run lead, albeit with a runner in scoring position. It didn’t take long for things to fall apart after that, as the Phillies broke through for three runs to take the lead.
Jack Dreyer, who entered the game in place of Sheehan, forced a groundout before giving up an RBI single. In the next at-bat, he missed on back-to-back sliders above the zone to Weston Wilson.
Dreyer overcorrected with a fastball down the middle that Wilson sent 417 feet to center field for a two-run homer to push the Phillies ahead.
Betts responded with a solo home run to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning, but Harper led off the top of the eighth with a solo shot of his own before Andy Pages forced extra innings by sending a knuckle curve from Phillies closer Jhoan Duran into the back of the Dodgers’ bullpen.
After all the fireworks, though, the Phillies scored the winning run on a sac fly from J.T. Realmuto in the top of the 10th. The Dodgers left the bases loaded in the bottom half of the inning, allowing Philadelphia to clinch the NL East. The bullpen gave up five total runs, four earned.
Would Roberts do anything differently in hindsight?
“I still like the guys that we had on them,” Roberts said. “… I think we’re talking about guys that were rested, ready to go. I had the guys I wanted on them. That doesn’t always work out.”
It wasn’t a total flop from the ’pen. Schwarber’s first-inning home run off Banda was on a slider completely off the plate that took a one-handed swing for him to reach. Alex Vesia threw a fastball above the zone that Harper just put a good swing on.
“It's really hard to criticize them for making those pitches,” Muncy said. “Just really good hitters found a way to handle them. It's frustrating just from a team perspective, but they've done a great job for us all year and they're going to keep doing a great job.”
It is, however, part of a growing trend.
In high-leverage situations since the All-Star break, Dodgers relievers entered Monday with an 8.68 ERA, 28th in baseball, ahead of only Atlanta and Minnesota. In September, their high-leverage arms have a combined ERA of 14.40 -- second worst in the big leagues.
The Dodgers are now 5 1/2 games back of the Phillies for the No. 2 seed in the National League, which they would need in order for a bye in the Wild Card Series round. Their lead over the Padres in the NL West slipped to two games, with each club having 12 left to play.
The bullpen was key in getting the Dodgers to the World Series a year ago. Now, with October fast approaching, Roberts has to figure out who he can trust the most in the biggest spots.
“It’s just trying to see which guys step up with opportunities,” Roberts said. “I thought Tanner [Scott], for example, the last two outings have been very good. That’s really good to see. So, just trying to figure out who’s going to seize the opportunity.”