Emmet Sheehan made arguably his most important start this season for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the rival San Diego Padres in Petco Park.
Sheehan was coming off a bad outing in which he allowed six runs on eight hits over 3.1 innings. Although Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said his spot in the rotation is not on the line, the skipper called it “a good test” for Sheehan, given his struggles this season.
Sheehan answered, throwing five innings of one-run ball while allowing just two hits. Roberts called it a “really encouraging” start after the game.
“For him to get through five innings with a lead, give us a chance to win a ballgame, like I told him after the game, this is something for us to build on, keep going to work this week and be ready for your next one,” Roberts said on SportsNet LA.
The right-hander focused on pitch execution in his bullpen sessions over the last week, and it was easy to see the results.
“I felt really good,” Sheehan said. “Execution was a lot better today, so that always helps. That was the main focus coming into today. Felt good.”
Sheehan believes getting his mechanics back in order helped lead to better execution.
“Maybe being a little more comfortable in my mechanics, but also the focus in between starts of maybe trying to get a little more execution instead of delivery thoughts,” Sheehan said. “I had seven days, so I got to throw two bullpens this week, which was nice.”
The 26-year-old will now look to continue improving and lower his 5.08 ERA across 72.2 innings this season.
“I think you’ve got to try to separate the process from the results as much as possible,” Sheehan said. “I feel really good about the work and process right now, so just trying to build on it.”
Emmet Sheehan works out of trouble
The only run Sheehan gave up was a solo home run to Manny Machado. Those are going to happen to every pitcher, so it’s not a concern.
But what was encouraging was Sheehan pitching out of jams and stranding runners on base all game. The most notable situation came in the fifth inning when he struck out the final batter to leave two runners on base.
“He got a couple big strikeouts there,” Roberts said. “I think there was a walk in that fifth inning, but he weathered that.
“He was a hitter away from not finishing that fifth inning. For me, I thought he just beared down and made pitches when he needed to, versus feeling it with the mechanics or being uncertain.
“I thought right there, he was determined to get that last hitter out.”
That was one of the best examples of Sheehan executing better in his start, and it’s something he hasn’t been able to do consistently this year.
“I think when you don’t feel great, it’s an easy default to focus on your mechanics to try to feel something,” Roberts said. “But in the heat of the moment of a game, you have to find a way to get past that, be external and get the hitter.
“Understand what the game is trying to do and what the game is telling you. He’s not there yet, but he’s getting there. It takes Major League innings to get to that point.
“But he’s getting better and no one questions the skillset.”
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