Emmet Sheehan endured another rough outing on Monday night as the Los Angeles Dodgers fell 10-7 to the Philadelphia Phillies in the series opener at Citizens Bank Park.
Sheehan pitched into the sixth inning and tied his season high with six runs allowed. The two home runs he surrendered also tied for the most Sheehan has allowed in a start this year, which has now occurred five times.
Despite his ongoing struggles this season, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sheehan is going to remain in the starting rotation moving forward in part because the team doesn’t have another option, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
“Certainly he’s getting a lot of opportunity,” Roberts said of Sheehan. “It’s not the consistency that any of us like or want, Emmet included. Until there’s another alternative, we’re going to keep running him out there.”
After impressing last season in his return from Tommy John surgery, Sheehan has regressed in nearly every aspect this year. His ERA now sits at 5.13 and has never been below 4.50 this season.
Velocity has also been an issue throughout the year, and that again was the case as Sheehan gave up a bevy of hard contact to the Phillies. At one point a change in routine was thought to have mitigated the drop in velocity, but like most everything else with Sheehan in 2026, the improvement was fleeting.
Roberts did appear to imply Sheehan’s spot in the rotation was in jeopardy late last month, but he clarified those comments heading into a start against the San Diego Padres. The 26-year-old proceeded to allow just one run over five innings.
That started a streak of Sheehan allowing two earned runs or fewer in three consecutive starts, which came to an end Monday night.
What could change things for Emmet Sheehan
To Roberts’ point, the Dodgers don’t have a clear-cut replacement for Sheehan available if that was the path they chose to take.
Though, that could change in the coming weeks given that Blake Snell started his rehab assignment over the weekend. Snell’s buildup is going to be lengthy, however, which presumably will keep Sheehan in the rotation. So too is the fact that the Dodgers already are facing the prospect of needing to fill a void with Shohei Ohtani unable to pitch at this time.
Other candidates — Tyler Glasnow and River Ryan — are both on the injured list. Glasnow remains limited by back spams and Ryan is still recovering from a left hamstring strain.
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