The Los Angeles Dodgers continued to have improved at-bats and started their homestand with a 7-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds, powered by a strong performance from Emmet Sheehan and Andy Pages hitting two home runs. The shutout was the Dodgers’ seventh of the season and third in August.
Sheehan held the Reds to just three baserunners (two hits and one walk) as he got through seven scoreless innings. The outing was his longest of the season, which previously was six innings against the Colorado Rockies last week.
He finished with a career-high-tying 10 strikeouts in his 10th game (eighth start) of the season. Sheehan last had 10 strikeouts against the Rockies on Sept. 27, 2023.
Sheehan was aided by Michael Conforto making a leaping catch at the wall in left field and Teoscar Hernández coming up with multiple plays in right field. It was an encouraging development for both Dodgers outfielders who remain maligned for various reasons.
Pages provided the Dodgers with a lead in the third inning by hitting his 22nd home run of the year. He then extended it with a two-run homer in the fifth.
The Dodgers nearly squandered a bases-loaded situation in the sixth inning as Alex Freeland and Conforto both struck out. The Reds appeared to be on the verge of escaping only for Pages’ grounder to go under Elly De La Cruz’s glove for a two-run error.
Mookie Betts, who made a terrific defensive play to end the top of the seventh inning, led off the bottom half with his 14th home run of the season. Pages collected his fourth RBI of the night on a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
Gavin Lux went 1-for-2 with a double and one walk in his return to Dodger Stadium. Lux was presented with his 2024 Dodgers World Series ring before the game.
NL West standings: Dodgers take possession of 1st place
After going into the day tied with the San Diego Padres for first place in the National League West, the Dodgers now have a one-game lead with Monday’s results.
They also received help from the New York Mets defeating the Philadelphia Phillies, which has the Dodgers 1.5 games back for the second-best record in the NL and a first-round bye past the Wild Card Series.
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