Emmet

Sheehan

That’s good news for Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaki, who would seem to be in the lead for the two spots behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow in the Dodgers rotation. The club also has Ben Casparius, Justin Wrobleski and Landon Knack as alternatives, as well as rehabbing righties River Ryan and Gavin Stone.

Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said during an interview with MLB Network shortly afterwards that Roki Sasaki will return to the rotation mix once spring training rolls around after an impressive closer cameo during the postseason. Roberts hinted the Dodgers will get “creative” early in the season with their pitching staff — code for something that looks and behaves like a six-man rotation without actually calling it one — as they look to preserve Ohtani, Yamamoto, Snell and Glasnow for the long haul. Nearly every contender has adopted some version of this strategy by now, and it’s the logical path for Los Angeles. We expect Emmet Sheehan to grab a spot with Sasaki also factoring into the mix during the early portion of the year.

Sheehan entered to protect a four-run lead after Blake Snell’s six-inning gem and successfully bridged the gap to new closer Roki Sasaki. The 25-year-old starter-turned-postseason reliever steadied himself after allowing back-to-back hits in the eighth, including an RBI single to Trea Turner, striking out Kyle Schwarber and getting Bryce Harper to fly out to avert disaster.

Sheehan was lifted from Friday’s start against Seattle after just one inning with Roberts indicating postgame that he’s ticketed for a relief role in the postseason. The 25-year-old right-hander finished the regular season with a stellar 2.82 ERA and 89/22 K/BB ratio across 73 1/3 innings over 15 appearances (12 starts). The Dodgers could certainly use the bullpen help at the moment, so the move doesn’t come as a total shock since they’ll likely lean on Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Shohei Ohtani to front their October rotation.

There was no pregame indication that this would be such a short start for Sheehan, who struck out 10 in seven innings last time out against the Giants. Still, it makes sense that the Dodgers wanted to get him ready to pitch in the pen in October. He’ll probably make one more appearance on Sunday as he wraps up a season that has thus far seen hm post a 2.82 ERA in 73 1/3 innings over 12 starts and three relief appearances.

Sheehan matched his career-high with 10 strikeouts in the ballgame and didn’t walk a batter. The only baserunners that he allowed came on a one-out single by Rafael Devers in the opening inning and he plunked Bryce Eldridge to lead off the second and Andrew Knizner to open the third. He finished his day by retiring the final 15 hitters that he faced in order. The 25-year-old hurler got 17 whiffs on 84 pitches on the day — 10 on his fastball alone — while posting an elite CSW of 37 percent. Unfortunately, the Giants struck for three runs against Blake Treinen in the eighth inning and cost him his well-deserved victory. He’ll carry a 2.86 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and an 86/22 K/BB ratio into his final start of the regular season on Sunday against the Mariners in Seattle.

After entering with one out in the first tonight, Sheehan kept the Phillies hitless through the sixth before finally yielding a double to Otto Kemp to start the seventh. He was pulled then with a 3-1 lead that was quickly blown by Jack Dreyer. If the Dodgers had simply started Sheehan tonight, they might have won. If they had pulled him after six instead of one batter into the seventh, they might have won. As is, they deservedly lost 6-5 in 10 innings. Sheehan could pitch in some capacity again Sunday against the Giants.

Banda will attempt to neutralize the prominent left-handed sluggers atop Philadelphia’s lineup, most notably National League home run king Kyle Schwarber and generational talent Bryce Harper. He figures to be followed by Sheehan for a bulk relief outing.

Sheehan was brilliant in Colorado on Tuesday, holding the Rockies to one run on three hits and a walk over seven innings. He tossed 62-of-93 pitches for strikes and generated 18 whiffs to strike out nine batters. The 25-year-old right-hander will look to keep it going when he takes a 3.32 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and a 69/19 K/BB ratio across 59 2/3 innings into a start against the Phillies in Los Angeles next Tuesday.

Ohtani was scratched from his scheduled start against the Pirates on Wednesday as he was feeling a bit under the weather. He has made 11 starts on the season, going 1-1 with a 4.18 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and a 44/7 K/BB ratio across 32 1/3 innings of work. It’s unclear if the Dodgers will revert back to a six-man rotation next week or if Emmet Sheehan will move back to the bullpen for the time being.