LOS ANGELES — Emmet Sheehan didn’t puff his chest after one of his best outings of the year. He went back to the basics that got him there. Following seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts and just one hit allowed against the Giants, the right-hander framed the day less as a personal peak than as the product of preparation.
“I think it just goes back to the game plan,” Sheehan said. “Trying to keep them off balance. I think Mark [Prior] drew up a great game plan and then Rush called a good game back there too.” It’s been a September theme for Sheehan: conviction in the scouting report, rhythm with catcher Dalton Rushing, and a mix that lets his fastball play up because hitters can’t sit on the breaker.
The timing, of course, is perfect. With one regular-season start likely remaining, Sheehan admitted the results are feeding his October mindset. “It’s definitely nice to feel good,” he said. “I think just continue with the progress we’ve been making and try to do the same thing.” That “same thing” has looked like poise with traffic, early-count strikes, and a finish pitch that travels tunnel-to-tunnel before falling off late.
Asked whether anything specific felt different in this one, he kept it simple. “No. I think it’s the same stuff we’ve been doing the past few weeks—just trying to keep them off balance.” No reinvention story, no sudden epiphany—just steady refinement at a moment when the Dodgers need stable answers.
That carries into how he’ll treat the next turn, the last tune-up before the bracket begins. “I think just try to refine everything,” Sheehan explained. “Keep it where it is right now, but also try to get the execution up a little bit. Try to stay efficient.” Efficiency has been a pressure point in his development; on this day he threw 84 pitches through seven, the kind of crisp workload that preserves the bullpen and wins in October.
Confidence naturally followed. “It’s definitely nice to get a couple good ones before that series,” he said. A year ago, Sheehan got his first taste of the postseason furnace; that perspective isn’t lost on him. “It’s definitely nice to have a little bit of experience going into it,” he said. “Feeling good.” Pressed on how it compares to last fall, he added, “Feels pretty similar. I felt like I was ready to go into that, and I feel pretty ready now going into it too.”
As for what role awaits, Sheehan’s honest: it’s still TBD. “I have no idea yet, honestly,” he said with a small shrug in his voice. “Hoping for whatever, but yeah, I’m not sure yet.” If that sounds like a pitcher who is open to anything, he quickly confirmed it. “Whatever they want me to do to help us win… ready.”
That flexibility is rooted in real reps. “I came out of the bullpen a lot in the minors,” he noted. “And then I did a decent amount in ’23, too. Done it a few times this year. So, yeah.” It’s not every starter who can toggle roles without losing stuff or heartbeat; Sheehan’s delivery and pitch mix have traveled well between preparations, which gives Dave Roberts another lever to pull as matchups dictate.
One hot topic around the Dodgers has been shoring up the bridge to the ninth. Could the starters do anything as a group to help the bullpen regain traction? Sheehan wouldn’t play amateur therapist. “No, I don’t think so,” he said. “Those guys are nasty. We believe in them.” Then, after a pause: “Yeah, I don’t think so.” The conviction matters—clubhouses feel it when the rotation publicly backs the relief corps, and Sheehan’s answer landed as both support and trust.
Strip away the “ums” and “you knows,” and you’re left with a portrait of a young pitcher who has located his lane at exactly the right time: plan-driven, repetition-focused, and ready for any assignment. The strikeouts and the one-hit line will make the highlight reels; the process is what will travel into October.
Sheehan’s closing note could have doubled as a mission statement for the week ahead: keep the good where it is, sharpen the edges, and don’t complicate what’s working. “Refine everything… keep it where it is… get the execution up a little bit… stay efficient.” If he carries that into his final regular-season turn, the Dodgers won’t just have a hot hand—they’ll have a versatile weapon for whatever the bracket demands.
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