Dodgers News: Emmet Sheehan's Future with Team Revealed by Dave Roberts
Friday night was another loss in a long line of frustration coming from the Dodgers this season. The pitching, especially the bullpen, has been uncharacteristically poor and has caused the team to drop quite a few games that they should have won. However, the story of the game wasn’t just the team blowing a 4-0 lead to the rival San Francisco Giants but rather, the story of how rookie pitcher Emmet Sheehan shut down San Francisco while making his Major League debut.
Sheehan looked special on the mound Friday night, going six no-hit, shutout innings and allowing just two walks while striking out three. He had never made a pitch above the Double-A level and made it seem like he was a 10-year veteran. The Giants had no answers for him and it was quite the show that he put on.
Dave Roberts talked about the performance and future plans for the young pitcher after the game.
“He’ll make his next start. We’ll probably give him a little extra time.” Per SportsNet LA
This means that Sheehan will likely make his next start in front of the Dodgers faithful once again next weekend against the defending champion, Houston Astros.
This is the right decision by the Dodgers, especially for a team that is grasping for any sort of consistent pitching at the moment. Sheehan deserves another chance or two, to show what he can do. He spoke about his debut and what it meant to him.
“I was just trying to go out there and make it the same game it is in Double-A, which it is. That’s what everyone told me to do,” Sheehan said. “To have the Dodgers fans and my family behind me here at the game, I couldn’t have asked for a better debut, besides a Dodgers win.” Via MLB.com
The decision to remove him from the game while holding a no hitter is seen as questionable but Roberts has done it in the past. He defended taking the rookie out after the sixth inning despite him having the no-hitter.
“He’s never been in the seventh inning. All this adrenaline and stuff and we’re trying to build him up for the rest of the season so it was a pretty easy decision.” Per SportsNet LA
When looking at the game in totality, yes it would have been cool to see him try and go longer. But the decision by Roberts makes sense. He was at 89 pitches already and allowing him to continue would have likely pushed him to do more than needed at this stage. After all, it was his debut and the team may want him to stick around long-term if he continues to produce.
Some may point to the decision as the reason why the team ended up dropping the game but the bullpen should be able to hold a 4-0 lead in the seventh. It’s as simple as that. What was supposed to be a crowning night at Dodger Stadium went a different direction and ended as another frustrating loss. But the team can take this and know that they may have another special young player on their hands.
The Dodgers continue their series against the Giants on Saturday night, with first pitch scheduled for 6:10 p.m. PST.
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Source: Dodgers Nation
