Emmet Sheehan delivers gritty start in Dodgers' Memorial Day win

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers keep finding new ways to win baseball games, and on Memorial Day at Dodger Stadium, it was resilience, both physical and emotional, that carried them to another comeback victory.

Behind a gritty outing from Emmet Sheehan and a momentum-shifting return from Kiké Hernández, the Dodgers erased a late deficit and stormed past the Rockies 5-3 Monday night, improving to 34-20 on the season and 10-2 over their last 12 games. With the Padres losing ground again, the Dodgers now hold a 2½-game lead atop the NL West.

For six innings, Sheehan gave the Dodgers exactly what they needed: toughness, efficiency and composure under pressure.

The right-hander looked sharp early, carving through Colorado’s lineup the first time through the order before running into trouble in the fourth inning. Tyler Freeman opened the inning with a ground-rule double before Troy Johnston followed with an infield single. Willi Castro tied the game with an RBI single to right, and Ezequiel Tovar added a sacrifice fly to give Colorado a 2-1 lead.

Then came the moment that could have ended Sheehan’s night entirely.

A 103.8 mph comebacker screamed directly into Sheehan’s throwing arm, striking him near the right tricep and shoulder area. Trainers visited him twice in the inning as Dodger Stadium held its breath.

But Sheehan refused to leave.

“Yeah, it hurt,” Sheehan said afterward. “But no, it wasn’t anything too bad.”

What followed may have been the most encouraging stretch of his young season.

Despite dealing with fluctuating velocity and visible discomfort, Sheehan retired eight of the final nine batters he faced and completed six strong innings. His final line: six innings, five hits, two earned runs, one walk and eight strikeouts on 92 pitches.

“That’s your job as a starter, to get through as many innings as possible, take a load off the bullpen and put up zeros,” Sheehan said.

The outing lowered the temperature on a night when the Dodgers desperately needed length from their rotation.

And they needed a spark offensively, too.

That arrived in the third inning with the return of Hernández.

Activated earlier in the day, Hernández immediately injected life into the stadium in his first at-bat of the season. After Hyeseong Kim singled to lead off the inning, Hernández ripped a double down the third-base line, bringing Kim all the way around from first for the Dodgers’ first run of the night.

The roar inside Dodger Stadium sounded bigger than a routine RBI double in May. Hernández’s energy has long resonated inside the clubhouse and among fans, and his immediate impact was undeniable.

That lone run stood until the seventh inning, when Colorado briefly threatened to seize full control.

Kyle Hurt entered in relief of Sheehan and immediately surrendered a leadoff homer to Tovar, ending the Dodgers bullpen’s franchise-record streak of 38 consecutive scoreless innings and extending the Rockies’ lead to 3-1.

Then the Dodgers’ offense woke up all at once.

Will Smith and Kim opened the bottom of the seventh with walks before Miguel Rojas was hit by a pitch to load the bases with nobody out. That brought Shohei Ohtani to the plate, exactly the scenario opposing managers fear most.

Ric Tapia – The Sporting Tribune

Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates a double during the game against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on May 25, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.

Ohtani chopped a ground ball to second base that initially appeared to become an inning-changing double play. Instead, Dave Roberts challenged the out call at first, and replay overturned it. Smith scored on the play, Kim advanced to third, and Ohtani reached safely to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Moments later, Mookie Betts lifted a sacrifice fly to left to tie the game.

Freddie Freeman followed with the decisive blow, ripping a go-ahead RBI double that scored Ohtani and gave the Dodgers a 4-3 lead. Andy Pages then added insurance with an RBI single to center, plating Freeman and capping a four-run inning.

Pages’ RBI was his MLB-leading 46th of the season, tying him with Washington’s C.J. Abrams for the league lead.

“I just don’t think our focus was where it needed to be early,” Roberts said. “But what we’ve done all year, seventh, eighth and ninth innings, we start kind of bearing down a little bit more.”

Even during another Dodgers victory, Betts’ offensive struggles remained part of the conversation. Since returning from the injured list, Betts has looked out of sync at the plate and is now hitting just .165 on the season.

Roberts acknowledged the frustration surrounding Betts’ mechanics.

“I think a little bit overthinking, trying too hard, anxious,” Roberts said. “He’s not confident in his swing, his mechanics.”

Still, the Dodgers continue winning while waiting for one of baseball’s best hitters to fully rediscover himself, which may be the most ominous sign for the rest of the National League.

The bullpen finished things off cleanly after the seventh-inning rally. Will Klein and Alex Vesia bridged the late innings before Blake Treinen recorded the final out for his first save of the season.

Now the Dodgers turn to Tuesday night, when Eric Lauer is expected to make his Dodgers debut against the Rockies.