CHAVEZ RAVINE \u2014 Friday night was a good argument for why you don\u2019t leave Dodger Stadium early. Saturday was an argument for why you don\u2019t come late. The Dodgers scored four runs in the opening frame, and got a quality start from Emmet Sheehan to win their second straight against the Texas Rangers, this time by a score of 6-3.<\/p>\n
Shohei and Teo Erase Early Ranger Lead<\/p>\n
The game started off with a bang, and not the good kind. Former Met Brandon Nimmo led off the game with a home run on the second pitch of the game. Sheehan threw a tasty four-seamer to the left-handed hitting Nimmo, and the new Ranger hammered the pitch over the right field fence to give Texas an early lead. However, Sheehan bounced back admirably, and retired the side in order after the Rangers\u2019 opening salvo.<\/p>\n
Then, in the bottom of the first, the Dodgers jumped all over Texas starter Jack Leiter. It started with Shohei Ohtani, who came into the game still looking his first extra base hit at home. He got it in a big way. He got a 2-1 slder on the inside part of the plate and drilled it out of the park to even up the score.<\/p>\n
Now that the teams had traded leadoff homers, the Dodgers really delivered some separation. Will Smith hit a one-out single and Freddie Freeman walked to put a pair of Dodgers on the bags for Teoscar Hernandez. Teo\u2019s been heating up lately, and his swing is starting to flex its muscle. Here, he got Leiter to oblige him with a 1-1 changeup that he blasted over the right field fence for a three-run home run.<\/p>\n
Many Dodger fans were still settling into their seats, and their team had staked them to a 4-1 lead.<\/p>\n
Finding Nimmo<\/p>\n
Sheehan was much improved in this start. He was getting a lot of whiffs on his slider and was mowing down Ranger hitters. With one exception. He somehow couldn\u2019t figure out how to get Brandon Nimmo out. After the Dodgers scored a run through the back door on a double play ball in the third to make it 5-1, Sheehan was brutally efficient through the middle innings. Until the sixth, when Brandon Nimmo came up again, this time with a man on base. Different inning. Different Situation. Same Result. Nimmo hammered another home run to tighten the score to 5-3. Still, other than that annoying Brandon Nimmo, you really have to like what you saw from Sheehan in this one. The velo was up, the spray pattern was tight, and the pitch efficiency was on point. His line for the day: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K. Bravo. More of this please.<\/p>\n
Insurance Late Seals the Deal<\/p>\n
The Dodgers got one more run\u2019s worth of insurance in the bottom of the eighth when Teo hit a double of the wall in left center and then was driven in by an Andy Pages single. Blake Treinen came in for the ninth to try to get the save, but after a walk and a fielding error on Max Muncy, Dave Roberts brought in Alex Vesia for the final out. Vesia, celebrating his 30th birthday, gave himself a present with a strikeout of pinch hitter Danny Jansen to end the game and send the home crowd home happy.<\/p>\n
Next Up: Roki vs. deGrom<\/p>\n
The final pitching match-up in this series is going to be, um, interesting. The uber-talented but inconsistent Roki Sasaki will be back on the bump in the finale against two-time Cy Young award winner Jacob deGrom. Even after some kneed paint that required an MRI, deGrom is \u201cstill on track\u201d to start Sunday\u2019s game, manager Skip Schumaker said, after he threw a bullpen Friday at Dodgers Stadium.\u00a0However, given the talented deGrom\u2019s injury-riddled career, it won\u2019t be surprising if Schumaker puts him on a strict pitch limit. Which means there\u2019ll probably ample Dodger at-bats against the Texas pen. And given Sasaki\u2019s track record so far in 2026, the same can probably said for the Rangers. It\u2019s a Sunday game, so that means a 1:10 first pitch. See you there!<\/p>\n
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