The Los Angeles Dodgers pick up the split on their four-game series against the San Francisco Giants on Thursday night.
They settle for a split.
The Los Angeles Dodgers began their four-game series against the San Francisco Giants sputtering, but they managed to salvage the final game of the series on Thursday with a 5-2 final.
Emmet Sheehan Tosses Best Outing, But Hernandez's Mishap Creates Dent
Coming off a one-run in 4 2/3 innings performance against the mighty Atlanta Braves six days ago, Sheehan continued his hot hand on Thursday night against the Giants.
The series finale against San Francisco was no doubt his best outing of 2026.
Even amidst the fluctuations of his fastball velocity jumping up and down between each start, Thursday proved to be a constant for him.
“It was definitely nice to have that later in starts,” Sheehan said on his consistent velocity. “It’s pretty important to maintain that, so I felt good about it.”
Sheehan tossed six quality innings against the Giants, striking out six while only giving up two hits and two earned runs.
Those two runs were the result of a Teoscar Hernandez misread in left field.
In the top of the fifth and a runner on first, Jung Hoo Lee poked Sheehan's 0-2 fastball to left field — which barely stayed fair — and Hernandez was unable to play the bounce.
The ball somehow got by Hernandez and traveled behind him all the way to the left-field wall. With the speedy Lee running the bases, he was able to slide into home with a two-run inside-the-park home run. That tied the ballgame at 2-2.
“It’s just one of those where you just got to wipe it and go on to the next guy,” Sheehan said.
Other than that slight blemish, Sheehan's stuff on the mound was the best that it's been through his past seven starts. His fastball consistently stayed around 95 mph and his breaking slider picked up seven of the 14 whiffs he generated.
“That was part of the game plan for sure,” Sheehan said on his effective slider. “A couple I would’ve wanted back, but it felt good.”
Offense Produces Just Enough with No Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts in Lineup
Before Thursday's series finale, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts submitted a lineup that has never been seen by fans or baseball fanatics alike.
For the first time in his career, Will Smith hit in the leadoff position and as the Dodgers' designated hitter. He took Ohtani's spot as Ohtani had his second scheduled day off from hitting.
Ohtani was coming off his seven scoreless innings less than 24 hours earlier.
Another piece missing from the lineup was the returning presence of Mookie Betts.
This was another classic case of Roberts resting his players as he stated just before Betts returned to the team on Monday that he would take a day off during this series.
But that was supposed to be on Wednesday. According to Roberts during Wednesday's pregame scrum with the media, Betts told him that he felt good going for a third straight game.
With two regular bats out of the lineup, the Dodgers fared well without them as they put up five runs on eight hits.
Most notably, Smith jumpstarted the scoring by hitting a leadoff home run in the first inning in his first at-bat. What a way put on a show for the first time as the Dodgers' leadoff hitter.
Hernandez made up for his mistake defensively by going 3-for-4 at the plate with three extra-base hits and one run.
What's Next?
The Dodgers look ahead to playing in the Freeway Series against the Los Angeles Angels this weekend as they begin a nine-game road trip.
Blake Snell takes the mound for the series opener.
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