Emmet Sheehan and Andy Pages Ignite Dodgers’ Stunning Surge to Top Spot—Can They Keep It?

The Dodgers didn’t let the magic of last year’s World Series victory fade away Monday, as they handed out championship rings to celebrate their crowning achievement. Nearly 50,000 fans—49,702 to be exact—left the ballpark with replica rings, while Gavin Lux, now suiting up for the Cincinnati Reds but a Dodger last season, took home an authentic ring. It’s a poignant reminder of what this team accomplished and what they’re eyeing next. Speaking of what’s next, with just 30 games left for both the Dodgers and the Padres, Monday’s dominant 7-0 victory over Cincinnati bumped the Dodgers back into the lead in the National League West by a single game—a slim margin that promises some electrifying baseball down the stretch. If they keep up the kind of play they showed Monday—where Andy Pages blasted two homers and Emmet Sheehan delivered a career-best seven scoreless innings—they’ll make chasing them an uphill climb for anyone. The pressure’s on, and this race is heating up in a way that feels less like a marathon and more like a frantic sprint. The Dodgers know every game counts… and honestly, that intensity might be exactly what they need to bring home another ring. LEARN MORE

The Dodgers continued their season-long celebration of last year’s World Series triumph by handing out championship rings Monday. The 49,702 people who bought tickets got replicas while Gavin Lux, who played for the Dodgers last season and is now with the Cincinnati Reds, got a real one.

If the team hopes to win more jewelry again this fall, the next five weeks will be key. Because after Monday’s 7-0 win over the Reds, the Dodgers lead San Diego by a game in the National League West with just 30 more left in the regular season for both teams.

Advertisement

However, if the Dodgers (75-57) continue to play as they did Monday, when Andy Pages homered twice, driving in four runs, and Emmet Sheehan threw a career-high seven scoreless innings, they’ll be tough to catch.

“The defense was just engaged, every single guy out there. The at-bats, one through nine, were great,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s probably one of the better games, complete games, that we’ve played in months. I’m really, really excited about the way we played.”

Read more: Hernández: Repeat champions or October duds? Dodgers identity crisis keeps everyone guessing

Excited, too, because what started as a marathon six months ago is now a different kind of race.

Advertisement

“We’re in a sprint now,” said Michael Conforto, who had two hits and made two outstanding plays in left field. “We’re in a race for the division.”

And they’re a step ahead in that race with the Padres, who, like the Dodgers, have 10 series remaining, five at home and five on the road. But San Diego has the easier schedule, based on the combined winning percentage of its opponents (.474) entering the week. The Dodgers have the fourth-easiest schedule.

For Roberts, his team’s narrow margin for error is something to be embraced since it has the potential to steel his team for the postseason, as opposed to simply coasting into the playoffs.

“Competition should bring out the best in you,” he said. “So where the margins are smaller and everything matters more versus you have a big lead and you’re not playing with urgency because you don’t need to, and then have to kind of flip the switch, that’s tough.”

Advertisement

The Dodgers also are rapidly adding reinforcements for their playoff push. Over the weekend, relievers Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates returned from the injured list and utility player Kiké Hernández was activated Monday. Third baseman Max Muncy and infielder/outfielder Hyeseong Kim could be back by the next road trip, if not before. Utilityman Tommy Edman and pitcher Roki Sasaki likely aren’t far behind.

Then there’s Sheehan (5-2), who was brilliant Monday, pitching a career-best seven innings and matching a career high with 10 strikeouts to win his third straight decision. Sheehan gave up just two hits and walked one.

“I definitely have to build on it. Try to just keep the same progress we’ve been doing, keep that going for the next one,” Sheehan said. “It’s pretty fun. It’s a lot more fun than watching the ball go over the fence, for sure.”

For Roberts, it’s as if his team acquired a half-dozen new players.

“Those are kind of deadline trades in themselves,” he said. “I do appreciate the guys that have been here, kind of grinding through. But it’s nice looking out on the horizon, seeing the guys that we got coming.”

Advertisement

Pages put the Dodgers in front to stay in the third Monday, driving a 102-mph fastball from Hunter Greene into the bullpen in left field. He hit another in the fifth inning for his 23rd homer of the season, second-most on the team behind Shohei Ohtani’s 45.

In the sixth, a double by Freddie Freeman and walks to Will Smith and Teoscar Hernández loaded the bases for Pages, whose two-out grounder to short got under Elly De La Cruz for a two-run error. A Mookie Betts’ homer, his second hit of the game, with one out in the seventh and a Pages’ sacrifice fly in the eighth closed out the scoring.

Relievers Jack Dreyer and Anthony Banda followed Sheehan, pitching an inning each to complete the shutout, the team’s fourth in the last 23 games.

The Dodgers had only three shutouts in the first 109 games.

Advertisement

Read more: Dodgers Dugout: A 31-game race to the finish for the Dodgers and Padres

Now come the reinforcements, although Kiké Hernández said he almost didn’t make it. After going on the injured list July 6 with left elbow inflammation, he tried three injections and non-invasive rehab procedures, but nothing seemed to work.

“I got to a point where I didn’t know if it was going to happen. We were pretty close to it not happening,” he said of his return. “There are some procedures that I went through that didn’t do anything. I went through four shots in a month, and [the] first three didn’t do anything, and luckily the fourth one was the answer.

“After the last shot, I was pain free.”

Advertisement

Hernández said he expected to start in left field Tuesday. He joins the Dodgers just in time for their sprint to the finish.

“It’s playoff-atmosphere games from here on out,” he said. “Hopefully it brings out the best in people and also teaches the younger guys that when the time comes and we’re in October, the moment doesn’t get too big for them.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.