LOS ANGELES — Emmet Sheehan had his best start of the early season, backed by early home runs in the Dodgers’ 6-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers wore their city connect uniforms for the first time in 2026, and connected right away off Rangers starter Jack Leiter. Shohei Ohtani homered to start the bottom of the first inning, extending his on-base streak to 45 games, the fifth-longest in modern Dodgers history.
With two on and two out in the first, Teoscar Hernández broke things open with a three-run home run, his first home run at Dodgers Stadium this season after hitting two during the six-game road trip.
The four-run first inning erased the very early deficit for Sheehan, who allowed a leadoff home run to Brandon Nimmo and then not much else at all to any other Rangers hitter.
Sheehan had an uneven spring training, interrupted for a bit by the flu, followed by struggles with his mechanics, affecting both his command and his fastball velocity. He needed 83 pitches to get through 3 1/3 innings in his first start of the year, then allowed three runs in the first inning of his second start before recovering to last 5 2/3 in Washington D.C.
Through it all, neither Sheehan nor the Dodgers expressed much concern, but rather were confident he’d turn things around. A slight rotation shuffle after Thursday’s off day saw Tyler Glasnow pitch the series opener, which pushed back Sheehan to Saturday, on seven full days of rest.
“I think what we’re looking for is just another step forward,” manager Dave Roberts said earlier Saturday. “He had a little extra time in between and the work he did in between, Emmet feels really good about it. The coaches feel good about the mechanics piece of it, so his entire pitch mix seems in a good spot.”
After the home run to Nimmo, Sheehan retired his next eight batters before Nimmo doubled with two outs in the third inning, but was stranded. He didn’t permit another run until the sixth inning, when Nimmo took him deep again, this time a two-run shot after a single by Josh Jung.
Nimmo had three extra-base hits and drove in all three Rangers runs off Sheehan. But the rest of the lineup had only one hit in 18 at-bats plus a walk, with six strikeouts. Sheehan got through six innings, his longest outing of the season, on just 77 pitches, and averaged 95.2 mph on his fastball after just 93.9 mph in his first two starts.
Jack Dreyer struck out all three batters he faced in the seventh, then Tanner Scott pitched a perfect eighth on just nine pitches, even retiring Nimmo.
Hernández doubled to open the eighth inning, and scored on a single by Andy Pages for some insurance. After throwing 23 pitches while allowing three runs in a blown save on Friday night, Edwin Díaz was not used in a save situation on Saturday, with a three-run lead to start the ninth inning.
Instead, Blake Treinen got the ball and saw two runners reach base, one by walk and one on an error by Max Muncy at third base. Facing the potential tying run at the plate, Treinen struck out Andrew McCutchen for the second out of the inning.
Rather than have Treinen face the left-handed Evan Carter, Roberts opted for left-hander Alex Vesia, who faced Rangers pinch-hitter Danny Jansen, a right-handed batter. Vesia ran the count full but struck out Jansen to earn the save on his 30th birthday.
Saturday particulars
Home runs: Shohei Ohtani (4), Teoscar Hernández (3); Brandon Nimmo 2 (3)
WP — Emmet Sheehan (2-0): 6 IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 6 strikeout
LP — Jack Leiter (1-1): 3 2/3 IP, 5 hits, 5 runs, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts
Sv — Alex Vesia (1): 1 batter, 1 strikeout
Up next
The Dodgers go for the series sweep on Sunday afternoon (1:10 p.m., SportsNet LA), with Roki Sasaki on the mound at the start. Jacob deGrom starts for the Rangers.
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