Emmet Sheehan goes five innings, the bullpen holds the Red Sox scoreless over the final four and Teoscar Hernandez hits a two-run homer as they kick off a nine-game road trip with a 5-2 win.
Scrutiny comes with the job. Security does not.
As the front office trolls the trade waters for high-leverage relievers, the Dodgers forge on with what Manager Dave Roberts recently called lovingly “the guys we have right now.”
Those guys made a one-run lead stand up over the final four innings as the Dodgers beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-2, on Friday night.
The replacement parts – or potentially soon-to-be-replaced parts as the trade deadline nears – combined to allow just two hits over four scoreless innings and the Dodgers have back-to-back wins for the first time since the All-Star break.
It was somewhat of an inside job for Red Sox Nation. Emmet Sheehan (a Boston College product) started and got the win. Ben Casparius (a Connecticut native) closed it out and got his first career save. The two might have half-filled ‘America’s Most Beloved Ballpark’ with friends and family alone.
“Yeah, it was awesome. Been dreaming about pitching here for a long time,” said Sheehan who actually grew up more than two hours away in New York state as a San Francisco Giants fan (Tim Lincecum was “my guy,” he said).
“I’ve been with Ben since we got drafted (in the fifth and sixth rounds in 2021). So it was really cool. I think he was an actual Red Sox fan growing up, so it might have been a little cooler for him. But it was really cool to see him go out there and do his thing, too.”
Sheehan got through five ragged innings, allowing just two runs, in his first career start at Fenway Park.
