LOS ANGELES — Modest by recent standards, the Dodgers’ most recent no-hit bid merely leaked into the sixth inning on Tuesday.
There was no ninth-inning drama like Saturday in Baltimore, when Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the bullpen fumbled away a chance at a victory. Tyler Glasnow built on the no-hit mania on Monday against the Colorado Rockies before Tanner Scott gave up the first hit in relief in the ninth.
Right-hander Emmet Sheehan was the latest to get in on the craze by opening with five perfect innings on Tuesday on the way to the Dodgers’ 7-2 victory over the Rockies.
One day, and possibly soon, the Dodgers will close the deal. Tuesday seemed like an appropriate time on the 60th anniversary of Sandy Koufax’s perfect game against the Chicago Cubs. The effort stands as the only perfect game in Dodgers history.
The 25-year-old Sheehan confirmed he does know about the Dodgers’ pitching legend. He was made aware of the anniversary just before he took the mound.
“I didn’t know, but I heard the pregame stuff going on, and so I was kind of wondering why they were doing it,” Sheehan said. “So I figured it was the anniversary of that.”
Sheehan’s effort, along with four home runs from the offense, allowed the Dodgers (81-64) to move two games up on the second-place San Diego Padres (79-66) in the National League West with 17 games left in the regular season.
Widely believed to be one of two starters the Dodgers will jettison once the playoffs arrive, Sheehan (6-3) at least wants to make the decision a tough one. He did not allow an earned run in two of his four August starts and gave up just two runs last week in Pittsburgh but still was left with the loss.
He struck out nine and did not walk a batter on Tuesday, while going seven innings for the second time in his career. Both efforts have come in his past three outings.
“Oh, he’s a real (postseason) option,” Manager Dave Roberts said. “I don’t know what capacity, but when you’re playing meaningful games, young player, you’re looking at how they handle their emotions. And Emmet is, I like to use the word unflappable, and it’s a huge compliment. And he’s unflappable.”
“He knows he’s talented, and he knows how to execute pitches. He’s got good stuff, and no moment is too big for him. … I know that he’s a viable option for us now going forward.”
The offense showed some urgency with two home runs from Teoscar Hernandez and one each from Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. The Dodgers had five runs over the first five innings, including home runs from Betts and Hernandez. A rejuvenated Betts has three of his 17 home runs over the past six games.
Freeman and Hernandez added home runs in the ninth. The multi-homer night gave Hernandez 23 on the season as he went deep for the first time since Aug. 22.
“I thought the at-bats, the takes, the swings, all were good,” Roberts said of Hernandez. “He’s been grinding, trying to figure out his mechanics, his approach, all that stuff. But I thought tonight was the first time in a long time that he looked comfortable. And I thought he freed his body up.”
The Rockies finally came away with their first hit of the game and their second of the series when Kyle Karros ripped a single to left field, just over the head of third baseman Max Muncy in the sixth.
The son of Los Angeles Dodgers career home run leader Eric Karros was playing in his 28th career major league game.
Karros ended up scoring the lone run off of Sheehan when Tyler Freeman singled.
“Seeing (Glasnow), what he did (Monday) against the same lineup and trying to pick up on certain stuff that worked, even though our arsenals are a little different, I think helps a lot,” Sheehan said. “But, yeah, just seeing him have success was definitely big.”
Sheehan now has 19 strikeouts over his last two home starts.
“I felt like I was executing the slider pretty well to the glove side and then trying to keep them off the heater as much as possible,” he said. “But yeah, felt really good.”
Left-hander Alex Vesia pitched the eighth inning in his first outing since going on the injured list with oblique discomfort. Vesia retired all three batters he faced, including strikeouts against Braxton Fulford and Michael Toglia.
In the ninth inning, right-hander Kirby Yates gave up a home run to Hunter Goodman, the catcher’s 30th of the season.
While the bullpen still needs the closing weeks of the regular season to hit its stride, the rotation has found a sense of urgency.
“I think that the pitchers are of the mind that these are very, very important games,” Roberts said. “It’s kind of the playoff mentality. I think the catchers are calling games in that vein. I think the defense has been really focused, getting off the baseball. We’re doing a good job of preventing hits, preventing baserunners.
“I just think there’s a heightened level of focus across the board, and our offense, I think, has caught up.”