Emmet Sheehan shines, bullpen thrives in Dodgers' win over Braves
Emmet Sheehan earns a lot less than many of the players on the Dodgers and Braves, but he delivered a game-changing performance in the Dodgers' 3-1 win.
Dodgers starting pitcher Emmet Sheehan delivers during the first inning of a 3-1 win over the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium on Friday night. (Jessie Alcheh / Associated Press) Here an eight-figure salary, there an eight-figure salary, seemingly everywhere an eight-figure salary. There are not too many nights when you can point to a position and say the man playing a certain position for the Dodgers makes $17 million less this season than the opposing player at the same position.
This was one of them. The Atlanta Braves are paying Chris Sale, the nine-time All-Star, $18 million this season. The Dodgers are paying Emmet Sheehan a little less than $1 million.
You might not have bet on this outcome in the sports books or prediction markets: The Dodgers won. Not because your home team has suddenly become a plucky underdog, even if the Braves (26-13) have a better record. The Dodgers (24-14) dented Sale for three runs in seven innings — one on a home run by Freddie Freeman ($27 million this year), one on a double by Kyle Tucker ($55 million), and one on a single by Shohei Ohtani ($70 million).
Final score: Dodgers 3, Braves 1 . Read more: Dodgers put Tyler Glasnow on injured list; Blake Snell set to start Saturday Two of the Dodgers’ pitching stars on Friday arrived in Los Angeles together, in a little-noticed trade that now stands out as one of Andrew Friedman’s best. In the fifth inning, Alex Vesia relieved Sheehan and induced a two-on, two-out fly out from Matt Olson, who might be the National League’s most valuable player to date.