Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles Dodgers

With the Dodgers' rotation depth wearing thin, Emmet Sheehan made a successful case to extend his stay in the big leagues. In his first start for L.A. since August, Sheehan tied his career high with 10 strikeouts across 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball against the Reds on Monday night at Dodger Stadium. He was the pitcher of record in the Dodgers' series-opening 6-3 victory, their fifth straight win. "I’ve been optioned before," Sheehan said. "It’s always, 'See what we can do down there, and see what we can do to bring it back up here.' I think tonight was a good step in the right direction to see we brought it back up here." Manager Dave Roberts said Sheehan would remain in the Dodgers' rotation. His next start is lined up for Sunday in Miami. Before Sheehan was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City, L.A. had only four fully built-up starting pitchers on the active roster: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, the projected members of their postseason rotation.  Having those four arms healthy is key for the Dodgers, but with Roki Sasaki and Eric Lauer on the IL -- and Shohei Ohtani unlikely to pitch again this season -- they have a clear need at the back end of their rotation in order to get through the final month of the regular season.