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The Dodgers dropped a 10-7 decision to the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday night, with starter Emmet Sheehan running into significant trouble on the mound. Mookie Betts did his best to spark a comeback with two home runs, but it wasn’t enough to dig out of the hole Sheehan created, per the LA Times staff report.

Sheehan’s struggles are becoming a real conversation point. The right-hander burst onto the scene in 2023 as one of the more exciting young arms in the organization, earning a call-up that summer and flashing a mid-90s fastball with a sharp breaking ball. He looked like a legitimate piece of the future rotation. But durability and consistency have been recurring questions. He dealt with injuries that cost him significant time, and outings like this one — where he simply couldn’t limit damage — raise fair concerns about where he fits going forward. With the Dodgers already navigating Shohei Ohtani‘s indefinite removal from the pitching rotation due to knee pain, they can’t afford soft spots in the starting five. Sheehan needs to be better, and he knows it.

Betts, on the other hand, continues to do exactly what Betts does. Two home runs in a losing effort is frustrating, but it’s also a reminder of how consistently elite he’s been since arriving in Los Angeles. The former MVP has been one of the most complete players in baseball for the better part of a decade — he hits for average, hits for power, plays premium defense, and runs the bases well. When he’s launching two out of the park in a game, you’d like to think that’s enough. On this night, it wasn’t. But Betts is doing his job, and then some.

The bigger picture here is rotation depth. I’ve said it before — this roster is built to absorb hits, but you can only absorb so many at once. Ohtani is out of the rotation indefinitely. Yoshinobu Yamamoto just threw a complete game to save the bullpen in the doubleheader sweep of the Yankees, which was heroic but not a sustainable plan. The Dodgers just acquired Brock Halvorsen from the Rockies, and the trade deadline rumors around arms like Tarik Skubal continue to swirl. Sheehan getting knocked around like this only adds urgency to those conversations.

A 10-7 loss where you hit multiple homers and still can’t climb back tells you the pitching let the team down. The offense held up its end. The bullpen had to eat innings after Sheehan’s short outing, and that’s a resource drain nobody wants in late July. This team has the talent to weather a rough stretch, but the front office needs to act — and soon. Games like this one make that pretty clear.

Source(s): Staff (LA Times) | First reported: July 21, 2026 2:52 AM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers