Emmet Sheehan and Andy Pages power Dodgers to

The Dodgers continued their season-long celebration of last yr’s World Series triumph by handing out championship rings Monday. The 49,702 people who purchased tickets obtained replicas while Gavin Lux, who performed for the Dodgers last season and is now with the Cincinnati Reds, obtained a real one.

If the staff hopes to win more jewellery again this fall, the next 5 weeks can be key. Because after Monday’s 7-0 win over the Reds, the Dodgers lead San Diego by a sport in the National League West with just 30 more left in the common season for both groups.

However, if the Dodgers continue to play as they did Monday, when Andy Pages homered twice, driving in 4 runs, and Emmet Sheehan threw a career-high seven scoreless innings, they’ll be powerful to catch.

“The defense was just engaged, every single guy out there. The at-bats, one through nine, were great,” Dodger supervisor Dave Roberts said. “It’s probably one of the better games, complete games, that we’ve played in months. I’m really, really excited about the way we played.”

Excited, too, because what began as a marathon six months in the past is now a different variety of race.

“We’re in a sprint now,” said Michael Conforto, who had two hits and made two excellent performs in left discipline. “We’re in a race for the division.”

And they’re a step forward in that race with the Padres who, just like the Dodgers, have 10 collection remaining, 5 at home and 5 on the highway. But San Diego has the better schedule, based on the mixed successful proportion of its opponents (.474) coming into the week. The Dodgers have the fourth-easiest schedule.

For Roberts, his staff’s slim margin for error is one thing to be embraced since it has the potential to metal his staff for the postseason, as opposed to merely coasting into the playoffs.

“Competition should bring out the best in you,” he said. “So where the margins are smaller and everything matters more versus you have a big lead and you’re not playing with urgency because you don’t need to, and then have to kind of flip the switch, that’s tough.”

The Dodgers also are quickly including reinforcements for their playoff push. Over the weekend, relievers Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates returned from the injured listing and utility participant Kiké Hernández was activated Monday. Third baseman Max Muncy and infielder/outfielder Hyeseong Kim could possibly be back by the next highway journey, if not before. Utilityman Tommy Edman and pitcher Roki Sasaki doubtless aren’t far behind.

Then there’s Sheehan (5-2), who was sensible Monday, pitching a career-best seven innings and matching a profession high with 10 strikeouts to win his third straight resolution. Sheehan gave up just two hits and walked one.

“I definitely have to build on it. Try to just keep the same progress we’ve been doing, keep that going for the next one,” Sheehan said. “It’s pretty fun. It’s a lot more fun than watching the ball go over the fence, for sure.”

For Roberts, it’s as if his staff acquired a half-dozen new gamers.

“Those are kind of deadline trades in themselves,” he said. “I do appreciate the guys that have been here, kind of grinding through. But it’s nice looking out on the horizon, seeing the guys that we got coming.”

Pages put the Dodgers in entrance to keep in the third Monday, driving a 102-mph fastball from Hunter Greene into the bullpen in left discipline. He hit another in the fifth inning for his twenty third homer of the season, second-most on the staff behind Shohei Ohtani’s 45.

In the sixth, a double by Freddie Freeman and walks to Will Smith and Teoscar Hernández loaded the bases for Pages, whose two-out grounder to short obtained under Elly De La Cruz for a two-run error. A Mookie Betts’ homer, his second hit of the sport, with one out in the seventh and a Pages’ sacrifice fly in the eighth closed out the scoring.

Relievers Jack Dreyer and Anthony Banda adopted Sheehan, pitching an inning each to full the shutout, the staff’s fourth in the last 23 video games.

The Dodgers had only three shutouts in the first 109 video games.

Now come the reinforcements, although Kiké Hernández said he nearly didn’t make it. After going on the injured listing July 6 with left elbow inflammation, he tried three injections and non-invasive rehab procedures, but nothing appeared to work.

“I got to a point where I didn’t know if it was going to happen. We were pretty close to it not happening,” he said of his return. “There are some procedures that I went through that didn’t do anything. I went through four shots in a month, and [the] first three didn’t do anything, and luckily the fourth one was the answer.

“After the last shot, I was pain free.”

Hernández said he anticipated to start in left discipline Tuesday. He joins the Dodgers just in time for their 30-game dash to the end.

“It’s playoff-atmosphere games from here on out,” he said. “Hopefully it brings out the best in people and also teaches the younger guys that when the time comes and we’re in October, the moment doesn’t get too big for them.”