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NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: DODGERS VS BREWERS

October 13, 2018

Dave Roberts

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - postgame 2

Los Angeles - 4, Milwaukee - 3

Q. Dave, when you know in advance that a certain guy, let's say Josh Hader, isn't going to pitch, can you kind of map the game out in your head going into it knowing that you won't have to see this guy?
DAVE ROBERTS: You always try to play scenarios and see how the game can go, but every baseball game is different. So the premeditated, how you're going to kind of see the game play out, I don't believe in. But, obviously, when you know you have a guy like Hader through three innings tonight and he was going to be down, for me there is just no cost to what has now been called a line change for our roster. So to insert these guys and not have to worry about him, yeah, it made it a lot easier.

Q. Dave, take me through the thought process of when you take Matt out, when you put Cody in, and just how Cody responded in that situation in his first at-bat.
DAVE ROBERTS: Wanted Matt to get the start, and it's kind of what our club, with the depth that we have, just because you don't start doesn't mean you might not impact the game later. And for Matt, I loved him against Miley. He's swinging the bat really well. After the second at-bat, now you have two innings of defense in a tight ballgame, so to sandwich Cody, a left-handed hitter, around two right-handed hitters, and you upgrade your defense, and again, you don't have to worry about Hader coming in. And so I just felt with the relievers predominantly going to be right-handed today, I liked Cody's matchup as well.

Q. With all the moves you do all game long, how nice is it to have Turner -- and I know you do it with Machado as well. You just put them in there and don't worry about it. Also did you sense striking out last night four times might have upset him a little bit?
DAVE ROBERTS: It did upset him, and it takes a special athlete to have a night like he had last night and to show up the next day in a big spot and want to have the bat in your hand. And Justin is that guy, and those are hard to come by.

As far as having guys like Manny and J.T., you can leave in there, they post. They're productive against left-handed, right-handed, and to have the stalwarts in there, yeah, you gotta have those. And I believe we have a lot of those on our club, but we also have a lot of guys that can do some other things.

So now when you're playing the margins and what can make you marginally better in a certain spot, whether it be defense or a bat in a postseason setting, you have to play the margins.

Q. Dave, we've made so much about their bullpen these last couple days, yet you guys have come back late in the innings in these last two games and really kind of done some damage against that bullpen. Is there anything that you guys match up well with some of those arms they have coming out?
DAVE ROBERTS: I like our approach. I like the position players we run out there. You can't take anything away from that pen. They've done it over the course of the season, and they're a tough pen for anyone to match up against. But I do believe -- we talked about last night seeing these guys two nights in a row, I think that that plays to our advantage, and you still have to go out there and execute and put at-bats together, and that's what our guys are doing.

Q. So much talk about their bullpen, how about the job that your guys have done?
DAVE ROBERTS: Absolutely. And I think that that's something that to a man, I think our guys are taking it personal, as a challenge, because our guys are pretty good back there, too. And so there's not a whole lot said about them. But without those guys, we wouldn't be in this position.

Q. With Justin, what kind of let you know that he was upset coming off that game?
DAVE ROBERTS: No, it's not anything like that, but a player like that, in a post-season game or in any game, he wants to perform. And so when you punch four times and you make an error, that's not ideal. So there's nothing that I need to talk to him about or he said. It's just obviously as a competitor, you expect more from yourself.

Q. Is there anything you saw about just the way he went about it today that let you know he was in the right head space?
DAVE ROBERTS: No. Justin is a guy that -- and we have a lot of guys like that -- that the head is very consistent, and I don't need to have those type conversations with guys like that.

Q. Can you expand on your bullpen taking things personally, the headlines that Hader and these other guys are getting? Is that kind of what you're talking about?
DAVE ROBERTS: But, again, it's not something that I need to talk about or fire the guys up. These guys are competitors. And when you look across the diamond and you see people that are doing the same thing you're doing, but are getting more notoriety or whatever, people have pride. And so I'm speaking for them, but I know these guys are taking it personal.

Q. Dave, there's been so much made about the Dodgers, so many different guys that contribute. But it seems like Justin, when he does well, he's kind of the straw that stirs it. Would you agree?
DAVE ROBERTS: Yes. Obviously everyday starting pitcher is probably the most person in the organization that day. We believe that. But if you're talking about the grind, the tough conversations, the identity of our ball club, he's probably the face. He personifies everything that I believe in as a baseball player, as a professional. And then you can get into the community and all that stuff. But yeah, I call him -- he's the glue for our club.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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