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MLB WORLD SERIES: DODGERS VS RED SOX

October 27, 2018

Dave Roberts

Los Angeles, California - pregame 4

Q. What prompted the switch from Hill to TBD back to Rich Hill today?
DAVE ROBERTS: We were just kind of just potentially toying with the idea of an opener, and just kind of wanted to leave it open-ended. And just after more conversation and thought, just feel great about Rich starting and going through his normal routine.

Q. With Rich the bar in the postseason has pretty much been five innings. What would he have to do to leave him in longer than five innings? And how does yesterday's bullpen use affect that?
DAVE ROBERTS: I think with Rich, he's not the most efficient pitcher. And obviously the most important thing is getting outs regardless of how you get them. But when you're talking about potential length, that comes with getting outs as well as being somewhat efficient.

We'll see how the game goes. As far as getting 27 outs, I know we have enough in the bullpen to do that.

Q. Is it Kershaw tomorrow?
DAVE ROBERTS: Correct.

Q. This is a little out of left field, so to speak: After we get to this point in the year and 18 innings on this turf tonight, and having a relatively quick turnaround, do you have to pay a little more attention to the infield and the surface out there?
DAVE ROBERTS: Actually I think that on some until infields potentially, but because of the climate, the grounds crew does such a great job, it's very -- I don't want to say cushiony, but it's a very soft dirt but stays together. So that I think that as far as that we're very lucky.

Q. In a time when the sacrifice bunt has almost disappeared, you being a great stealer in your time, previously a long time ago, you would take or you would simulate going the other way with a swing, sacrificing a strike in order to delay the mechanics of the catcher for somebody to get a steal. And it used to work a lot. It's not used anymore. You sacrifice one strike instead of an out. That is today's strategy. I haven't seen it.
DAVE ROBERTS: It does happen at times. There's still a right combination of base stealer and hitter who will take a strike. So I think that you do see guys, whether it's Mookie Betts, and I would recall that Benintendi will take a strike to let them steal a base, so I do think it happens. The nowadays pitchers are very conscious of holding runners and slide-stepping, throwing over to try to deter base stealers.

And the game isn't -- there aren't as many stolen bases just overall in the game of baseball. So they are taking strikes. And as far as using the other field, hitting the ball the other way, yeah, there could be more of that.

Q. You guys haven't done any opener nonsense all year, why did you decide the fourth game of the World Series to start debating it?
DAVE ROBERTS: It's just more of the thought of where we're at with the bullpen and trying to figure out what's the best way to get as many outs as we can from Rich.

Q. After whatever little sleep you got, what do you appreciate most of the theater or the drama from last night's game? Did you change your pregame routine?
DAVE ROBERTS: We shortened BP to 30 minutes instead of an hour, made it optional.

I think what I appreciated is the focus on defense over the course of seven hours. You can see Cody had a tough night at the plate but still made a great defensive play. Kenta got into some trouble, made a great defensive play with the first and second on the bunt play.

I thought the fight in the at-bats was good. We're a little too big with our swings. And you look at their team, as well, I think they were guilty of that, as well. And that's what happens when you start going into extras, and you run into Eovaldi who's thrown a hundred after seven innings. But the way that we were kind of relentless was good for me to see.

Q. I know you guys kind of talk about the intensity of the postseason and kind of the magnitude and the focus of like every pitch. I was curious, because the game is going into 14th inning be, 15th inning, were you experiencing that over seven entire hours or did that intensity kind of dissipate a little bit as time went on?
DAVE ROBERTS: I don't think that it dissipated. I think you've got to give credit to Eovaldi. When you're not hitting or you're not putting the ball in play, that looks like you're very lethargic. But I do know that from my perspective, our guys were still trying to win a baseball game and do whatever we could to find a way to come out on top. And it was a little bit of battle attrition last night and it was a good one. And just today seeing the guys, we're in a good mental space right now.

Q. You seem like very awake right now. Just curious what your last however many hours --
DAVE ROBERTS: I'm excited. It's the World Series, Game 4.

Q. Did you sleep at all?
DAVE ROBERTS: I slept a few hours. I'm three coffees, three cups deep. I'm good (laughter).

Q. Dave, with that in mind, do you have to worry about adrenaline carrying the players through? It's the World Series, obviously.
DAVE ROBERTS: It's the World Series, man. If you can't get up for this, man, you've got to find something else to do. We're fine.

Q. And your bullpen?
DAVE ROBERTS: Bullpen the same way. We're good.

Q. Just to be clear, so what you were considering was bringing somebody in to start the game for an inning, and then bringing Rich in --
DAVE ROBERTS: It was just something we were thinking about. We were just trying to think about all scenarios, and what would give us the best chance today.

Q. But it would have been Rich either way, one way or another?
DAVE ROBERTS: Correct.

Q. So is the primary reason to shift away from Rich's routine, did that play a heavy part?
DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah.

Q. Is there something in particular about Rich's routine?
DAVE ROBERTS: No, he's been a starter for many years, and it's something we haven't done all year. So it's really got to make sense to everyone involved. If there's any kind of debate or a little bit of uncomfortableness, it's not something we needed, it's just a process of really vetting every scenario.

Q. You mentioned Eovaldi, even though you're on the other side, what do you appreciate about his effort last night?
DAVE ROBERTS: I appreciate everything about what he did last night. I'm on the other side but I'm a baseball fan, I'm a sports fan. And when you see people like that perform at the highest level and to stay focused, appreciating that that was three out of four for him, to go 90-plus pitches, hold his stuff, use his mix, and take three at-bats I think last night and still keep going and give his team a chance to win, those are moments that don't come by very often.

I think one of our players mentioned it, in recent memory, what Bumgarner did in the World Series. And obviously you can talk about Sandy Koufax, who was there last night, and guys like that who did it more often as far as kind of pitching three games. But in recent times it just doesn't happen. And so it was pretty special.

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