NL DIVISION SERIES: PADRES VS DODGERS

October 15, 2022

Dave Roberts

Petco Park

Los Angeles Dodgers

Pregame 4 Press Conference

Q. Dave, how is Trea doing? Was there any doubt that he was going to be in there at some point today?

DAVE ROBERTS: There was a little doubt. He went and got an X-ray last night. He had an MRI today, and it's just a grade 2 sprain of his fourth digit on the throwing hand.

But he feels good, swung the bat, took grounders, threw, and feels good enough to go.

Q. For the lineup, what went into going with Taylor and Thompson and leaving Bellinger on the bench?

DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, I just felt that Cody hasn't had a lot of success against Musgrove and a good sample.

Joe has had a lot more success versus left-handed hitters than right-handed hitters, and there's a lot of spin, and I just feel that tonight to win one game, I just felt that Trayce and Chris just had a better chance.

Obviously Cody wants to be in there, but this is a decision that I had to make, I chose to make.

Q. What about this team gives you the confidence about winning this game, and what's the urgency?

DAVE ROBERTS: Well, there's a ton of urgency, so I think that's very clear. As far as the confidence, I think there's not going to be any panic. I don't think guys are going to try to do anything out of character. There's some experience to it. We've been here.

But again, none of it really matters once the game starts. You've got to go out there and play a good baseball game and out-play the other ballclub. If we do that, I like our chances.

Q. We saw Trea testing out throwing earlier. Was there any consideration of DH'ing him today?

DAVE ROBERTS: There was, and I gave him that option. He said he wanted to go through the workout and felt that he could play short and throw it across the diamond.

Q. And considering it's a potential elimination for you guys, is it all-hands-on-deck situation pitching-wise for you guys, or are you going to try to hold some guys back --

DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, all the guys that we have in the pen, outside of Heaney who threw last night, will be available.

Q. You guys have handled this pitching staff pretty well during the regular season, struggled with runners in scoring position thus far in the series. This rotation, is this pitching staff pitching you guys any differently than they did during the season?

DAVE ROBERTS: You know, I think there's a little bit to that. I think that in some instances there's been more spin, but then there's kind of been more fastballs. Justin and Will have gotten a lot of fastballs, a lot of challenged fastballs, some in zone, some out of zone.

But I think some of the tendencies maybe a little bit, but again, we've had opportunities to take advantage of mistakes, and we haven't done that.

Q. Just to clarify, sometimes I struggle with both science and counting. Trea, fourth digit right hand; little finger?

DAVE ROBERTS: It's the ring finger.

Q. This team back in June had that eight-game stretch where it was struggling with runners in scoring position. When you look back, how did you guys pull out of that?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think there was kind of a meeting of the minds as far as the hitters themselves and kind of just trying to simplify and talk about team offense, taking good at-bats, using a big part of the field, taking walks when needed, kind of like that.

A lot of times when teams -- again, this is three games, so this is not a course of even eight games. This is just three games, where I think the tendency is you start to be aggressive out of zone.

In this situation where our backs are against the wall, you have to make something out of it. But again, it's still three games, and it's known to our hitters what we need to do to push some runs across.

Q. What was your conversation with Cody Bellinger like, and how did he take not being in the lineup today?

DAVE ROBERTS: He was upset. He was upset. He wanted to be in there. He expected to be in there. All year long I've played him against right-handed pitching, and he wanted to be in there. But he also said he'll be ready for whatever we need.

Q. Your team has been through this before. You've been through it before. They showed your stolen base on FS1 this morning. What is it about the approach, the attitude, whatever, in the clubhouse that enables your guys to function in elimination games?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think what we've done very well at all year is not getting ahead of ourselves and focusing on the day at hand, the game at hand. That doesn't change. Certainly if we don't win today, there's no game tomorrow. But I think just the preparation, the mindset of just winning today is something that is very familiar to us.

Q. With Bellinger, looking back over the last couple years, how challenging, how difficult has it been to manage your expectations of who he should be or can be versus the player that he is in the present?

DAVE ROBERTS: It's difficult. There's no exact science to it. I think I've shown that I've supported him. I've given him a lot of leash because he's earned it, and also I believe in the player, the talent, the person.

But I just felt that -- and that's difficult at times. I think I've been consistent with that.

But in this particular moment, with all the information I have, with what I've seen recently, I had to make a difficult decision, and I feel that Chris Taylor deserves an opportunity to start two games in a row, and he's done a lot of good things in the postseason for us, as well.

I feel that Trayce Thompson all year long versus right-handed pitching has been very consistent, and nothing has changed from what I've seen.

Q. On Trea Turner, if this was the regular season, would he be on the injured list, or it's not that bad?

DAVE ROBERTS: He would not be on the injured list. But I would say, if it was the regular season, he might take a day.

Q. Justin Turner had said, when you guys were in the bubble in 2020 and fell down 3-1 to the Braves facing elimination, that the group texts really started to change as far as motivation, as far as him stepping up, saying: We're not losing this series. Are you seeing any of that today, either in group texts or in person? And if it hasn't happened yet, do you expect some of the leaders on this team to give them a motivational talk or something?

DAVE ROBERTS: I haven't heard anything about a group text. I am familiar with the one in '20. This ballclub is about the players, the veteran players, the young players. It's about them.

I'm sure that they've communicated between themselves, but I don't care to get involved in that. Kind of my trust, my expectation in them is that those 26 guys will be ready to win a ballgame and do whatever it takes. That's kind of where I'm at.

Q. When you talk about the urgency level, where do you see that come out before the game and then during the game?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think urgency before the game, I wouldn't say you could see any difference. Urgency during the game, I think that you probably will see that more in the pitching, kind of trying to maximize certain margins when possible, as something might present itself, because I think that in the postseason you don't always have the luxury of being reactionary.

I think that you've got to be more proactive, more so than in the regular season.

Q. You guys talked about wanting to clinch early, wanting to come into the postseason rested. Has there been an adjustment period at all to the intensity of these games and the intensity of this environment in the first couple games of the series?

DAVE ROBERTS: I just think that you can look -- to be quite honest, I think that we've thrown out as many hits and hit as many homers as those guys have. I think that the timing of the hits might be different. I don't necessarily think it's the layoff. Maybe if we weren't -- and the hits were skewed or the slug one way to the other, you could debate it. But I think that it's been pretty even, just their hits have been more timely.

Q. Have your guys been pressing too much in some of those situational hitting spots?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think a little bit of -- maybe not pressing, but not being as patient as we probably could have been.

Q. Is there any scenario today in which Urías pitches?

DAVE ROBERTS: No, not at all.