NL DIVISION SERIES: DIAMONDBACKS VS DODGERS

October 8, 2023

Dave Roberts

Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles Dodgers

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Start with Kershaw. Last night, after the game, you said Game 4 no doubt. Is that something that's going to be reassessed as the week goes on?

DAVE ROBERTS: I don't think so. For me, there's certain people that get you here that have to get you across the finish line, and this is his role on our ballclub.

Game 4 is a ways away. But my thought is learn from the outing and continue to get better and have him start Game 4. So could things somehow change in some crazy world? Maybe.

But for me, as I sit here, we're focused on Game 2, and then pick up the pieces and see what Game 3 looks like. And I couldn't even sit here and tell you what Game 3 looks like.

But what I do know is for us to accomplish what we want to this year, we're going to need Clayton Kershaw to start baseball games. And I've got all the confidence in the world that he can do that and he's going to be just fine.

Q. He insists that what happened last night was not in any way health-related. What do you see that tells you the shoulder isn't compromising his stuff to the point where he can't be affected?

DAVE ROBERTS: I really don't believe it's health. I don't. I think sometimes, as Clayton did yesterday, is you've just got to take your medicine and say I wasn't good enough on that particular outing.

If you look at the stuff, everything was actually a tick up from what it's been. So the recovery, the stuff in-game doesn't speak to anything with the arm. So for me, it was one of those days that you tip your hat to those guys. And they executed a game plan and we've got to learn from it and get better. But it's nothing to do with the injury to the shoulder, nothing.

Q. In reviewing last night, were you able to decipher anything that was off with Clayton besides obviously them being as aggressive as they were earlier at times?

DAVE ROBERTS: I just think that Clayton throws a lot of strikes. And so you can just see that he likes to get ahead, and they were aggressive. And so I think that's kind of -- when you have so much familiarity with a team, a pitcher, that's part of it.

So it's kind of the cat and mouse. And they were aggressive, and they were stressed early on, and you can't really get settled in. To their credit, they jumped on them early.

Q. Clayton, when he had struggled the last couple of months here, a lot of it he wasn't, he didn't have command; he was walking guys. He said last night he felt like he made some good pitches. Will said the stuff looked normal for him. Does that make even more concerning in some ways if the stuff was playing somewhere how he wanted it and they were able to attack it like that?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think that's fair. I would still bet on the stuff being good than the stuff being down and not sharp. So now it's kind of how we attack these guys. And, again, we're looking to see these guys in Game 4. So they're going to have to -- it's a game of adjustments, it really is.

So I still stand by the fact that he's healthy. The stuff played up and now we've just got to make better pitches.

Q. What does it tell you as a manager when the other team is swinging as much as they were early in counts against him last night, and big swings against him, too?

DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, I just think that's one of the things that -- it's a great thing that he throws strikes, and I guess the other side is does he throw too many strikes?

But he's been great for a long time. But I'll tell you this, I know that Clayton is going to do his homework and reassess, and he's healthy. And we're going to come up with a really good game plan and the results are going to be completely different. And I just believe that to my core.

I'm just grateful that he's healthy. Today, in talking to him, he's fine. So we've just got to put ourselves in a position to get him back there in Arizona.

Q. I'm pretty sure he hasn't gone on four days since, like, May. Do you have concerns of just how he will bounce back?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think initially, looking at kind of how this was going to play out, there was maybe some, like, once we get there how is it going to look. But considering what happened last night, I think that we've got a lot of bullets left so the regular "I don't think" is -- it's not going to be costly in my opinion.

Q. You mentioned you don't know how Game 3 is going to be. Do you essentially have to put him in Game 4 to manage these next two nights?

DAVE ROBERTS: For me, that's the best option, and I see it as the only option. So I'm going to manage Game 2 like it's Game 7. And I'm going to do the same thing for Game 3. And I do think that that's kind of how the fallout will be.

But, again, could things change? Possibly, yeah. But I've still got all the confidence in our guys preventing runs and using them in the right way and the best possible way to win baseball games.

But, yeah, I think the fallout is Clayton going to start Game 4.

Q. You've talked about the rookie a lot. Yesterday James said he thought the nerves got the best of him. How confident are you that that won't happen to Bobby given the stakes of the game tomorrow?

DAVE ROBERTS: You just don't know until you know. I expect him to have some nerves. I think that's a good thing. That's normal. But once you get out there, you make your first pitch, I would assume that things kind of slow down. And that's kind of my expectation.

Q. Do you have to have any conversations with him for him to not try to put it all on himself?

DAVE ROBERTS: No. No. I think Mark Prior does a great job -- he's a calming presence. Will, behind the plate, very calming. So I think him being at home, I think, is a good thing for his first playoff start.

But I'm not going to have a conversation with him, unless I see something different.

Q. How do you use today to kind of regroup after last night? And do you prefer having the off day after a game like last night, or would you rather you guys were turning around and playing again today?

DAVE ROBERTS: I'm okay with the off day. There's a big group of guys here that are -- guys want to show up and work out, which is great. I think the off day might kind of hopefully cool those bats down on the other side.

So, yeah, I'm good with it. Our pen, the pitching, everything's lined up. I feel good about where we're at. So, yeah, I'm okay with it.

Q. I know Clayton doesn't like it, but was there any thought to sending Prior out at some point to get him maybe to slow down a little or something?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think it's sort of, I think it happened so dang quick, and it's not like there were walks in there. There was a Thomas walk late. But it's not like he was struggling throwing strikes.

Typically, for a guy like that that's been around for so long, when you're seeing three pitches and then, hit, hit, hit -- and then after that Moreno at-bat, the homer -- could we have went out there? Sure.

But, yeah, I mean, yeah, we probably could have done it after that Moreno at-bat. But I think before that I don't think that there was really a thought to do that.

Q. Let me take you back to 2020 for just a second on a different topic. You guys were obviously in Texas for all those games. The Rangers weren't even a factor in their own ballpark. Now they're going to be able to play in the playoffs for the first time. Not focusing on the COVID so much, but kind of what do you remember about that time, where you guys were in their clubhouse, you were playing in front of only about 12,000 people, odd atmosphere. What do you kind of remember about that whole experience?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think that that experience, the word "bubble" really resonates. We were essentially in a bubble. And it was us and our families and the other team, ironically, and we were all together.

So there was no travel. There were no distractions. It was sort of point A to point B. And so I think that that was galvanizing for our team. We spent a lot of time at Globe Life.

So the no fans early and then there were fans, just certainly a unique experience.

But I think the thing that stands out most is we're going to get on a plane tomorrow night, and we didn't do that for quite some time. And that, I think, brought our guys together a lot. So that was something.

And you played a lot of games in a row. So you can't obviously simulate that now, but I think that was kind of a benefit to our guys.