NL DIVISION SERIES: PADRES VS DODGERS

October 5, 2024

Dave Roberts

Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles Dodgers

Postgame 1 Press Conference

Dodgers - 7, Padres - 5

Q. You've made a point before Game 1 talking about getting the first punch in. How did the first inning sort of go for your guys and what is it about you guys to be able to throw the counter punch afterwards?

DAVE ROBERTS: The first inning wasn't ideal as far as striking first. But it was good to show us some resilience and take a blow and respond the way we did.

And even to tie the ball game up and give up two more and then to continue to fight back just really speaks to the character of this group.

I talked about this for a few weeks, and we need to fight. And that's what we did tonight. And didn't get an ideal start. But guys in the pen picked us up and the offense was relentless with their at-bats.

Q. What did Shohei do for you to open things up for you guys offensively?

DAVE ROBERTS: It obviously got us back in the game. It just got the momentum back for us and just gave us life.

I think from pitch one, the fans were just engaged, were in it. I just felt that energy. I think Shohei feeds off that. But that was just a huge hit.

Q. I think he's like 14 for the last 17 with runners in scoring position. I know you expect him to get a hit every time in that spot. But does it get ridiculous how frequently he's been doing that lately?

DAVE ROBERTS: It's been insane how good he's been with runners in scoring position. The key is to get those opportunities because, yeah, when he does get those opportunities you feel like he's going to cash them in.

Q. Resiliency the team's identity. Can you talk about how gutsy Freddie was out there? And did you expect a stolen base?

DAVE ROBERTS: He was very gutsy. He just willed himself into the lineup. He was certainly medicated. (Laughter).

He's doing whatever he can to get on the field, man. And I just really have so much respect for him, finding a way to play and be there for his teammates.

He swung the bat really well tonight, obviously, with some hits. I didn't expect the stolen base.

It's one of those things, you get these guys that are in compete mode and they just don't know anything else. I was just grateful he survived that -- I don't know if it was a slide or it was a collision with the bag, I don't know what it was.

Q. Yamamoto, when you made the decision to take him out, was that you thought he was getting tired, you couldn't afford to get any farther behind, something else? What was the thinking there?

DAVE ROBERTS: Both. I thought that there were some misses. I just felt that there was stress. I just thought that they were seeing him well.

There's some things that I think we're going to dig into because I think at second base they had some things with his glove and giving away some pitches. We're going to clean that up. That's part of baseball. So it's on us to kind of clean that up and not give away what pitch he's going to throw.

We'll clean that up internally. But I think for me it's just the guys, they had a lot of good swings against him in three innings.

Q. You said the other day that you guys were now set up if you do get to a Game 5, either Yamamoto or Flaherty could go, depending on what you thought. Did you see anything tonight that would play into that kind of decision if you got there?

DAVE ROBERTS: If we get there, he's certainly in play.

Q. He's in play?

DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, absolutely.

Q. Not guaranteed to make the start? Play?

DAVE ROBERTS: He'll probably start. I'm trying to get to Game 2. That's a little down the road.

Q. Before the game, looked like Ohtani was ready to run out onto the field. When he gets in the batter's box, he seems like calmer than anyone else. He says he's not really sure how he turns that switch. Any ideas how that happens?

DAVE ROBERTS: I don't know how that happens. He certainly has that switch, that focus that goes to excitement versus nerves and feeling pressure and trying too hard.

You can even see it in his first at-bat, just the discipline in the strike zone, to get back into a count and then to fly out.

But the big moments, I just really have never seen a guy in the biggest of moments come through as consistently as he has. It's really impressive. I don't know how he does it. I wish a lot of other players had that ability. He's just very unique in that.

Q. Just what did you think when you saw Freddie take off on that stolen base?

DAVE ROBERTS: I was holding my breath. And that crash landing, I wanted to make sure he was able to get up.

Q. I think you guys are 70-13 now when you score five or more runs. I know you've dealt with a lot in terms of your rotation with injuries this year, but how nice is it, especially this time of year, when runs are hard to come by, that on days like this you can flip the switch and manufacture runs like you did in the fourth and get the big inning from Shohei in the third?

DAVE ROBERTS: It was great. And you see a guy like Cease, who has really big stuff, and to be able to kind of grind at-bats, that's the hard part. When you're trailing and not to panic and just kind of, just spike and just be too aggressive, to be able to take walks.

We did that all night, got the pitch count up. Got him out of the game. Got to their pen. Got looks at some guys.

So that's a credit to our guys. It's experience. It's trusting a process. And our hit guys got those guys prepared.

But our guys were relentless all night. It's just hard not to panic when you're behind, especially in a postseason game. We did a really good job of trying to take one at-bat at a time.

Q. When you look at the past couple of postseasons and the offense going cold, is there something about Shohei and his production that even if it's just vibes in the dugout helps guys loosen up and maybe led to the success you had tonight?

DAVE ROBERTS: There is. There is. We've obviously had a lot of good players. But when you get a player like Shohei, who clearly embraces these moments and has the ability to carry a ballclub, I do think that there's something to the alleviating the -- I hate saying "pressure" -- but the pressure for other players.

He's just very unique and talented. This is kind of what he's been ever since an adolescent, I'm sure, the best player on the field.

I think there's something to having that superstar player that can carry a ballclub.

Q. Going back to Freddie's steal, Mike Shildt called it like playing possum, I think was the phrase he used. But you think about between the injury and the fact that I think he stole, like, 20 bases last year and maybe cut back a little bit this year, how important is that element of surprise?

DAVE ROBERTS: It surprised everyone. I think that Cease is really typically quick to the plate. But given Freddie's injury -- so he was probably 1.4, 1.5 to the plate. And Freddie, just as a competitor, there was nobody out. And he felt there was a chance to get into scoring position with nobody out.

It's a calculated play. I guess he was playing possum with everybody. But it's just a heady play and a gutsy play.

Q. Just given the severity of his injury, does any part of you want to tell him, hey, man, hold back, we could need you --

DAVE ROBERTS: I told him he doesn't understand the definition of "governor." I try to tell him to play with a governor. I'll tell him again. But I don't know if it will land.

Q. I think anyone looking at the box score tonight would say you managed your pitchers brilliantly. I guess it's easy to say that when you win. But the screws were turning a couple of moments during this game. How nervous were you or not? Manny's at-bat?

DAVE ROBERTS: I was probably nervous there because that was Blake's last hitter. We pushed him a lot more than I would have liked to. I just felt that you've got to go to the pen when I did. I felt giving us the best chance and you trust your guys, and they did a great job.

Q. Your lineup is obviously pretty difficult to game plan against at its best. You've seen how people have approached the top all year. What did you think when they get to two strikes against Mookie and then choose to intentionally walk him?

DAVE ROBERTS: I was surprised. I think Mookie was, too. I think Morejon just threw a ball in the dirt to give up a run. I don't know if Mike was kind of leery of another wild pitch.

Obviously, with two strikes, it typically doesn't happen, and they wanted to take their chance with Freddie, which is one of those things, when you have good players, I think we're in a good spot, either if it's Mookie or Freddie. But I guess they just wanted that left-handed match-up.