NL DIVISION SERIES: PADRES VS DODGERS

October 11, 2024

Dave Roberts

Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles Dodgers

Pregame 5 Press Conference

Q. For Yoshinobu today, how important is the first inning? And how telling will that be for you in regard to what you're seeing from him and maybe the adjustments he's made from the first game of the series?

DAVE ROBERTS: It's an important inning. I think that both offenses like to strike first. Setting the tone by throwing up a zero would be huge.

Also it kind of gets us into the game, gets us up to hitting. And also just kind of seeing where he's at emotionally and with his stuff.

I'm, like everyone else, just curious to see how he's going to come out, but feel that he's ready for this moment. I don't think he's going to run from it. I think he's going to be really good tonight.

Q. How did you guys land on the decision to go with Yamamoto as opposed to some of your other options?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think if you look at Yoshinobu, he's on his regular rest. Jack, it would be a regular rest for him, which is shorter still.

We don't have the same as far as bullpen availability as we did, as far as up-downs and all that stuff. So I think that realizing that Yoshinobu is here to be a top-end starter, and this is his time. I feel that we have really viable candidates behind him. But I certainly believe -- we all feel good about the decision for him to start.

Q. In a win-or-go-home game, how aggressive will be with your bullpen behind him. Is Flaherty an option if you guys need him?

DAVE ROBERTS: Jack's certainly an option. But I do believe that the guys that have been in the bullpen all year are just as capable, if not more than capable -- I would say more than capable than what Jack could do.

So to have Jack being ready, if needed, certainly, but I feel that with Yoshinobu and our guys -- and, again, I'm just going to watch the game, like all of us, and kind of see how he's throwing the baseball, what type of at-bats those guys are having and then kind of make decisions going forward.

Q. How did the relievers come out of playing catch yesterday? And when you talk about availability, is it more just like how long they can go rather than guys being up or down?

DAVE ROBERTS: Correct. They're all up. Everyone's up, and it's kind of then baking in how much they can give us. And then you've got to layer in effectiveness and all that stuff, yeah.

Q. Why do you think the first inning has been a struggle for Yoshinobu at times this year? And are there things going into tonight that you guys changed there or emphasized on to try to clean that up?

DAVE ROBERTS: I don't know the answer. I think that every starting pitcher would say that the first inning is the toughest inning. I don't know the stats, but I'm sure the first inning is an inning that teams typically score. Pitchers are trying to get their feel, get into the game, the flow of the game. So it's a tough inning.

I think for Yoshinobu, it's just kind of from the outset. You know it's not a 110-pitch exercise, 100-pitch exercise; it's go out there and rip it from pitch one. I think with that mindset, I think that will bode well.

Q. Do you have a range for how long you want him to go tonight, or is it going to be reading and reacting?

DAVE ROBERTS: Reading, reacting, I think the game situation, the scoreboard will kind of tell a lot.

Q. Four games in, what's been different about the way this team has competed differently in this postseason as opposed to postseasons of the past?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think that, obviously, I can pull from 2020 when we won it all. I just think that there's a relentlessness, a refusal to lose, and just kind of -- whereas, you're competing, and there's not a person that's going to say they're not competing, but I think there's a different level of, like, you're just not going to lose, regardless of circumstance -- I've seen that from our guys this year.

I believe in this team more than any team I've had. How that manifests tonight, I don't know. I don't think anyone knows. But I feel very confident that we're prepared. We're going to give those guys everything and more than they can handle. And I expect to win this game tonight. I know every single guy in there does too.

Q. How much has Blake Treinen's dominance over the last five or six weeks changed the dynamics of your bullpen?

DAVE ROBERTS: It's huge. I think there's a point sometime in the middle of the year where he was kind of scuffling a little bit. But he's pitched in huge ball games. To have him back to being dominant like he is has certainly made everyone else around him better. To be able to deploy him at any point in time to go multiples, right versus left, all of that stuff has stabilized us.

He's got a crazy good look in his eye as far as being possessed. And I think all those guys -- honestly, I think 26 guys in that room feel that way, have that same look. But the guys in the pen, they're all kind of in that good spot.

Q. What went into going with Kike in center?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think I was just going to find a way to get him in there. Miggy Ro, I think the mobility isn't there, the running. The bat's still in play, but I just wanted to make sure that Kike was in there. And I trust him anywhere on the diamond.

Q. You've managed more winner-take-all games than any manager ever. What do you look for in the hours leading up to a winner-take-all game? What gives you good signs?

DAVE ROBERTS: You can kind of feel if guys are afraid to fail. It's a different feeling. There's not always tomorrow, like we always say in baseball. So that's a different feel, just knowing the pulse of the guys.

I didn't realize I have. But, yeah, it's a good spot to be in, if you're ready for it.

Q. Does Freddie have to go through pre-game stuff?

DAVE ROBERTS: He will. Right now he's in there. I feel good about him in there. He's still going to go through his routine. If he doesn't go, then we'll adjust.

Q. Back to Yoshinobu, besides a clean first, what will tell you, maybe it's stuff-wise or the way he navigates the Padres lineup, that he's on top of his game?

DAVE ROBERTS: It's the curveball. It's the split versus right, versus left. It's the slider. It's the fastball command to the top, to the bottom. And in a game like this, you just want to see what's working, see how those guys are reacting to his stuff.

If he's locked in with his command, it's going to be a good night for us.

Q. Do you give a pregame address today or do anything different about the way you talk with the guys leading up to the game?

DAVE ROBERTS: No. I have one-off conversations. I kind of make my rounds. What's that called, leadership by wandering? I kind of make my way around the clubhouse, the field. So I don't need to have a big meeting, no. We're good.

Q. Going back to Yamamoto, seems like since Spring Training there's been inconsistency to him. He's had his moments. He's had the injury. Why do you think he didn't get the traction here in Major League Baseball coming over from Japan? Better hitters? What's your opinion on it now that you have the whole season behind you?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think certainly better hitters. I think he's learning and continues to learn the hitters here. Certainly the injury part of it. I thought his best outing was before he went out on the IL in the middle of the season.

But I think at the end of the day we're making a bet on a guy to pitch the game of his life tonight. So all that stuff, I don't know the answer. I think there's a combo, to answer that question.

But our main concern is he's in a good spot physically and mentally and emotionally tonight, which we all feel he is.

Q. He's here for 12 years. I mean, at some point you have to really make an investment in him both -- you've done it financially, and you have to make the investment in him to tonight, too, don't you?

DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, and that's what we're doing tonight. And I feel great about him making the start tonight, yeah, in an elimination game. Absolutely.