NL DIVISION SERIES: PADRES VS DODGERS

October 11, 2024

Dave Roberts

Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles Dodgers

Postgame 5 Press Conference

Dodgers - 2, Padres - 0

Q. You look pretty tired. How does this one feel?

DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, I'm elated. I'm tired. I'm happy. So, yeah, I'm just excited. I'm proud of our guys.

This was -- we talked about this series. It was going to test us, and we fought. We didn't relent, not one time, and I just couldn't be more excited for this ballclub.

Q. What can you say about Yamamoto, just setting the tone there?

DAVE ROBERTS: He set the tone. I think that Yoshi's had a lot of success in his professional career. I said it before; he's pitched in big ball games. And I believed in him. I knew he was going to rise to the occasion.

And he was outstanding tonight. And I knew he wasn't going to run from this spot. I'm looking forward to riding him through the World Series.

Q. You finished the series with 24 consecutive scoreless innings. How perfect does the pitching plan have to go for that to happen?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think it's about the players. The players were outstanding. The guys from the 24-26 innings, when you call a number, call a name, it's up to those guys to go out there and perform. And I give all the credit to those guys.

And you can have whatever plan or script people can talk about, but it comes down to the players. And those guys made plays, made pitches and made us all look good. From Yoshi today to the bullpen, if you're talking about a series MVP, it's our bullpen, clearly.

I'm so excited for those guys. And the Josh Bard has done a fantastic job with the entire bullpen.

Q. You've managed a lot of games and played in a lot of games that had a lot of meaning. Where does the series rank just in terms of the intensity that you've been a part of?

DAVE ROBERTS: I'll tell you this rivals -- you asked me the question -- it rivals 2004 when we beat the Yankees, when I was a player with the Red Sox. It rivals beating the Braves in 2020 to get to the World Series. Those are probably -- this is right there with it.

You're talking about one of the best teams in baseball over there. And Mike and his staff did a great job preparing those guys. And it was a dogfight. I've got nothing but respect for those guys over there.

But to kind of win this series how we did, to kind of fall behind -- and those guys coming into the postseason had a lot of momentum -- speaks to the character of our guys. This is right up there.

Q. When you said you believed that Yamamoto was going to rise to the occasion, what was that belief founded in?

DAVE ROBERTS: It was founded in the fact that Yoshi, Darvish, guys like, other guys that have pitched that are from out of the country, they're pitching on a bigger scale.

Yoshi is pitching for his country. When you pitch for the WBC, for the country of Japan, those are the highest stakes that you can have. He's done that and pitched well in those moments. So has Darvish. I have to give Yu a lot of credit for what he did.

I think for me, I didn't believe that he was going to run from this moment. And we were going to get everything he had. And that's what he did. And he hadn't been in the sixth inning since the Yankees. I felt at that time he gave us everything he had and we could give it off to a very, very capable pen.

Q. I'm guessing as you're mapping it out you can't count on five scoreless. Realistically where were your expectations in terms of how much length he was going to be able to give you?

DAVE ROBERTS: Honestly, I just had a lot of different ways the game was going to go. I didn't know if it was going to be scoreless, we would be behind, we'd be ahead, how it was going to look.

I think for me I just had a lot of different ways and a lot of capable guys in the pen.

But like I told you guys, I believed in Yoshi from the outset. And he performed just admirably.

Q. Was this about as stressful a game as you've managed in a while just because of the (indiscernible)?

DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, this was -- I think that even Game 4 -- yeah, this is the most stress I've been in in quite some time.

Even Game 4 where you have seven or eight guys that you're going to go to and you know their lanes, when you have a starter and you don't know when to deploy and get the carousel going, that adds stress and anxiety.

So with that and what was at stake and a team that had momentum and kind of took care of business against us two years ago, it was a huge series. So I felt that kind of gravity, I did.

Q. Did anything Kiké does in October surprise you anymore?

DAVE ROBERTS: No. No. We're in Los Angeles. Some of the greatest athletes of all time. And those great ones aren't afraid to fail.

And Kiké, when you talk about postseason in whatever sport, you can't be afraid to fail. And this guy always rises to the occasion. That was sort of the bet that Andrew, Gomer, myself had to acquire Kiké.

The reason we got him this year was to win 11 games in October.

Q. What's the difference for him from the regular season to the postseason? What do you see that's different?

DAVE ROBERTS: The difference is he understands that the regular season is a long season. The focus every day seems to be tougher for him, but when you're talking about the biggest of stages, everyone knows Kiké; he loves the spotlight. And some people love it. Some people run from it.

When you're talking about this market, the postseason, people in Puerto Rico watching him all over the country, that's when he's his best.

So that's why you sort of get through the regular season with Kiké. And then when you get through that, you know you're going to get the best player.

Q. Just after the two years, the last two years, to obviously you guys want to win eight more games, but to get past this round and come back in this series, how much of a relief was that? How much redemption do you guys feel as a team being able to move on this year?

DAVE ROBERTS: It's relief. It's redemption. I wanted to beat those guys. We all wanted to beat those guys really bad. We played a very good ball game today, certainly on the pitching and the defensive side.

We're going to celebrate tonight, as you can see. But the job's not done and you will see the focus, the fire going forward, with the expectation to win eight more games. And that Mets team is playing really good baseball, but we'll be ready.

Q. You have talked about it and guys were talking about the attitude of this team, the focus, being able to bounce back in the last eight games. When you look back this week and this year where do you think it comes from?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think it's the players. I'll say this, I haven't been a part of as much adversity as this ballclub has had. And not one time have we made an excuse or given ourselves an out to not win 11 games in October.

And that's a credit to the character of the guys, the coaches, the front office, getting a lot of depth that we've had to tap into. So that's why like I told the guys in the clubhouse, I've never believed in a group of guys more than this group. I really haven't.

Q. What can you say about an organization that goes out and spends the kind of money and acquires the type of players they do to put you in this situation? Basically it puts you in the situation of winning the division every year and it gives you the shot in the playoffs every time you go in it?

DAVE ROBERTS: I can't say enough about Mark Walter and the entire ownership group. You're in a big market. And they're just as competitive as we are.

So to give ourselves a chance every year to win a championship, that's all we can ask for. Then it's up to us to go out there and perform. I'm very grateful to be in this position.

Q. Do you think that gives you an edge over teams that have lesser resources because as it turns out the top three spending teams in baseball are still left in the playoffs?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think every year is different. I really do. I don't know how it was last year, two years ago. This year, honestly, the only thing that matters is we're ready to play and we're ready to win four games against the Mets.

So I'm not thinking about payroll. I'm thinking about our 26 guys and beating the Mets. That's it.

Q. I think to your list of playoff series you'd probably want to add that 2021 Giants series, too?

DAVE ROBERTS: That's right, yeah.

Q. What happened with Vesia, and how is he doing right now?

DAVE ROBERTS: So he was going to go out there and start the eighth, and he said he had a cramp. So obviously it was a no-brainer to take him out of the game. We're going to get some scans, MRI.

I'm crossing my fingers that it's not any type of intercostal or oblique situation. I hope it's just a cramp. But we haven't got it tested and I don't know.