LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers are a win away from a second straight World Series, and Dave Roberts sounded steady about how they’ve gotten here. He knows there’s even better baseball that this team can play, and that starts with their 700-million-dollar man at the top of the lineup.
“He’s one of the best players in the game and how do you neutralize him? You throw some lefties on him,” Roberts said of Shohei Ohtani. “That’s what they’re doing. I think he’s going to come out of it. He’s grinding and working through it, and their approach makes sense.”
The bullpen blueprint has clicked at the right time. “I’m very comfortable with how it’s coming together,” Roberts said. “Our guys are battle tested and they know I’ve never lost faith in them. They never lost confidence in each other. We knew all along we were going to need these guys and they’re delivering, which is huge. We’re doing a great job of preventing runs and the bullpen deserves a lot of credit.”
Trust showed up again when Roberts tapped Anthony Banda in a tight spot. “I think Anthony’s grown a lot,” he said. “The moment is not going to be too big for him. He’s in a good mental space and the stuff is very good. Regardless of inning, I trust him. He’s throwing the baseball with a lot of confidence right now, so to run him out there against the middle of the order, I had no problem with that.”
Defense framed the night on both ends. “Mookie’s made big plays,” Roberts said. “That play going to his backhand to let Roki settle in, he just continues to make great plays. It’s rightfully so he’s in the Gold Glove conversation at shortstop. You never know—get the leadoff runner on and that inning could evolve.” He didn’t forget third base. “Earlier, that play by Muncy was a heck of a play,” he said. “Infield drawn in, going to his left, spin, make an accurate throw to get that out at home. That was a big play as well.”
Roki Sasaki’s arc has been one of the series’ quiet subplots. “His growth has been certainly not linear,” Roberts said. “At that point in time where he was scuffling and emotional on the bench, there was a lot of video and photos of that. For him to self-reflect, get healthy, and put himself back on the radar for our 2025 ball club speaks to his fight. I don’t think anyone could have foreseen him in this role in April or May. I give a lot of credit to Roki to get to that point and now he can look back at 2025 and look fondly at it.”
The offense left chances out there, and Roberts didn’t hide from it. “I wouldn’t say concerned, but we’ve got to be better,” he said when asked about runners stranded and situational execution. “You’re always trying to figure out how we can improve as a ball club. Tommy’s at-bat today was huge with runners in scoring position. Freddie’s at-bat to get him up was a huge at-bat. But the situational, we can be better at that for sure. We’ve got to be better.”
Glasnow’s turn set the table for the bullpen’s ten-out finish. “The curveball got better,” Roberts said. “They went heavy left today and that was a pitch that was able to neutralize those guys. Will did a great job with the sequencing and using the fastball enough. I’m really proud of Tyler. The pitch count was early and we still needed length from him. For him to keep his wits, keep making pitches, keep competing and shorten the game—that’s what we need from him, and he’s done that the last six or seven starts.”
Back to Shohei, because October always comes back to Shohei. “He’s a big part of what we’re doing,” Roberts said. “We’re pitching really well and playing very good defense. Obviously he’s not performing the way he would like or we expect, but I just know how big a part he is to this thing. We’ve got a long way to go, but I like the work he’s putting in and I’ll bet on him all day long.” The assignment is a two-way grind. “He’s a unicorn,” Roberts said of preparing to start and hit with the series on the line. “I don’t know how he manages it. Every minute of the day is accounted for. He’s very prepared. His last outing in Philadelphia was a good one—six innings, three runs—so I expect him to be good tomorrow, be focused, and put forth a good effort at the bat, too.”
The message stayed even. “We’ve been doing a great job of preventing runs,” Roberts said. “The starters, the defense, the bullpen—everyone’s doing their part.” Then he turned it to the one more that’s still out there. “We’ve got to be better in spots,” he said. “We know those guys aren’t going to quit. We’ve got to play our best baseball.”
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