Dodgers Interview: Dave Roberts on a “Playoff” Win: Trust, Flexibility, and a Bullpen with New Teeth
PHOENIX — Dave Roberts didn’t bother downplaying the moment. “That was like a playoff game,” he said after the Dodgers outlasted the Diamondbacks, 5–4 in 11 innings. “We’re fighting, they’re fighting, and we essentially exhausted everyone on the active roster. Guys made big plays and stepped up. We needed every bit of it.”
If the night felt like October, it’s because Roberts managed it that way—aggressively, situationally, and without a rigid script. “There was no script,” he said with a grin, a line that fit everything from the bullpen carousel to the pinch-run-and-press chaos of extras. The result was a win that pushed the magic number to one and—maybe more importantly—previewed how the Dodgers can win tight, leverage-heavy games.
Kershaw and Sasaki: Two New Levers for October
Roberts highlighted the psychological and tactical boost from Clayton Kershaw and Roki Sasaki sliding into relief lanes. “Right now, you’re betting on people,” he said. “I trust Clayton. He did a great job tonight, got his juices going, and picked us up with a clean inning.” Asking the franchise icon to take the ninth in a tie was as much about evaluation as it was about adrenaline. Kershaw passed the heartbeat test, turning three quick outs into a dugout exhale and a bridge to extras.
On Sasaki, Roberts’ tone was equal parts proud and excited. “You don’t really know what to expect, but him taking the opportunity to go into the pen—something he’s never done—speaks volumes. He’s pitched in huge ballgames in front of his entire country, so I wasn’t worried about the moment. I wanted to see how the stuff played, and he gave us a big boost.” Roberts said Sasaki “looks like a different person” from earlier in the season: simplified role, more conviction, and a noticeable uptick in stuff. “He’s learned a lot—from the struggles, not being able to participate, the time in Triple-A, the rehab. He just wants to help, and I’m really proud of his growth.”
Roberts let Sasaki celebrate with teammates and didn’t pull him aside postgame. “His teammates were really excited for him. He knows he did a great job tonight.”
A Resilient Win, Built on Defense and Trust
Beyond the headline cameos, Roberts kept circling back to the collective. “It was a resilient win from a resilient group,” he said. “We fought our tails off to the end. It didn’t look good at different points, but Arizona fought as well. It was a heck of a ballgame.”
He singled out the defense behind Blake Snell—who gutted through six sturdy innings despite not having peak stuff—as a stabilizer. “We played great defense behind him, which is huge.” Roberts cited Andy Pages’ pair of highlight plays in left (“that diving play”), Miguel Rojas “playing his tail off” at second, and Ben Rortvedt’s work guiding the parade of pitchers: “Rortvedt did a great job with the staff tonight.” And of course, the swing that mattered most: “Tommy [Edman] had a big hit.”
As for the nail-biting tenth, Roberts emphasized process over panic. Getting Jack Dreyer and Blake Treinen back into the fire—Dreyer to navigate the small-ball squeeze, Treinen to end the bases-loaded threat—was as much about tomorrow as it was about tonight. “It was huge,” Roberts said. “Getting Jack back out there, getting Blake out there, getting Kersh’s feet wet in the pen, getting Roki out there—it was great.”
What He Wouldn’t Share—and What Comes Next
Asked about a particular mound visit, Roberts kept that one in-house. “I’m going to keep that one quiet,” he said. “I wanted to make sure how we felt—just saying some things, making sure he felt okay.” The message: the details might be private, but the philosophy isn’t. He’s managing feel, matchups, and morale as much as Xs and Os.
On the immediate horizon, the mandate is simple. “It’s important,” Roberts said of clinching Thursday. “We’re trying to clinch this thing. We’re trying to win baseball games, and then we can worry about the postseason. Nothing is guaranteed, but I love the way we’re playing. We’ve got Yamamoto going tomorrow, and we’re going to be ready to play a good ballgame again.”
As for Sasaki’s usage, Roberts confirmed the near-term plan and left the role flexible. “He’ll be down tomorrow. He’ll be available on Friday, and we’ll go from there. Probably two [innings] would be the max, depending on rest and how he looks. It’s fluid. I don’t want to make any decisions right now.”
The Takeaway
Roberts’ postgame sounded like a blueprint for October: trust the people, embrace flexibility, defend at an elite level, and attack leverage with whoever’s lining up best that night. Kershaw showed he can be a clean-inning hammer. Sasaki showed he can be a strikeout jolt in a one-inning burst. Treinen showed the nerve still plays. Snell showed the floor is high even when the ceiling isn’t. And the lineup showed it can manufacture, extend, and then find the one more swing—Edman’s—to finish the job.
There was no script Wednesday in Phoenix. There was something better: options that work. One more win, and the Dodgers can spend the weekend in Seattle refining how to use them.
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