Dodgers Interview: Doc is battered, but focused on Game 6
TORONTO — The Dodgers manager walked into the room grinning about his ill-fated sprint around the bases from yesterday’s workout and then got right to the point. The Dodgers face elimination in Toronto, and Roberts sounded like a man who knows exactly what he wants from his club. He mixed a little humor, a little lineup news, and a lot of faith in Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
“I got some meds in me,” he joked about the tumble. “I’m still going to post. I’m probable. Not my best decision, but it worked out.”
When asked if he planned a big speech, he kept it simple. “I pick my spots,” Roberts said. “It’s game six. This is what you live for. You want to be in this moment, this game. The guys came in yesterday fresh, excited to work out, and that carried over to tonight.”
He acknowledged the long 18-inning marathon and the two losses that followed at Dodger Stadium, but he refused to dwell. “Very emotional for our club,” he said. “They came out and won two games and the Red Sox won two games. I feel good with Yamamoto tonight. I feel good about what’s going to happen, but we got to play good ball.”
Roberts did not hide the role fatigue can play, only that it cannot define the night. “I’m sure there is a factor,” he said. “There is for their team, too. With the off day yesterday, I feel we’re refreshed, but it all doesn’t matter. You still got to go out there and play good baseball. You got to win a game.”
There are changes in the lineup, and they are intentional. “I really wanted Miggy in there,” Roberts said. “He’s been a glue guy for our club and having him in the lineup infuses intensity and energy, on the defensive side, too. As far as putting Mookie in the four, I wanted those three guys to have a chance to get on for Mookie and have those guys take the most at-bats.”
The manager liked what he saw during the optional workout. “It got me fired up,” he said. “I gave the guys an option to pass on the workout, but they all didn’t want to take the option. They wanted to get their legs moving and their bodies moving. We came in fresh today. Our guys are focused today.”
Roberts believes the balance between urgency and freedom is the trick. “That’s the nuance,” he said. “The importance of this game, we all understand that. But you got to be able to play loose and play the game. Tension and trying too hard don’t translate into success at the bat. We just need to compete, not overthink things, take what the pitcher gives you, have good at-bats, run the bases, play good defense, and expect to win.”
Adjustments against Kevin Gausman will be critical. “It’s going to be imperative tonight,” Roberts said. “There’s a fastball, there’s a split, there’s a little breaking ball. He’s reading our guys and adjusting and we’ve got to be able to do the same. We’ve seen this guy a ton. We know what he can do. We’ve got to be willing to adjust in game if need be.”
On defense and alignment, he signed off on Tommy Edman in center and Miguel Rojas at short. “Tommy says the ankle feels good enough to do that and he’s played a lot of center field,” Roberts said. “The net sum of having both those guys in there, that’s how we had to construct it and I feel great about it.”
As for the bullpen, the circle narrows in a must-win. “Yoshi is the number one option and we’re going to watch how he’s throwing the baseball,” he said. “This is a must-win game. There are a few guys I’m going to go to tonight.”
He explained what makes Yamamoto the right starter on a night like this. “It’s a different level of focus and compete,” Roberts said. “You have to be efficient. You have to be good. You can’t look for any outs as far as guys coming to rescue you out of the pen. He prepares so well. His delivery is sound. He’s got four pitches to manage the second and third time through. It’s swing-and-miss stuff, but he can strike pitches.”
Tyler Glasnow is available if needed, with an eye on the big picture. “He’ll be in there,” Roberts said. “You got to win today, which is most important, but you still got to win two games. How we balance that, the game will tell.”
The tactical talk ended where his message always seems to land in October: keep it simple, keep it competitive. “It doesn’t feel like pressure,” Roberts said. “We just got to win. Guys are loose. Guys are prepared. We got to play a good ballgame to win.”
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