PHILADELPHIA — Dave Roberts came into the interview room smiling the kind of smile that only follows a one-run October escape. “That was a heck of a ballgame,” he said after the Dodgers held on 4–3 in Philadelphia to grab a 2–0 series lead. “Lots to unpack in that one. To come away with a win right there, huge momentum maintainer. Looking forward to getting back home. Great ballgame, great plays, huge win.”
He walked through the ninth with clear intent. Asked if he considered going straight to Roki Sasaki, Roberts admitted it crossed his mind. “I thought about it. He hasn’t gone two out of three much at all,” he said. “Figuring the run right there, Blake [Treinen]’s pitched some of the biggest outs in the postseason for us and I felt really confident right there, with [Alex] Vesia behind him if needed. I didn’t want to preemptively put Roki in. I felt good with our leverage relievers. Fortunately he was ready when called upon, and I liked him versus Trea. He got a big out for us.”
The manager didn’t underplay what these two road wins mean. “It’s huge. It’s absolutely huge,” he said. “Guys are really stepping up. I thought Blake [Snell] threw a heck of a ballgame. And what we’ve seen from Roki has been very encouraging on a lot of fronts.”
Roberts lit up when the conversation turned to the wheel play on the bunt that cut down the lead runner at third. “It was an impromptu play,” he said. “I told Mookie, he’s going to bunt, he’s a good bunter, so let’s run a wheel play. Max, be aggressive, field it, and Mookie, get over there and beat [Nick] Castellanos. Those guys executed it to perfection. They made it look a lot easier than it was. For me, that was our only chance to win the game in that moment.”
Mookie’s timing sold it. “He disguised it with how late he broke,” Roberts said. “He’s a baseball player. You can organically create a play like that, but it doesn’t happen without a tag play at third. He’s much more fleet of foot than Castellanos, and Max had to field it, lead Mookie, and on the run still make a tag play. Tough play. Mookie’s growth has been incredible.”
The seventh-inning rally was exactly the brand of offense Roberts has been preaching. “All that coming together,” he said. “Really good at-bats up and down the lineup. Will being inserted in the game to get a big hit versus Kerkering. Can’t say enough about what Ben Rortvedt’s done for us to hold it down for Will to get into the game. What he’s done with our pitching has been incredible.” He also pointed to the leather. “The defensive plays by Freddie were huge. Even in the ninth to get the force out, and then to get that in-between hop from Tommy—that was a huge play. The at-bats, taking walks, the defense—top-notch.”
Getting Will Smith’s bat back changes the late-inning calculus. “He’s our All-Star catcher,” Roberts said. “You’re trying to play the middle of getting him back in game shape, which is tougher in the postseason. When you have a guy like Ben preventing runs it makes it a lot easier. I think now Will’s got his game legs back. Hopefully he feels good for Game 3.”
He also gave a status update on Miguel Rojas after a savvy force at third. “Miggy made a great, aggressive, heady play to get Trea at third,” Roberts said. “His hamstring tightened up a little. It’s something he’s been dealing with the last few weeks, so we wanted to get him out. We’ll see how he comes in tomorrow. I’d say he’s day-to-day.”
And about that wheel play’s origins? Roberts laughed. “Max is correct—we don’t practice that play. Not once,” he said. “You see the situation, you trust your guys, and you make a call.”
A heck of a ballgame, as the manager said. One built on a six-inning gem, a four-run jolt, elite run prevention, and an improvised defensive masterclass that traveled with the Dodgers back to Los Angeles—and a 2–0 cushion.
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