PHOENIX — The Dodgers turned a 4–0 cushion into a 5–4 walk-off loss in Phoenix, and Dave Roberts didn’t sugarcoat what went wrong: predictability, free passes, and a creeping lack of conviction in the bullpen. His most pointed critique centered on closer Tanner Scott, whose 10th blown save of the year flipped a sure win into another late gut punch.
Roberts’ diagnosis was blunt. He said Scott “went way too heavy on the slider” and “didn’t provide a threat with the fastball,” a combination that made him predictable. The manager walked through the fatal sequence: Scott “left a slider to Perdomo and we got walked off,” and before that he “hit Vargas with the fifth slider, back foot,” with a walk mixed in. For Roberts, those self-inflicted wounds are the line between winning and losing: “It’s hard enough to get guys out without giving free passes.”
Scott entered the night with four consecutive scoreless outings, a mini-correction the club hoped signaled stability. Roberts acknowledged that stretch but stressed the calendar: “As we get into this point in the season, everything is more magnified.” The Dodgers’ margin has shrunk, and every ninth inning now carries October pressure.
The manager didn’t hide how draining these finishes have become inside the clubhouse. “It’s tough,” he said of repeatedly absorbing late losses. “After Shohei pitches the way he did and you have a four-nothing lead… we used higher-leverage guys to keep those guys at bay and we didn’t have a good night. It turns out the ninth became a leverage inning.” In other words: the plan was in place; the execution wasn’t.
Is there enough time to fix it? Roberts’ answer mixed urgency with challenge: “We’re going to have to find a way.” He described the symptoms he’s seeing across the relief corps—“getting behind, walking guys, hit batsmen”—and what they signal about mindset. To him, that pattern means “you’re either scared or you’re pitching too careful,” which reflects a lack of conviction born of “fear of failure or getting hit.” At this stage, his message is simple: “You’ve got to put everything out there and trust that it’s going to be good. When you pitch behind and you’re afraid to make a mistake, hang a breaking ball—bad things happen.” Hitters, he added, “can smell that.”
How do you flip that mindset? Roberts has talked to the group, but he was clear that confidence can’t be handed to a pitcher from the dugout: “When you’re on the mound, you’re the guy with the ball, and you’ve got to find a way to have that conviction within yourself each time.” He’ll keep supporting his relievers, but selection will tighten: “I’ve got to find some guys who are going to pitch with conviction and go out there and compete—and bet on those guys. There’s still time, but there’s not much time left. Our starters can’t go nine every night. We’re looking for some guys to step up. We need it.”
Pressed on who, specifically, is meeting the moment, Roberts declined to name names. He put the focus on the unit: “At times this year they’ve been very good. We need these guys to come together as a group and do their jobs like I know they can and their teammates know they can. It starts internally—you’ve got to lay it all out there. You can’t pitch scared. You just can’t.”
The one undeniable positive was Shohei Ohtani’s performance and progression. Roberts thought Ohtani was “fantastic” and highlighted the significance of getting through the sixth: “I thought he was taxed. The baserunning, six up—he was managing his breathing. He left it all out there, which we needed.” That sixth inning, Roberts said, is “something for us to build on.” The comebacker off Ohtani’s wrist produced a collective gasp, but the manager called it “best-case”: the reaction was muted, and any soreness should be confined to the palm.
What comes next for Ohtani is set: “He won’t pitch in the regular season. It’ll be in a postseason game. No bullpen.” That clarity underscores how carefully the Dodgers are protecting his ramp while still stretching him to playoff distance.
Then Roberts revealed a potential twist to stabilize the pen: Clayton Kershaw is in play—immediately. Kershaw starts Sunday, but Roberts said using him in relief before that is “definitely a realistic option,” adding that “tomorrow is probably the last day he’ll be a viable option” without impacting the start. The idea came from Kershaw himself. “He brought it to me and I said that’s a great idea. He was comfortable, and we have a window in the regular season that wouldn’t impact Sunday.” How many outs could he cover? “TBD. Anything should be on the table with covering innings.”
If that sounds like a manager expanding the toolbox in late September, that’s exactly where Roberts says the Dodgers are: “We’ve had almost six months to make decisions and see how things go… We’ve got to get the best guys to get outs. If Clayton is viable, we’re going to use him.” And then, the line he kept returning to as the room quieted: “Guys have to do their jobs. I can’t put it any more nicely.”
The message is as clear as the stakes. Ohtani did his job at a postseason level. Teoscar Hernández did his job, changing the game with one swing and one sprint. Now the bullpen has to meet the moment—fast—by attacking the zone, trusting their best stuff, and pitching with conviction. As Roberts sees it, fear is the real traffic in the ninth. And until the Dodgers clear it, every lead will feel smaller than the score.
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