Dodgers Interview: Roberts Focused on the Game in front of him
LOS ANGELES — Dave Roberts walked into the interview room on Wednesday with his usual calm. The Dodgers were up 2–0 in the NLCS, a win away from another pennant, and he didn’t sound like a man about to tighten up. The theme was familiar — stay present, stay loose, keep the edge. “It’s pretty easy,” Roberts said. “You have a long-term goal to win a championship, and on the short term, the micro, you just stay in the moment. Don’t lose that edge. Stay focused. There’s a lot at stake.”
The Brewers, he reminded everyone, weren’t going to quit. After all they won 96 games during the regular season and reeled off double-digit winning streaks on three different occasions. “They’re a talented team,” he said. “We still have to keep playing good baseball.”
Last October, the Dodgers survived on bullpen depth and improvisation. This time, they’re winning on horsepower. “It’s just a different way to get where we want to go,” Roberts said. “You play the hand you’re dealt. This year, with the health and the talent level of the starting pitching, we’re going to ride them, challenge them, and pivot when we need to. It’s been really good — different quality of life, I’d argue better. But we still have to finish the job.”
He chuckled when asked about Shohei Ohtani, who hasn’t hit much this postseason but keeps finding ways to matter. “I do still think we’re not going to win the World Series without him,” Roberts said. “The contribution isn’t just batting average. Him posting, getting walks, giving Mookie opportunities — that’s contribution. His at-bats in Milwaukee were fantastic.”
Pressed on what’s improved, Roberts pointed to patience and control. “He’s controlling the strike zone,” he said. “He’s staying aggressive when he gets his pitch. There was a lineout to right, three walks, a base hit in a situational spot. You can only take what they give you. He’s in a good place.”
Yes, Ohtani felt some frustration when hits weren’t falling. “That’s fair,” Roberts said. “And that’s expected. I don’t mind it. I like the edge. He’s got high expectations for himself. He’s a great competitor. There’s a lot of baseball left.”
The conversation drifted back to the rotation — the team’s backbone this month. Roberts didn’t get too technical, but you could hear the comfort of a manager who finally has a full deck. “Early in the year, you’re managing workloads,” he said. “Now, you’ve built up enough equity to push them when needed. There’s nuance to it, but these guys are in a good spot to be pushed.”
Someone asked how many more complete games the staff had in them. Roberts grinned. “I’ll take as many as we can get,” he said. “They’re doing their part — attacking, being efficient, putting themselves in position.”
Looking ahead to Game 4, when Ohtani will take the ball, Roberts said the leash won’t be short. “He’s gone seven innings twice this year,” he said. “The pitch count isn’t a ceiling. It depends on how he’s throwing. He’s waited for this moment. With the rest he’s had, he’ll be ready.”
He also gave a nod to the chemistry among his starters. “It’s contagious,” Roberts said. “Starters want to feed off one another, compete against each other, push each other. That’s what we’re sensing right now. It’s going to be hard to top Blake and what Yoshi did, but Glas is going to try to put his mark on this series.”
The bullpen, meanwhile, looks steady again — a mix of Vesia, Sasaki, and Treinen closing things down. “I feel very comfortable and very confident with all those guys,” Roberts said. “I don’t buy into a set narrative about who closes. I trust our players. They’ll respond when given the opportunity.”
As for Sasaki, who saw his velocity dip slightly last outing, Roberts wasn’t sweating it. “No concerns,” he said. “He feels good. We’re in the postseason — you have to be ready when called upon. All hands on deck.”
Four straight road wins have helped the Dodgers grab control of this series, and Roberts didn’t hide his appreciation for a group that doesn’t flinch. “It says a lot,” he said. “It’s experience. You’ve got to handle crowd noise, outside noise, momentum. To combat that, you have to have been through it. We don’t panic. We stay the course. Whether you call it experience, character, or talent — you have to win games on the road, and we do a pretty good job of it.”
Asked finally about pitfalls, Roberts shrugged. “I don’t see any,” he said. “We’re prepared. We’re focused. We’re not going to beat ourselves. Somebody’s going to have to beat us — and that’s sport.”
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