Dodgers Interview: Roberts hints at Game 7 pitching plans

TORONTO — Game 7 in Toronto, and manager Dave Roberts sounded like a man ready to play it by ear. He confirmed the headline everyone expected, then left the rest open to the flow of the night. “As far as innings, not sure,” he said of Shohei Ohtani’s start. “It depends how he comes out, how he looks, how he’s throwing, how he’s feeling. I want to withhold expectation and read and react.” The logic for starting Ohtani was simple. “Last night we talked to him and he was on board for starting,” Roberts said. “To be able to start him allows us to let him run as long as we can, versus having him on the back end of the game.”

The bullpen board was crowded. “Everyone’s available,” he said. “How the game plays out, I can’t predict it. It starts with the way Sho’s throwing the baseball.” Asked if the rulebook wrinkle made starting Ohtani cleaner than using him in relief, Roberts nodded. “That’s part of it,” he said. “Also, having him start gives you a runway. You are not pigeonholed in his usage, and you can see how the game plays out.”

He also paused to talk about something bigger than matchups. The Blue Jays relievers had written 51 on their caps in tribute to Alex Vesia. “It’s everything,” Roberts said. “I didn’t learn that until after the game last night. It speaks to the brotherhood of Major League players. Baseball is what we do, but it is not who we are. For those guys to recognize Alex and what he and Kayla have gone through, it is a huge tribute. Heartbreaking is not even a good enough word, but the acknowledgment means so much.”

On the possibility of late additions to the pitching mix, Roberts kept the door cracked. “We will see how he is in catch play,” he said when asked about another arm moving around well. “If he feels good, he is definitely interested.” Then came a wider point about why this staff has carried them. “Pitching is tough on the mind and the body,” he said. “For each one of these guys to raise a hand and say, ‘Pick me, I’m available,’ is pretty remarkable. They have been the backbone for the second half of the season. They all want to participate, which is amazing.” When Yamamoto’s name came up, Roberts went to makeup as much as stuff. “Character, compete, all of the above,” he said. “This is past the physical. He is as strong mentally as any guy I have seen.”

The room circled back to the last time he managed a Game 7 in the World Series, 2017 against Houston. Roberts would not turn that night into a blueprint. “We got behind early,” he said. “I still felt there was a lot of baseball left. I think this is going to be a different game. I hope the outcome is different. You have to manage with urgency, but that game turned on a two out double. It is a different team eight years later. I am going to watch, read, react, and do whatever I can to put players in a position to win.”

Ohtani’s temperament for the moment drew a straight answer. “I expect him to show well,” Roberts said. “I just do not know how long. We have to wait and see how it looks. If he is rolling, he is going to keep pitching.” The decision itself did not take long. “We do not have long conversations,” he said with a small smile. “Starting made the most sense for the runway.”

There was space for a bigger picture question, too. What makes the Dodgers work beyond payroll. Roberts went right to the pipeline. “People overlook that every year we have a top five farm system,” he said. “This year I think we are number one or number two. We pick near the bottom of the draft every year, and we still have young guys, whether by trade or development, who contribute.” Then he credited the people and the culture. “Great marketing, buttoned up operation, great ownership,” he said. “We have great people.”

He talked about Kiké Hernández’s postseason knack and trusted instincts. “Next level focus, high baseball acumen, ability to manage a heartbeat, not afraid to fail,” Roberts said. “I encourage our guys to be humans and not robots. Kiké is a heck of a baseball player with great feel, and that feel helped him double off [Addison] Barger last night.”

The global arc of this team came up, from Tokyo in March to Canada in November. Roberts appreciated the reach. “Interest in baseball is at an all time high worldwide,” he said. “We are a very diverse team. The brand of baseball has been fantastic. It feels fitting that we are playing a Game 7 where there’s going to be a lot of interest. I am proud to be a small piece of it, and hopefully we can put on a show tonight.”

As for the opponent after six hard games, he kept it respectful. “They are gritty, they are tough, they play the game the right way, and they are coached well,” Roberts said. “A lot of respect.” And what about speeches. He shook that off. “No need,” he said. “These guys are on autopilot right now. They do not need me.” Then he summed up the assignment with a manager’s calm. “You manage on the margins and with more urgency,” he said. “Outside of that, you have to play good baseball.” Game 7 will tell the rest.

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