LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers spent Tuesday afternoon tightening the screws before flying to Toronto, and Dave Roberts laid out the plan with his usual calm. The manager confirmed how the World Series will open, praised the veterans who set the tone, and downplayed any big-picture chatter. He also walked through the rest-versus-rust puzzle and hinted at only minor bullpen tweaks. It was straight talk, with the focus on Friday night.
“We’re going to run the same rotation back for the first two,” Roberts said. “Snell and then Yamamoto. We’ll see from Game 3 and Game 4.” He explained the trust that’s grown inside this group: “They know me pretty well, and I’ve learned to know them. You learn how to get the best out of them, when to push and challenge, and when to give them some latitude and grace.” He added, “There’s complete trust with me and the players, and our goal of winning a championship has never been in question.”
Asked about Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, Roberts kept it simple. “They’re two of the highest character people you’ll ever come across and they’re great teammates,” he said. “They’re very good workers, they value the little things, and they manage their heartbeat in the biggest spots. I’m very fortunate to have those two players. They make my job a lot easier.”
There was plenty of roster curiosity, starting with the bullpen. “It’s good to see Tanner Scott continuing to throw,” Roberts said. “We’re trying to get a grasp on the doctors giving him the full green light. Today I can’t answer that.” He noted that the relief group should look familiar: “There’s one spot we could debate, and we’ll continue to debate it, but outside of that it’s probably going to look exactly the same.”
The six-day pause before Game 1 doesn’t bother him. “I think we’re much more comfortable,” Roberts said. “We’re flying out tomorrow which breaks up the monotony. The guys are active and feel good.” He pointed to the work behind the scenes: “We’ve got another simulated game tonight. We’ve got a Trajekt machine in the cage, so guys are taking a lot of at-bats off it to keep their timing. Having the pitchers fresh going into the World Series is a good thing.”
On the “dynasty” talk, Roberts kept it in the rearview mirror. “I brought it up on the first day of spring training and haven’t talked about it since,” he said. “I don’t think we need that added pressure. Our focus is being in the moment and winning Game 1 and then four more games.” He added later, “Personally I want to win this one in ’25 as much as any of them. The legacy talk is for other people. Our job is to put those topics on the table by how we play.”
Roberts also offered a window into Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s presence in the room. “He’s quite the gentleman and high character,” the manager said. “A great worker who knows what he needs to do, and he treats everyone with the highest respect.” On Freddie’s return to Canada, Roberts smiled. “He doesn’t get bothered by boos,” he said. “He loves the U.S., loves Canada, he’s a heck of a player and an even better person. I don’t think he’ll be fazed by it.”
He acknowledged the Blue Jays-Dodgers courtships of two franchise pillars. “We’re very fortunate to have Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki,” Roberts said. “The Blue Jays are back in the World Series for the first time in a long time, but I’m happy we won out and they chose us.”
Blake Snell’s late-season surge changed the rotation’s ceiling. “With every great staff you need an anchor,” Roberts said. “Blake’s always been a finisher, and getting him back raised the bar for everyone. It got Yamamoto even better, it got Glasnow better, Shohei too, and it helped us win series and stack sevens and eights out of ten. The starters were certainly the reason we played so well in September.”
As for specific roles in this series, Roberts stayed flexible. “We haven’t decided on Game 3 or Game 4,” he said when asked about Ohtani’s next start. “As far as relief, we’ve got to see how the series plays out.” He expects Freeman to find his swing in a hurry. “He’s not hobbled,” Roberts said. “He’s seeing really good pitching and being pitched carefully, but his at-bats are competitive. Every time he gets in the box I feel good. I expect him to have a nice series.”
One last note captured the team’s mood. “Shohei left his NLCS MVP in the clubhouse with a card that said, ‘That’s a team effort,’” Roberts said. “It’s not a surprise. Games 1, 2, and 3, you could have had Snell, Yamamoto, Edman, or Teoscar as MVP. It was good for him to recognize that. It shows what a great teammate he is.”
So the Dodgers head north with a plan and a steady voice. Snell on Friday, Yamamoto on Saturday, and everything else to be decided between the lines. As Roberts put it, “We’ll be ready to go on Friday. We feel good about it.”
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