SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Dodgers manager Dave Roberts talked about his decision to use veteran reliever Kirby Yates in Saturday night’s win over the Giants, a move aimed at both helping the team and trying to get Yates back on track.
“You know, I think his performance was better than the line score,” Roberts said. “In the fifth inning, I went to Henriquez early, obviously with Clayton going three innings, and I felt with us down one run, I wanted to win the game. I thought it was a good lane for Kirby and felt that it’s a good way for him to keep us in the ballgame.”
Roberts noted that Yates was already loose and ready to pitch before the Dodgers’ offense added on, so it made sense to get him in there. “He was up before that,” Roberts added.
While Yates has had some rough outings lately, the Dodgers continue to look for the right spots to use him as they work to get him sharp again before the end of the season. Saturday may have been a small step in that process, even if the box score didn’t fully show it.
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