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The widespread perception of Roberts is that he is a manager of personalities whose primary responsibility is to make sure the high-profile players on his team don’t murder each other. That view sells Roberts short as a game manager.
When games really count, Roberts is particularly adept at identifying inflection points and acting decisively. He doesn’t allow concerns about what might happen in the later innings stand in the way of him doing what he has to do now, which probably explains why each of the three World Series he’s won were closed out by starters pitching in relief.
Before the Dodgers’ 6–5 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night, Roberts recognized a potential inflection point.
The Dodgers had lost eight of their preceding nine games, and something had to be done to break the cycle. Roberts decided he would do his part by telling the truth.
About how he wanted his players to take the field with greater urgency. About how he said they couldn’t afford to look ahead to the postseason. About how opposing pitchers were “bullying” his players by throwing fastballs by them.
“I hope our guys take that personally,” Roberts said. “We shouldn’t get bullied.”
This was classic Roberts, unflinching and to the point.
Roberts knew the experienced players on his team didn’t want to be lectured, so he said he would lead by example.
Down by a run to the Kansas City Royals in the sixth inning that night, the Dodgers had runners on second and third base with one out.
With underperforming Teoscar Hernández due up, Royals manager Matt Quatraro called on right-hander John Schreiber to replace left-handed starter Noah Cameron.
Earlier in the season, Roberts might have let Hernández hit as part of a larger plan to break him out of his slump. Considering his team’s situation, Roberts opted to do something else. He pinch-hit for Hernández with Kyle Tucker, who was taking a scheduled break from starting.
Tucker drew a walk to load the bases. Max Muncy followed with a three-run double. Suddenly the Dodgers were in front, 5–3.
The Dodgers blew the lead, but in the seventh inning, Shohei Ohtani singled to center field, stole second base and scored on a Freddie Freeman’s third hit of the night.
Signed to a $69 million contract before the season, Diaz missed three months recovering from an early-season procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow.
In the first five games since coming back, Diaz gave up five runs and blew two saves.
“They trust me,” Diaz said in Spanish. “They brought me here for one mission: That’s to close out the ninth inning. I had some low points in my last games, but they still gave me the ball. That gives me confidence. That inspires me to say, ‘I’m going to be the man there in key moments.’ That elevates my game.”
Pitching with the kind of urgency Roberts demanded, Diaz delivered a perfect ninth inning and protected the one-run lead.
“The stuff was good from pitch one, as opposed to feeling his way into the inning and creating stress for himself,” Roberts said. “Really good to see that.”
Roberts was satisfied with how the team responded to his challenge.
Considering the stage of the season, Roberts was asked, how would he decide when to be more aggressive to win games rather than letting his star-studded team just play its way out of its slump?
“I think we’re past letting them play it out,” Roberts said. “We’re in a playoff race. Trying to win the division, number one. Number two, capture one of the first two playoff spots. This is go time. I’m going to manage accordingly, like I said. We’ve seen enough of a sample of guys and what they’ve done this year. Everyone understands it’s about winning. It’s not about feelings.”
This was only one game, of course. The key for the Dodgers will be to maintain the focus they had on Monday night over the last 43 games.
The players know what is expected of them. Their manager spelled it out for them.
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