Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts may have thrown more fuel on the fire ahead of Tuesday’s pivotal Game 3 against the San Diego Padres.
Roberts had harsh words for Padres star Manny Machado, who the Dodgers claim threw a baseball at their dugout during a tense Game 2. The skipper said Monday that he felt the throw in the sixth inning nearly hit him and that Machado may have meant to toss the ball his way.
“I didn’t notice it at the time. I really didn’t. I didn’t notice it. I did see the video. And it was unsettling,” Roberts said, according to ASAP Sports. “Obviously I have a relationship with Manny from years past. There was intent behind it. It didn’t almost hit me because there was a net.
“And that was very bothersome. If it was intended at me, I would be very – it’s pretty disrespectful. So I don’t know his intent. I don’t want to speak for him. But I did see the video. And the ball was directed at me with something behind it.”
Roberts also said he didn’t think umpires “should have had a little arm-around-each-other conversation” with Machado when asked if he should’ve been ejected.
The Dodgers sent video of the throw to Major League Baseball for an official review, according to Fabian Ardaya and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
“We are aware of it. We will reserve comment until that is done,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told Ardaya and Rosenthal.
Roberts wasn’t the only one bothered. Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty had some words for the All-Star third baseman after striking him out in the sixth, and the two continued trading barbs in the bottom half.
Machado brushed the incident off as something that happened in the heat of a tense playoff game, saying postgame he “throw(s) balls all the time into dugouts. Both dugouts.”
“I spoke about this last night after the game,” Machado told Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune on Monday in response to Roberts. “I’ve already turned the page, and I’m just looking forward to playing in front of our fans tomorrow and preparing for another tough battle against a very good team.”
Sunday’s wild contest also included words exchanged between Jurickson Profar and Will Smith and a delay after fans threw objects at Padres outfielders. San Diego ultimately pulled away in the late innings for a 10-2 win that tied the series at one game apiece.
Roberts said he sees the Game 2 incidents as a sign the roles in the rivalry have changed, with the Dodgers no longer standing as the villains of this series. He added that he thinks the change could help his star-studded club stay cool on the road in what should be a fired-up Petco Park.
“I think clearly, that team over there … they like the villain-type role, and they feed off that,” Roberts said. “And so whatever gets us going, the motivation is individually, collectively, to win a baseball game, (and) to win a series. And so again, it’s gonna be hostile (in San Diego), it’s gonna be noisy and rowdy, and it’s up to us to still stay focused and compete and fight like I’ve said time and time again.”
