Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled all the right levers in the team’s journey through October, but one decision in particular perfectly embodied why he is so adored by his players.
In Game 5 of the World Series, Roberts chose to leave Blake Treinen on the mound, despite the reliever giving up a double to Aaron Judge and a walk to Jazz Chisholm Jr. Treinen, 36, had been deployed from the bullpen unexpectedly in the sixth inning.
Brudar Graterol walked the first two hitters of the sixth and allowed the New York Yankees to take a 6-5 lead on a sacrifice fly from Giancarlo Stanton. After a third walk from Graterol, Roberts had Treinen face Anthony Volpe.
Treinen executed as Volpe grounded out to second on a full count. The best reliever in the Dodgers’ bullpen took care of the seventh in order but then faced trouble in the eighth.
Roberts was going to stick with Treinen as long as possible, but once Judge doubled and Chisholm walked, the prospect of leaving the veteran on the mound seemed slim.
Instead of pitching coach Mark Prior, it was Roberts who walked to the mound. To the surprise of many, Roberts didn’t make a pitching change, but took a few seconds to slow down the game for Treinen and left his best reliever in the game.
“I just wanted to feel his heartbeat and just kind of look him in the eye and say, ‘What do you got?’” Roberts explained. “And he said, ‘I want him.’ And so I said, ‘All right, you got this hitter.’ Because my intention was for him to get one hitter.”
When people ask why Dave Roberts is a great manager:
"I just wanted to look in Blake's eyes. Blake's our guy, Blake's been our guy."
"I looked in his eyes, I said, ‘How are you feeling? How much more you got?' He said, ‘I want it,' and I trusted him.”pic.twitter.com/qgCFygdLte
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) October 31, 2024
After successfully getting Stanton out, Roberts was going to end Treinen’s performance there but the veteran didn’t make eye contact with his manager as if he were avoiding a signal to leave the hill.
Then, Roberts saw Freddie Freeman.
“I give Freddie credit,” Roberts said. “Freddie was waving me off. He kind of subtly kind of said, ‘Hey, let him stay in.’ So then I trusted the players, and Blake made a pitch.”
Treinen retired Anthony Rizzo on a backfoot slider to secure the Dodgers’ lead heading into the final inning. The veteran reliever pitched 2.1 innings in the Dodgers’ 7-6 historic comeback win.
The rest, as they say, is history.
