Dave Roberts Refuses to Excuse Shohei Ohtani & Dodgers After Self Inflicted Series Loss to Diamondbacks

This wasn’t the first time Dave Roberts has read his team. After a recent 5-1 loss to the Padres, the Los Angeles Dodgers manager bluntly questioned his star players’ approach, saying, “You look at the talent in our room… we got to do more….You can’t always go for that big swing, and you got to kind of shorten up….I just don’t see us doing that, you know, collectively.”   

And now, after a sloppy 6-1 loss to the Diamondbacks on August 30th, Roberts once again called out his players for their unfocused play. Roberts said in a post-game interview, “I just think that tonight, there was a lot of things… that just lends itself to really uncharacteristic lack of focus. I just think that … mistakes and execution that just can’t happen.”

He even said, “And, you know, those guys earned the win, but I can also say in some parts we gave it away. We beat ourselves, how about that? So, yeah, this is a tough one. I mean, I just really can’t excuse it or rationalize it, I guess.” Roberts’ believes that his team’s loss if more of a self infliction than necessarily losing to a better team.

The most frustrating part of the loss was that Tyler Glasnow‘s brilliant performance went to waste. Glasnow carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and kept the Diamondbacks off the scoreboard through six full frames.

The Dodgers lost chances early on. Freddie Freeman hit a leadoff double in the fourth. But he was tagged out moments later, making a poor decision to advance to third on a ground ball. It killed the rally before it even started. The fifth inning was even worse when Kiké Hernández tried to score, and he was easily thrown out at home.

The Dodgers get another chance to make runs in the sixth after the bases were loaded with two walks. Instead of taking advantage of this momentum, Teoscar Hernández struck out, and Andy Pages grounded into an inning-ending double play. The lineup went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

The game was completely out of their hand in the seventh. The Diamondbacks took a 1-0 lead with Corbin Carroll’s homer. Then, after back-to-back doubles, a throwing error by Andy Pages allowed the Dbacks to reach a 3-0 lead. And finally, Kirby Yates surrendered a three-run blast to Ildemaro Vargas that sealed Arizona’s 6-1 win.

This string of small failures reveals a deeper problem, one that goes beyond just one bad day at the office.

Why does this Dodgers offense feel different?

The championship shine from the 2024 season has clearly worn off. Shohei Ohtani still posts elite totals, yet his recent form dipped noticeably in August, hitting just a .167 batting average with 6 hits, 2 home runs, in his last 10 games. Another player, Will Smith, has a .147 batting average with 5 hits and a home run in his last 10 games.

Outfielder Teoscar Hernández has a batting average of .167 with 6 hits and a home run. This collective slump is reflected in their overall performance, and the team just went .500 in their last 10 games. 

And the injuries of key players like Max Muncy, Tommy Edman, and Hyeseong Kim deepen their problem. They entered the series against Arizona on a four-game winning streak. But two straight ugly losses push the team near the edge of the division.  Their once-comfortable lead has now shrunk to a single game. And manager Dave Roberts has publicly challenged his talented team for lacking focus. Will they answer the call before their October dreams turn into a nightmare?