The Los Angeles Dodgers may have dropped their final regular-season home game, but the picture looked considerably more encouraging for Dave Roberts. With the playoffs only 4 days away, Shohei Ohtani is finding his timing again, Edwin Diaz has settled in since his return, and Tyler Glasnow appears to be rounding into form. As the Dodgers prepare for another World Series run, the manager has a simple message for the fans.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“I know they’re going to show up. We had 4 million fans. We cracked that barrier again this year,” Roberts said in a recent interview with SportsNet LA. “Just bring the energy and support us like they have all year in the last X amount of years and decades. And it’s going to be an exciting postseason. So, just ride with us.”
LA fans have already set a franchise record this season, surpassing the 4 million mark for two back-to-back years, becoming the first team with that record since the New York Yankees’ 2005-2008 stint. Their total home attendance stood at 4,034,219, averaging 49,805 per game. Last year, it was 4,012,470, when the team crossed the 4 million mark for the first time in franchise history.
They are leading the league in road crowds, too, with 2,820,413, averaging 36,159.
The Dodgers have already secured the NL West lead and a first-round bye. They are currently the second-seeded team with a 97-62 record, with three more regular-season games to go. The Atlanta Braves, the No. 3 seed, are 4.0 games behind them. Yet, there are some concerns the back-to-back World Series champions should be worried about.
The last few weeks haven’t been the best for them, though.
Ohtani, their biggest superstar, has been suffering from knee and elbow issues for some time. The two-way player has been shut down from pitching duties since July 3, and he has struggled at the plate as well.
Glasnow and Diaz returned to the active roster after long IL stints.
Tarik Skubal hasn’t been as incredible as he used to be in the last two years.
Given that they will have a few days off from baseball after the regular season, Roberts wanted the team to get ready and finish playing good baseball.
Although they dropped the final home series against the San Diego Padres, the last few days have been quite encouraging for Los Angeles. And their biggest boost came from Ohtani.
He went 0-for-4 on September 3 against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Dodgers gave him a few days off as he was struggling with the bat. He had another appearance on September 8, going 0-for-3.
Dave Roberts had to put him on the injured list after it was apparent that his knee and elbow issues were still bothering him. He finally rejoined the roster on Wednesday and went 3-for-9 over two games.
He also recorded his first RBI since August 18. While the manager admitted that it was quite long for a player of his reputation, he said it felt good.
Diaz, on the other hand, struggled to remain on the active roster with multiple IL stints. And his 11.85 ERA was raising a lot of questions around his $69 million contract. He even struggled in Triple-A during his rehab. But now that he is back on the roster, he is showing good signs on the mound.
Edwin Diaz allowed just one hit without any runs over 4.0 innings in four appearances since his comeback. And Roberts admitted that his performance on Thursday against the Padres was the best of his four outings.
He even hinted at a potential 7th, 8th, or 9th inning role for the postseason.
Glasnow, however, has been quite expensive in his recent outings.
He allowed 17 hits and 13 runs over 22.1 innings in his last four starts. But Dave Roberts thinks that he “threw the ball tremendously.” He also acknowledged that on the day when Glasnow is right, he is “as good as anybody in baseball.”
He praised how the pitcher’s fastball has high swing-and-miss potential, and he was quite happy with his slider and curveballs.
Roberts also mentioned that players like Mookie Betts going hot and Kyle Tucker staying on course are helping the Dodgers remain confident. He is positive that with the recent form of Tarik Skubal, Freddie Freeman, and several other key players, the Los Angeles Dodgers will have a deep October run.
Dave Roberts reiterated that “there’s more to come.”