Managers Dave Roberts and Andy Green were at the center of a benches-clearing incident in the second of a three-game series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. As the instigator of the shoving match, Roberts received a one-game suspension.
Green and Alex Wood, who purportedly threatened Padres utility man Jose Pirela, were both fined an undisclosed amount. Roberts said postgame he took issue to Green’s critical comments about Wood, which sparked the emotionally-fueled reaction.
Green explained he believed Wood’s threat warranted an automatic ejection, and he voiced his displeasure with the umpire’s handling of the situation. The Dodgers went on for an 8-0 victory, which Green attempted to put the emphasis on.
“Here’s where the true story is in my mind, they beat us to death on the baseball field,” Green said, as seen by an interview simulcast on SportsNet LA.
“They’ve beaten us repetitively on the baseball field, they’re the best team in the National League West right now, they’re the reigning division champions.”
The Padres have hovered near the bottom of the NL West standings, saved from last place only by a surprisingly-poor season from the San Francisco Giants.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” said Green of his team competing with and catching the Dodgers. “Right now, it’s about winning series against them, and pretty soon it’s going to be about winning seasons against them.”
San Diego avoided being swept in the three-game series at Petco Park by getting to Kenta Maeda early and hanging on for a 5-3 victory. The Dodgers have won seven of nine head-to-head meetings this season, outscoring the Padres, 66-23, in the season series thus far.
Green was tabbed as manger of the Padres in October 2015, did not have previous managerial experience and joined San Diego after one season spent as third base coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The domino effect of Green’s hiring in some regard led Roberts to the Dodgers. Roberts served on the Padres coaching staff from 2011-15, including the last two years as bench coach. He did not receive an interview for their managerial vacancy.
Roberts was announced as Dodgers manager in November 2015. He too did not have previous experience in leading a team, yet went on to be named NL manager of the year.
The Padres have made recent strides to improve what was a depleted farm system, but would appear to at least be multiple years away from competing with the Dodgers, or Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies for that matter, in the NL West.
