The Los Angeles Dodgers dropped Game 4 of the National League Championship Series and now trail 3-1 to the Atlanta Braves, sitting them one loss away from elimination.
In addition to the Dodgers’ lack of production at the plate, something that also made headlines during Game 4 was the Globe Life Field roof being left open despite swirling winds that affected players’ vision at times.
Despite the strong winds, Major League Baseball decided to keep the roof open. The Dodgers and Braves were not given a reason for that, although various reports indicated it was in part due to coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns with fans in the stadium.
“I don’t know a whole lot about the county regulations and what’s required, but it was really windy,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the 10-2 loss. “Umpire Cory Blaser had a hard time seeing with is contacts, our guys, I’m sure their guys. I was asking about the roof but there’s certainly no excuses there.”
The wind was blowing from right to left field, and it may have cost the Dodgers at least a pair of home runs as Joc Pederson hit a ball 411 feet to the warning track in center and AJ Pollock also hit one to the warning track in right.
“I thought they hit them good, hit them well enough. I really can’t speak to if it was the wind that kind of held them up or not, but I really did think they hit the ball well,” Roberts said.
Kershaw not affected by wind
For the Clayton Kershaw, the wind wasn’t an issue on the mound but he still wondered why the roof wasn’t closed. “I mean, it was fine,” he began.
“(But) if you have a roof I don’t know why you don’t close it. I understand the COVID pandemic and things like that, but I don’t know if wind is any worse for it. It just seems like it was a little crazy enough to where they might want to close the roof. But it didn’t affect me much.”
Rios also wonders about roof
Perhaps the only Dodgers hitter that wasn’t affected by the wind in what was a poor offensive performance was Edwin Rios. He hit his second home run in as many nights to account for one of the team’s two runs.
But he too wasn’t fond of the conditions. “It was weird. It was everywhere, even when you were hitting it was kind of blowing in your face,” Rios said.
“It was very weird weather. At the end of the day you have to go out there and play some baseball.”
Rios emphasized that he and his teammates can’t make excuses for their poor performance and need to bounce back in Game 5 to avoid their season coming to an end.
“Just keep having good at-bats like we did. We couldn’t put hits together. It’s baseball, it’s happens. If we keep doing what we’re doing the hits are going to fall,” he said.
The Dodgers have played more games at Globe Life Field than any other team this postseason. While it is clear they have had trouble adjusting to playing in such a unique stadium, they have no other choice but to play better in Game 5 to keep the series going and give themselves a chance to advance to the World Series.
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