The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres are locked in a National League Division Series battle, tied at 1-1. Following Game 2, tempers flared at different points, leading to some heightened emotions.
Early on, Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar robbed Mookie Betts of a home run, reaching into the left-field seats to save a run. Making no immediate indication that he had caught the ball, Profar stared into the crowd before revealing he made the catch.
In the sixth inning, Dodgers right-hander Jack Flaherty hit Fernando Tatís Jr. with a pitch in an 0-1 count while the game was still close, leading to a shouting match between Flaherty and Padres infielder Manny Machado.
The extreme emotions are what some believe fuel the Padres roster, displaying a heightened level of play following these extracurricular moments.
“Yeah, I think certainly emotional [Sunday] night,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “Didn’t play a good baseball game, things certainly transpired on the field, a lot of jawing back and forth. It’s good to be able to have a day off, reset, have a workout here shortly.
“There’s going to be a lot of emotions tomorrow. One part of it is trying to drown out the noise. The other part of it is using it as fuel. So I think that collectively, we’ll be ready to go. I don’t want to speak individually for some people. I mean, clearly that team over there, they like the villain-type kind of role and they feed off of that.
“So whatever gets us going, the motivation is individually, collectively, to win a baseball game, to win a series. It’s going to be hostile. It’s going to be noisy and rowdy. And it’s up to us to still stay focused and compete and fight, like I’ve said time and time again.”
The Padres have shown that they can perform with a chip on their shoulder, defeating the Dodgers in 10-2 fashion in a deciding win on Sunday. How Roberts’ club fights back is a huge question, aiming to keep it in play and find a way to have their get back moment.
“It’s our own response,” Roberts said. “You know, and I think that we’re not trying to hit Tatis as the lead-off hitter in a 3-1 game. Anyone that knows baseball knows that’s the case. But you use that as fuel.
“But for us individually and as a team, we need to find that fuel for ourselves. And so I’m not going to manufacture something that is not real. But again, it needs to be found. And I do believe that we had it in Game 1, and Game 2 just got away from us. I do expect our guys to come out with that fight that I saw in Game 1.”
Dave Roberts felt ‘disrespected’ by Padres’ antics
Flaherty took exception to Machado throwing a ball toward the Dodgers dugout with more velocity than a player normally would, coming close to hitting Roberts.
Roberts did not see it happen real time, but after watching video of the incident, he wasn’t pleased with the moment.
“I didn’t notice it at the time,” Roberts said. “I really didn’t. I didn’t notice it,” Roberts said. “I did see the video. And it was unsettling. Obviously I have a relationship with Manny from years past. There was intent behind it.”
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