The tensions between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres finally boiled over in Thursday night’s series finale.
The Padres may have won the final game 5-3, avoiding a sweep of the four-game series at Chavez Ravine this week. But they may have lost the war when Fernando Tatis Jr was hit by a pitch in the eighth inning — even though they retaliated by hitting Shohei Ohtani for the second time in the series in the ninth inning.
Benches cleared after Tatis was hit on the hand by rookie reliever Jack Little, and Padres manager Mike Shildt confronted Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
But Roberts also took issue with Shildt and San Diego’s constant brushback pitches and the fact he was ejected Tuesday night. Roberts said “they made it personal” by hitting Ohtani twice in the series.
Why Did Dave Roberts Get Mad At The Padres?
Roberts was upset that Shildt confronted him in the eighth inning, when according to Roberts he had Dodgers rookie reliever Jack Little pitching and was “trying to get him to finish the game.”
“I think anyone would understand there’s no intent there,” Roberts said of Little hitting Tatis. “I didn’t feel good about Tatis — great player, good guy — getting hit. As [Shildt] comes out, and he’s yelling at me and staring me down, that bothers me because that’s the last thing I want. That’s why I took that personal because I understand the game and … intent vs no intent.”
Roberts acknowledged that Tatis was hit three times over two series the Padres and Dodgers played over the past two weeks. He stated there was no intent to hit him at any point, even though, like Ohtani, he was hit twice in four games at Dodger Stadium this week.
“There was not any intent on our side. We don’t want that guy on base,” Roberts said. “I feel for the player, and I pray his X-rays are negative and he’s in there tomorrow.”
Roberts also was upset since Ohtani was hit on a 3-0 pitch by San Diego closer Robert Suarez, who was subsequently ejected along with Shildt. Ohtani played the role of peacemaker by waving his teammates back into the dugout, when they were clearly about to pour out and start a brouhaha.
“That’s their decision,” Roberts said, referencing the Padres hitting Ohtani. “I felt that [Shildt] was trying to make it personal with me, which I take it personal, and I just wanted to have a conversation.”
When Do The Padres and Dodgers Play Again?
The Southern California rivals’ head-to-head games have become must-see TV since the rivalry really got heated up in 2020. But baseball fans won’t be able to watch them for more than two months.
The Padres and Dodgers will play Aug. 22-24 in San Diego, and that will be their final series of the season — unless they square off again in the playoffs for the third time in four seasons.
In the meantime, Roberts and the Dodgers are going to try and create separation between them and the Padres in the NL standings.
“We’re honestly trying to win baseball games,” Roberts said. “That’s our only goal. I do know we don’t see these guys for a long time, and we’re just going to try to win as many games as we can until we see them again.
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