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Dodgers: Dave Roberts’ reaction to walk-off loss was every LAD fan

By Adam Weinrib

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 20: Manager Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on from the dugout during the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game One of the 2020 MLB World Series at Globe Life Park on October 20, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 20: Manager Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on from the dugout during the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game One of the 2020 MLB World Series at Globe Life Park on October 20, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was pretty much all of us in the wake of Kenley Jansen’s insane blown save.

One morning after the carnage of Game 4 of the World Series, Dodgers fans across the country are still aghast at the results — and yet somehow also not surprised.

After all, after managing a pitch-perfect few games at the tail end of the NLCS, Dave Roberts’ strange decision-making again reared its ugly head … several times over the course of the evening, culminating in one final death blow.

And when Kenley Jansen — yes, seriously, that’s who was closing this marathon contest — blew an 8-7 World Series-swinging lead with two outs and two strikes, Roberts was just as infuriated as any of us, visibly smacking the dugout and letting the expletives fly.

It doesn’t absolve him in our book, but it definitely does make him more relatable. After all, what sort of substantive comment can you make after that game? A big, loud squeal was the only thing that made sense.

Roberts’ journey of incompetence began in the fifth inning of Game 4 when he pulled 80-pitch Julio Urias, leading to Blake Treinen recording the final out of the inning, sitting on the bench for a while, then looking terrible when he emerged for the sixth.

Then it was Pedro Baez, allowed to surrender a lead-changing three-run shot by Brandon Lowe, then a game-tying smack the next inning. See, Roberts was going to pull Baez and told him so, then backtracked for no reason after grabbing the lead. Why? Who knows! For fun!

And then, of course, there was Jansen in the ninth after Brusdar Graterol recorded only the final out of the eighth. You’re not going to believe this, but it didn’t work out, and Jansen now holds the World Series record for blown saves.

And now, thanks to Roberts’ incompetence, it’s Clayton Kershaw with a deadlocked World Series, set to make the highest-pressure start of his entire career. A legacy-swinger instead of a 3-1 potential closeout. Juuuuuuust great.

Don’t be surprised if you let out a few Roberts-esque F-bombs tonight, too.

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