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Dodgers: 3 bizarre Dave Roberts decisions that nearly cost LAD the NLWC

By Thomas Carannante

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 15: Manager Dave Roberts #30 of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium on September 15, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 15: Manager Dave Roberts #30 of the Los Angeles Dodgers during the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium on September 15, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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Gavin Lux #9 of the Los Angeles Dodgers (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
Gavin Lux #9 of the Los Angeles Dodgers (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

1. Using Gavin Lux as Late Decoy

Maybe it was a superior chess move we’re not entirely grasping, but the Dodgers had plenty of lefties on this bench. Billy McKinney. Zach McKinstry. Luke Raley. OK, whoops, McKinney was used earlier in this one (another weird move!) but Roberts still had two others to choose from in order to use as a decoy so Cardinals manager Mike Schildt would go to a lefty.

And he chose his best left-handed hitter to sacrifice before countering with Pujols? McKinney was on deck, too, and he ended up getting pinch-hit for Steven Souza Jr. Why not just bat Lux, pinch-hit Pujols afterward and keep him in at first base, and then take Lux out (which you did anyway!) because he was hitting in the pitcher’s spot?

Lux was dominant before taking some time off after crashing into the outfield wall against the San Diego Padres in late September. He was hitting .360 with a .967 OPS in 17 games. Perhaps those numbers were Roberts’ reasoning to get the Cards to go to a left-hander? But did it really matter? The lefty walked Cody Bellinger and then Schildt called on Alex Reyes, a righty, who gave up a two-run homer to Chris Taylor, which ended the game.

Playing matchups can be a headache at times. Just put your good hitters at the plate. They have a greater likelihood of delivering against whatever arm they’re facing than, say, Souza Jr.

I guess what we’re trying to say is, you can’t be using a player as hot as Lux as a decoy against the 107-win Giants. Your best guys cannot be sacrificed at any point of that series. Hopefully this served as a bit of a lesson, because if this one went to extras and a lefty bat was needed later on, the Dodgers were looking at Raley and McKinstry as their two options. Not what you want.

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