Dave Roberts' Game 1 surrender put black mark on 2025 Dodgers run

Good managers trust roles; great managers read the moment. And in Game 1 of the World Series, Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts misread the moment completely.

After starter Blake Snell gave up the go-ahead run to put the Toronto Blue Jays up, 3-2, Roberts reached into the underbelly of his bullpen and came up with... Emmet Sheehan and Anthony Banda.

Sheehan is a long reliever who has struggled with command and home runs, while Banda hasn't been trusted in high-leverage spots all postseason. By bypassing his better, more trustworthy bullpen arms (Roki Sasaki, perhaps?), Roberts put his team’s fate in the hands of relievers who weren’t prepared to face elite World Series lineups with no margin for error.

The result? A nine-run sixth inning for Toronto, punctuated by a pinch-hit grand slam by Addison Barger – the first such slam in World Series history – that blew the game wide open.

Rather than using his eyes and gut – and seeing a winnable, close game – Roberts followed a script that prioritized rest and sequencing over aggression. It was a strategic blunder that backfired for several reasons. It wasn’t just about who pitched; it was about what message it sent, how it disrupted the game’s rhythm and how it ignored the urgency of October baseball.

It seemed like Roberts was playing the long game, trying to keep his best relievers fresh for Games 2–3. But that’s classic over-managing; you can’t protect tomorrow’s bullpen if you lose today’s game. Every World Series is short enough that you can’t afford to punt one for theoretical rest.

Momentum, not energy, decides October baseball. By trying to “manage the series,” Roberts forgot to manage the game.

Dave Roberts wasted a tone-setting opportunity for Dodgers with baffling bullpen decision in World Series Game 1

The first game of a World Series sets the tone for the entire series. It's not the time for “mop-up” or “test” innings. It’s where you show the opponent you’re ready to seize control – not where you experiment with fringe arms or try to conserve your bullpen.

By going to Sheehan and Banda early, Roberts effectively told the Blue Jays, "We're saving our best bullets for later." That’s a dangerous mentality in the postseason, when momentum swings on a single inning. In the playoffs, you manage Game 1 like it's Game 7. There's no "feeling it out."

Toronto’s offense thrives on fastballs and poorly located off-speed pitches – exactly the profiles of both Sheehan and Banda. Players feed off managerial confidence, so when Roberts went to Sheehan and Banda early, it probably sent a subtle but damaging message to the roster: "We're not going all-in to win this one."

That’s deflating, especially for the Dodgers players who understand that Game 1 can set the psychological tone of a seven-game war. A manager’s job isn’t just to call the bullpen; it’s to set urgency. Roberts’ decisions made the Dodgers look tentative, while the Blue Jays played like a team with nothing to lose.

In one fell swoop, Roberts managed to waste a winnable opener, undermine his bullpen's rhythm and hand momentum to the opponent. Instead of having a 1-0 series lead and a rested bullpen, the Dodgers now have a loss, a dented bullpen hierarchy and two relievers rattled by failure on the biggest stage.

In October, the only “tomorrow” that matters is the one you earn. Roberts forgot that, and it cost the Dodgers the tone-setting win they desperately needed. If the Dodgers end up chasing the series from behind, Game 1 will be remembered as the moment their manager trusted process over pulse – and paid for it.