Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts described the situation as “unsettling” when a ball thrown by San Diego’s Manny Machado into the Dodgers dugout during Sunday’s intense NL Division Series game seemed to be aimed at him. This incident was one of several that led to heated exchanges between Dodgers starter Jack Flaherty and Machado, as the Padres clinched a 10-2 victory, hitting six home runs in the process. Two of these home runs were by Fernando Tatis Jr, who was hit by a pitch from Flaherty, further igniting Machado’s anger. Flaherty also shouted at Machado after striking him out with two runners on in the sixth inning.
Roberts initially did not notice Machado’s throw but later viewed a video of the incident. “It was unsettling. ... And the ball was directed at me with something behind it,” he said. Roberts noted that the ball did not hit him due to the netting. “That was very bothersome. If it was intended at me, I would be very – it’s pretty disrespectful,” he commented as the teams prepared for Tuesday’s Game 3.
Third base umpire Tripp Gibson addressed Machado about the incident, but Roberts felt, “I don’t think they should have had a little arm-around-each-other conversation. If players can throw balls at opposing managers, you know.” Fans at Dodger Stadium added to the chaos by throwing baseballs and trash onto the field, causing a 12-minute delay during the seventh inning. These baseballs appeared to be aimed at Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar, who had earlier robbed Mookie Betts of a home run in the first inning.
Flaherty expressed his frustration on Sunday night, stating that Machado “did some shit in between innings. He threw a ball at our dugout. There was no reason for that.” In response, Machado said, “I throw balls all the time into dugouts. Both dugouts. They have bad balls, you throw the ball back in there.” Flaherty admitted he wished he had “held it together a little bit better.” Flaherty, who grew up in the Los Angeles area, was acquired from Detroit on July 30.
The Dodgers will start Walker Buehler, while the Padres will go with Michael King, who struck out 12 in his first playoff start in a 4-0 win in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against Atlanta. Roberts, who grew up in northern San Diego county and played for the Padres for two seasons, including serving as interim manager for one game after Bud Black was fired in 2015, said, “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.”
