NL DIVISION SERIES: BRAVES VS DODGERS

October 4, 2026

Dave Roberts

Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles Dodgers

Pregame 2 Press Conference

Q. Dave, the Braves are going with another bullpen game. How do you just see your guys either with their approach or their plan of attack, how do you see them kind of navigating through a pitching plan like this, whether that was yesterday, a little bit of a different bullpen plan? But if it seems to be more of a traditional one, how do you see this playing out for your offense?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think it's similar to yesterday. I think just specific to Kerr, just being stubborn in the zone, making them work, grinding at-bats, and the sooner that they have to get the carousel going that swings in our favor -- yeah, I think the thing that you can see today is, I'm starting Rojas and putting him in the 8 and giving him the opportunity to face Kerr. Then I'll make that decision going forward as far as once they decide to bring in Holmes and to counter.

It speaks a lot to Max, the buy-in of understanding -- being able to come off the bench and knowing that's the best for the club, keeps Miggy involved, gets him an at-bat. So those are things that I'm really proud of, and now we've just got to go out there and play the game.

Q. How often do you see yourself finding opportunities to get Miggy involved versus left-handers this postseason?

DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, it's going to be tough. Obviously the Sale game, Game 3, there's an opportunity there. So this is something that it's just a way to kind of insert him and feel good about the matchup and the defense. Then you have good matchups going forward.

Yeah, you look at our team, there's not a whole lot of guys that will hit for, so just a way to get him in there that I feel good about.

Q. I know you guys prepare for every contingency, so I know nothing surprises you intellectually, but emotionally, were you surprised that the Braves didn't start Chris today?

DAVE ROBERTS: No, not at all. I wouldn't have been surprised if they did either way. Certainly in Game 3, that Wild Card series, the up-down, there certainly was a tax and how they've used him this year.

Yeah, we were ready for anything.

Q. There were a couple of pitches, sequences where there was a challenge, there wasn't a challenge by a couple of your hitters. I know at some point in time in the season you kind of put a hold on Pages being able to challenge. Are there any of those stop signs again in the postseason moving forward, and what is the team's strategy?

DAVE ROBERTS: We talked about obviously a lot this year with Andy's success rate or lack thereof. I didn't revisit it before Game 1 yesterday, so that's my fault. I did have a conversation today. So, yeah, we've managed that one going forward.

Q. What is the team strategy?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think the team strategy, it's different. I think some guys have a better propensity, a better success rate understanding leverage, understanding their ability to know the strike zone. So there's not one -- because I trust Mookie on the ball away, but he was playing the long game, which I respect. So it's not a one-size-fits-all situation.

Q. Just to follow up on that quickly, is that a situation where you tell Andy, like don't challenge, or just kind of walk --

DAVE ROBERTS: Yes.

Q. With this series, how much are you going to see all their different bullpen arms? One of the things you guys seem to do well over the last couple of years is the more you see relievers in a series, the better you do. What has led to that success for you guys, and how important has that dynamic become with just how this matchup is shaping up?

DAVE ROBERTS: What's led to it, I think that's kind of the way we've learned from the other side of you expose guys to other teams often, then there's more familiarity. So we've learned the hard way. We've benefited from the other side. How do you get there? That's the most important thing.

That's by grinding at-bats. In the postseason, there's certain guys that managers trust and you're going to be more familiar with. So just continue to gather information.

Certainly more evident in a longer series, but right now certainly where their pitching is at, they're going to have to rely on a lot of guys, which we're prepared for.

Q. Given the hot streak that Kyle was on toward the end of the regular season, how much carryover is there, whether it's confidence, whether it's momentum, what have you, to the postseason?

DAVE ROBERTS: Lots. I think that you don't -- you can't always speak to the results because, for example, Freddie had a great day yesterday, only threw out one hit.

I think what it does is that when you're swinging the bat well, you're seeing it well. Given his track record in the postseason of having history so you don't feel the moment's going to be too big. That's what takes your confidence in the box into the postseason.

Then what it translates to as far as success, no one knows that. But all you know that they're going to take good at-bats and feel good in the box.

Q. You kind of touched upon it with Miggy, like him probably only having one at-bat. Does lighting things up like this and having a pen game that you're facing, does that make you more aggressive in deploying guys off the bench, whether it be a Max or a De Paula?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think my aggressiveness is showing obviously with Miggy, knowing that you have a lot of guys behind that you really don't have in the regular season. There's not much cost when you have Kiké as a right-handed bat, a versatile player, you've got the versatility with Tommy, you've got Ha-Seong, a versatile player.

Yeah, as far as the game goes on, you still want your best players in the game as long as possible.

Q. Going back to Sale, going back to the postseason and using starters in relief, how much of a tax do those guys feel going into the next outing, going into how many days off they need going into each one, and how much does that kind of -- how much does that weigh when you go into the initial decision to use them in relief?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think that's one of those things that it's player to player. Obviously with Yamamoto it didn't seem like much of a tax. With some other guys we've had, there was a tax. So I think it's just one of those things that sometimes you've just got to play for the moment and deal with the fallout, and other times you play for the long view and hope it works out.

There's no one way to do it, but I think just generally speaking, that there probably is any tax if a player's not doing what they've always done, certainly with the starting pitching.

Q. Speaking of that, in 2021, Max Scherzer closed out the Giants, and then you guys were in kind of a similar spot the Braves are in now, running two bullpen games in the NLCS. Any similarities between that team and what the Braves are going through right now?

DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, I can't speak totally to, you know -- but I can see it. I think that there's some similarities to it in the sense of playing the Giants till the end and going through that 160, that Wild Card game, and getting through five games at their place, it was a toll on our entire staff, yeah.

Using Max to close out the game, certainly, to that question earlier, there was a tax on him in the CS, so yeah.

Q. Going through that experience on that side, did that help inform you like being on the other side of it, like now and in other cases?

DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, absolutely. Like I said, we've been benefactors, and we've also been victims of that on both sides. So we've lived it.

Q. I was wondering how the managerial etiquette works in the postseason. What time did Walt tell you who's starting? And you've had bullpen games before. What time do you tell the other opposing manager?

DAVE ROBERTS: I didn't know until this morning, and I didn't know until yesterday. But I know for me that Walt's not a "hide the ball" type guy. I respect where they're going. I don't think it's a gamesmanship thing. I've got nothing but respect for Walt.

I think he told me when he found out. They're just trying to think through a lot of different scenarios. But I found out this morning.

Q. We've talked a lot about the rotation as a whole, but specifically about Tarik and Blake Snell's relationship. How do you see just as they're now kind of pitching one behind the other in this series, how do you see they're making each other better? And what are your expectations for someone like Blake today, especially with how great Tarik was yesterday?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think it's like, yeah, we touched on it a little bit yesterday. I think that them kind of sharing trade secrets and trying to sharpen one another's repertoire and game and talking through how they see hitters and how they're going to attack them, Blake was watching intently yesterday. Certainly a different mix -- same mix but different mix.

Yeah, I do think that it's a good thing that Blake can try to one-up him. That helps the Dodgers. But I do know that Tarik is going to be pulling like heck for his teammate. I love that. I love seeing starters have a relationship because they are -- they're cut from a different cloth, and they're wired differently. So that's always a good thing.

Q. To tie together two questions from earlier, you said that Kyle, the moment wasn't too big for him. Any concern about coming off of last year's postseason with Andy going 0 for 4 yesterday, looking a little overmatched? Is there any concern?

DAVE ROBERTS: A little bit. He's in a much better spot than he was last year. For me I just think that -- I just want to see him check down a little bit more, chase hits instead of slug. I think that the change-up from Suter yesterday was the tell for me as far as trying to do too much. It was a ball out of hand.

So I think for me I just want to see him kind of slow down a little bit because, again, he came into this postseason really good, had a good week. This past week was great work. Just want to make sure he kind of just checks down a little bit.

Q. When Blake came back from the elbow surgery, you said you sensed that he was on a mission. What have you seen from him in this last week getting ready for this start today?

DAVE ROBERTS: I see -- I kind of doubled down on what I said a few months ago. There's a good focus and determination. He's in a great spot, and this is why he came to the Dodgers. I'm looking forward to see what he does today.