NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: DODGERS VS BREWERS

October 14, 2026

Dave Roberts

Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles Dodgers

Pregame 3 Press Conference

Q. You alluded to it last night, but lineups just came out and Ohtani is hitting sixth, Will Smith seventh, and Kyle Tucker up to clean up. What led into those decisions?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think it's just more of I love the length of the lineup. I think that Kyle has been, and throughout his career and currently, agnostic with pitchers, left versus right. Gasser is a guy that they're probably going to run him two times through the lineup, and if it gets a little bit beyond that, I like Kyle there.

As far as Will, moving him down a little bit just to kind of, like I always say, give the player a different look, let the game come to him. I think last game there were some good swings in there which I'm really encouraged about. Having him there to kind of bleed around the wraparound of the lineup, I think, is going to be a good thing.

I got Miggy in there, which I'm excited about having Miggy versus a left-hander and deploying Max whenever the time makes sense.

As far as Shohei, I think it's just more of what gives our lineup the best balance, kind of putting people -- separating the lefties, the righties, just making it a little bit more difficult for them to try to navigate our lineup. Shohei's all on board. Whatever it takes to win.

Q. You talked a little bit about Blake yesterday, but he talked so much about like the mentality of the Brewers and like -- it was almost like a psychological analysis. What can that do for a pitcher to almost put himself in the shoes of the opponent?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think he's spot on as far as he's a very cerebral, thoughtful person, and to really understand the psyche of your opponent is important because I think it just kind of adds to his edge, his focus, knowing how hungry and feisty and how tough that team is.

He's very mindful of not letting his guard down, coming in nibbling as opposed to being aggressive to match their intensity. So I like that exercise in what he's been doing, yeah.

Q. How would you describe what Blake's demeanor has been like this week, especially coming off the disappointment of his DS start?

DAVE ROBERTS: Much more quiet, much more kind of staying to himself more. I think he's been really anxious to get another opportunity. Still being a part of the team and cheering for guys, but I think that this has been a slow burn since that last outing.

I believe that when you guys see him take the mound today, you're going to see another level of intensity, and for me it's just make sure you manage that intensity and don't get too amped up because it's already a big game, which we all understand that.

Q. We've asked you about the struggles against their bullpen. For as good of a plan as it seems like you guys have put together against starters in this postseason, what has made it more challenging, especially in this series, to kind of replicate the quality of at-bats once you've gotten to the relievers?

DAVE ROBERTS: With the relievers, I don't think that we are -- I think for me is we're not running good counts, and that's just in total. I think there's some early at-bats that end. I think Mookie has done a good job of still winning pitches, competing in at-bats. Other guys I think that we're just -- we've just got to have that same level of fight against those guys versus one-two-pitch outs. Ashby has been very efficient against us.

We just can't be too anxious to have that at-bat over. You've got to sort of go through the pain of an at-bat, the grind of it, to ultimately have those guys make a mistake. We could do a better job of that.

Q. In terms of clutch performers, is there a common thread that runs through clutch performers where they can turn down the external noise, when they can not shrink in the biggest moments? Can that be coached?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think it could be coached mentally. It's certainly not a mechanical thing. This is a you have to not be afraid to fail. You've got to really want to be in that spot. You do got to drown out the noise.

At the end of the day, the Freddie Freemans of the world, they failed many times in big spots, but they've also succeeded, right? He's also succeeded. I do think we have a lot of guys that can win big moments, and today's a big game.

There's going to be spots where guys have to step up and make a play defensively, pitcher's going to have to make a pitch, hitter's going to have to get a big hit, and I believe that we have a lot of those guys.

Can you coach it? It's just more kind of experience, I think, is one of those things.

Q. I wanted to ask you about managing Shohei. Is it different managing Shohei than --

DAVE ROBERTS: Yes.

(Laughter.)

Q. You want to talk about how? I was thinking he's uniquely talented and there's so much attention paid to him, not just everything he does, but any decision you could possibly make about him.

DAVE ROBERTS: It's different than any player, you might argue, in any sport right now because he's a global phenomenon. So anything he does is newsworthy, I understand that. You've got to be careful with your words because things get taken out of context, which I understand.

I will say this, as far as him as a person, he couldn't be more of a team player, more agreeable. He was here late last night working on his swing, out with the guys and talking about things on how we're going to beat these guys. God, he couldn't be more of a joy.

But I think on the external stuff, certainly it's tougher to manage, and I've got to be mindful. But man, this guy is great for our game. He's great for all of us.

Q. This isn't an elimination game, but when you think back to 6 and 7 of last year's World Series or Games 4 and 5 of the DS in '24, is there anything as you're going through the room or talking to guys that registers before the game of like mentality that you typically have to have in those types of situations?

DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, this is something that we still have to win four games, but the most important game is tonight. It's not an elimination game, but I think that looking at it in that vein is certainly the way I'm going to see it.

So I don't really know exactly what that means until the game plays out, but we're going to do everything we can to win this one, and our guys understand how important this one is. And it's good to be home. I think that those guys fed off their crowd, and I'm excited to see some blue towels and some noise tonight and having our guys feed off of it.

Q. We know you can only focus on one game at a time. So as a manager, how do you keep everybody's spirits up, especially coming home for this game? Like you said, it's a big game. How do you keep everybody just positive?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think it's guys love to compete, I love to compete. We all knew it wasn't going to be easy, and I think for me as just a positive person anyway, just kind of going through the clubhouse excited to play a ballgame.

We all know what's at stake. It's going to be fun. There's some pressure there. But you've got to embrace this, and I think for me it's just focusing on today because I think, when you start thinking about we've got to win four games, I get nervous, but I think that we can manage winning a game tonight.

Q. In all the years you've gone through October, when times get tough, do you ever or have you been tempted to pull out a videoplayer and say, guys, let me show you this stolen base?

DAVE ROBERTS: Absolutely not, no. (Laughter.) Then I'll lose them. I don't know if some of those guys even know I played. No, absolutely not.

When times get tough, I just kind of go the other way and get more lax and have fun with the guys, just want to slow down, yeah.

Q. When Shohei's not -- when he's tired, he gets kind of quiet, like that's what you told us. How is his mood right now, like the last three weeks? And also he's still searching a swing. Did you see any better sign last night?

DAVE ROBERTS: You know what I saw yesterday was even more focus. He's very -- he expects a lot from himself obviously, and he hasn't performed to his expectations. It's up to all of us to do our jobs, but I will say this. This was a different look from Shohei yesterday. He was determined, and that's an understatement.

Q. Even when Mookie is not getting on base, he's having impactful at-bats. Last game was a perfect example when he moves Tommy over to third base. Can you talk about how impactful his at-bats have been in this postseason?

DAVE ROBERTS: They've been great. He's playing really high-level baseball. You can look at the stat line and kind of make your opinions, but if you watch the games, he's seeing a ton of pitches. He's getting on base. He's moving guys over. That's what you have to do to win playoff games.

I think there's a couple more big hits in there, maybe a homer, but I love the way he's playing. He's in a good frame of mind right now, and he's playing next-level shortstop as well.