{"id":114659,"date":"2025-10-31T07:37:46","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T07:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=114659"},"modified":"2025-10-31T07:37:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T07:37:46","slug":"do-or-die-dodger-drama-with-elimination-looming-and-game-6-poised-to-rewrite-history-dave-roberts-steps-into-the-fire-with-a-legacy-on-the-line-rallying-his-clubhouse-with-a-calm-fury-and-one-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=114659","title":{"rendered":"DO-OR-DIE DODGER DRAMA: With elimination looming and Game 6 poised to rewrite history, Dave Roberts steps into the fire with a legacy on the line, rallying his clubhouse with a calm fury and one final call to \u201cembrace the moment\u201d as Los Angeles prepares to fight like champions under the brightest lights of the season..ll"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dave<\/p>\n

They win Friday night (8 p.m. ET on FOX) against the\u00a0Toronto Blue Jays, and they extend their season, forcing a Game 7 at the Rogers Centre.<\/p>\n

They lose, and their season is abruptly over.<\/p>\n

And, fair or not, it will be considered a failure.<\/p>\n

This is the way it works when you have\u00a0one of the highest payrolls, the most talent in the game, and are heavy favorites to repeat as World Series champions.<\/p>\n

Roberts also knows this responsibility runs much deeper for the Dodgers than any other franchise, with their passionate and frenzied fanbase in Japan, having three of the country\u2019s biggest stars wearing Dodger uniforms, including the biggest of all-time in\u00a0Shohei Ohtani.<\/p>\n

Simply, losing is unacceptable.<\/p>\n

Roberts sees that passion raging in the faces of Ohtani,\u00a0Roki Sasaki\u00a0and\u00a0Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who will start Game 6.<\/p>\n

And he sees in the faces of the devoted group of about full-time Japanese reporters who religiously follow the Dodgers, breathlessly reporting on anything and everything the Dodgers\u2019 Japanese players do on a daily basis, whether it\u2019s a game, bullpen session, batting practice, or even the latest on Ohtani\u2019s dog, Decoy.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

From Trolleys to Tinseltown: Follow the Dodgers\u2019 baseball run through the ages<\/h2>\n
\n

Picher Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers winds up to throw a pitch against the Minnesota Twin in game 7 of the 1965 World Series, Oct.14, 1965 at Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. The Dodgers won the series 4 games to 3. Koufax was the series MVP and played for the Dodgers from 1955-66.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Roberts, the son of a Japanese mother and Black father, certainly relates, particularly after the Dodgers signed Ohtani two years ago and become Showtime in spikes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think going my whole life, I was always aware of my Black side of the family with my dad, and the Japanese side of my family with my mom,\u2019\u2019 Roberts, who was born in Okinawa but primarily grew up in San Diego, tells USA TODAY Sports. \u201cBut growing up, because of the language and the geography, I haven\u2019t been able to embrace my mom\u2019s side as much as I would have liked.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut now,\u00a0having Japanese players, Japanese media, the sponsorships that come through, really allowed me to facilitate trips to Japan and really bring that part of my life to light. I couldn\u2019t be more excited.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Roberts took his son, Cole, to Japan last winter after the season and spent a week visiting Okinawa, shooting a commercial, and receiving an award. He plans to return this off-season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really been great,\u2019\u2019 Roberts said. \u201cThe only problem is my Japanese hasn\u2019t gotten any better. That\u2019s the problem. But I tell you, it\u2019s really been enjoyable with all the Japanese media. I mean, we have more [Japanese] media, obviously, than any place in the country, by far.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s certainly, you know, ramped up the job responsibilities. But you know what, the Japanese media is so respectful. It\u2019s actually refreshing seeing how kind the Japanese people are. Even going back to Tokyo for the Japan Series, it really gives me hope in humanity, just a genuine kindness.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey love their baseball, and there\u2019s just pure excitement and joy, and not skepticism or cynicism. And for me to kind of pull from that, it\u2019s really been additive for my mental state, it really has. You see their excitement, and it\u2019s like then you get excited. You\u2019re not always having to defend decisions or things that don\u2019t work out.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Now, it\u2019s only appropriate, of course, that the biggest pitching star of all, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, will be the one starting Friday to save their season, trying to become only the fourth pitcher in history to throw three complete games in a single postseason.<\/p>\n

If he pitches anything\u00a0like he did in Game 2, when he threw a four-hit complete game, retiring the final 20 batters of the game for the first time in a World Series game since Don Larsen\u2019s perfect game in 1956, you can book a Game 7.<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, hopefully he\u2019s a little tired,\u2019\u2019 Blue Jays manager John Schneider said, \u201cthrowing that many innings. He\u2019s unique because he\u2019s got what seems like six or seven pitches, and can kind of morph into different pitchers as the game kind of goes on.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou got to be stubborn, you have to be ready to hit, and you have to be stubborn with what kind of swings you\u2019re taking. That\u2019s what it comes down to. He\u2019s not a guy you can kind of wait out. He\u2019s going to pound the zone, so sometimes you got to force some action on him.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Dodgers\u2019
This is the fifth time that Dave Roberts has managed the Dodgers to the World Series.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Dodgers aren\u2019t really worried about how Yamamoto responds at all, but whether they can start generating any offense. The Dodgers are hitting .168 in their last 29 innings, scoring just four runs. Roberts shuffled the lineup for Game 4, dropping Mookie Betts to the No. 3 spot for the first time since 2021, and they struck out 15 times and\u00a0scored just one run.<\/p>\n

Roberts hinted Thursday that he might shake things up again, and if they can get to a Game 7, plan to employ Ohtani to be their secret weapon in relief, perhaps even use him as an opener, or even consider him playing the outfield for a few innings if necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll talk about everything,\u2019\u2019 Roberts said, \u201cso we\u2019ll kind of talk through whatever is the best. If we get to that point, we\u2019ll see. He\u2019s not going to play the outfield [in Game 6], I do know that.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if we get to Game 7, we\u2019ll have a good discussion about everything.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

If the Dodgers are even mildly stressed, they didn\u2019t show it during their workout on Thursday. It was an optional workout, but every player showed up. They were even treated to a challenge by Roberts to race infielder Hyeseong Kim. But even given a big lead Roberts tripped and fell rounding second, with the entire team bursting in laughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that I\u2019m in good spirits, our coaches are,\u2019\u2019 Roberts said. \u201cWhat better way to win the World Series \u2026 in Game 7. But we got to win [Friday.]\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Besides, nothing has come easy for the Dodgers, so why start now? They battled a litany of pitching injuries all year, and at one time had 15 pitchers on the injured list. Yamamoto is their only starter in the playoff rotation who has pitched more than 91 innings all season. Their bullpen has been a mess.<\/p>\n

They have dealt with adversity all year, and the way they figure it, if they can come back from two elimination games to defeat the\u00a0San Diego Padres\u00a0in last year\u2019s division round, and also win the 2024 World Series with only three healthy starting pitchers, this is nothing more than a speed bump.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fight or flight, it\u2019s whatever adage or saying you want, to leave it all out there,\u2019\u2019 Roberts said. \u201cIt\u2019s certainly not war. I\u2019m not trying to compare that to war. But in our world, in our small world of baseball, it is war.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo that\u2019s the mindset.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They win Friday night (8 p.m. ET on FOX) against the\u00a0Toronto Blue Jays, and they extend their season, forcing a Game 7 at the Rogers Centre.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":114662,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nDO-OR-DIE DODGER DRAMA: With elimination looming and Game 6 poised to rewrite history, Dave Roberts steps into the fire with a legacy on the line, rallying his clubhouse with a calm fury and one final call to \u201cembrace the moment\u201d as Los Angeles prepares to fight like champions under the brightest lights of the season..ll - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=114659\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DO-OR-DIE DODGER DRAMA: With elimination looming and Game 6 poised to rewrite history, Dave Roberts steps into the fire with a legacy on the line, rallying his clubhouse with a calm fury and one final call to \u201cembrace the moment\u201d as Los Angeles prepares to fight like champions under the brightest lights of the season..ll - 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