Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed what he told reliever Balke Treinen during their comeback 7-6 win against the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday.
Entering the bottom of the eighth inning, the Dodgers had a slender lead for the first time in the game when Treinen came up against a red hot Giancarlo Stanton. Roberts decided to have a quick word with his pitcher. The LA manager told Yankees legend Alex Rodriguez after the game that he wanted to get a pulse on Treinen before considering a change:
"I wanted him to tell me to that he's got enough to get Stanton. ... The rest is history."
Roberts has been quite successful as a manager in the MLB, and his crucial call in the eighth inning on Wednesday showed exactly why. After going down 5-0 early in the game, the Dodgers made a heroic comeback, aided by by some clumsy defensive work from New York.
In the eighth inning, when reliever Balke Treinen came up against the in-form Stanton, Roberts had a huge call to make.
He had a word with Treinen on the mound and after gauging his confidence, decided to let him take on the Yankees slugger. It turned out to be the right call, as Treinen got Stanton on a fly out, and the Dodgers eventually won the game.
Dave Roberts hails Shohei Ohtani's impact on the Dodgers after World Series victory
It has been a great season for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the MLB, which started with superstar Shohei Ohtani's historic signing with the club.
After achieving their goal of bringing home the World Series, manager Dave Roberts took a moment to speak about the Japanese superstar's impact on the team:
"What Shohei's done to our ball club, the Dodger fan base, domestically and globally, I just don't think you can quantify. And he's just such a good guy."
It's remarkable what Dave Roberts' Dodgers have achieved in a year after adding Ohtani to their roster. Having realised his dream of winning the World Series, he has reached legendary status in the eyes of the LA fanbase.