3 red flags that should have Dodgers fans worried despite magical Game 1 win

Los Angeles Dodgers fans couldn't be feeling any better after Game 1 of the World Series. What looked at multiple points like a deflating loss against the New York Yankees about-faced into one of the most instantly iconic wins in the history of the Fall Classic, with hobbled first baseman Freddie Freeman doing his best Kirk Gibson impression on a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning. Now L.A. is just three wins away from its first full-season title since 1988, with another game at Dodger Stadium on tap and the Yankees reeling.

But for as incredible as that victory was, the horse isn't in the barn just yet. There are still three wins to go, and plenty of baseball left to be played — including what's sure to be a daunting trip to a keyed-up Yankee Stadium next week. Dave Roberts and Co. know that now is not the time to take their eye off the prize, and there are a few reasons for pause based on how Game 1 played out.

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3. The bottom of the order is still struggling

Lost in all the late-game heroics? For the most part, the Dodgers struggled at the plate in Game 1, scratching across two runs prior to extras that both got at least a partial assist from Yankees defensive miscues. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freeman remain as dangerous as ever, but L.A. didn't get enough from further down the lineup. Names like Max Muncy, Teoscar Hernandez and Will Smith are going to have to come through with big hits at some point in this series, because the big three will only take these Dodgers so far. Lineup depth was a concern for both of these teams entering the series, and it remains so after one game.

2. Blake Treinen looked mortal

Losing Evan Phillips already dinged the back-end of the Dodgers bullpen, and now Treinen might finally be wavering a bit. After allowing a homer in the Game 6 win over the New York Mets, the righty allowed what could've been the decisive run in the top of the 10th — and again it was his inability to hold runners on that was the culprit, with Jazz Chisholm Jr. singling and then swiping both second and third base before coming around to score to give New York a 3-2 lead. Roberts will have no qualms about going to Treinen again with the game on the line, nor should he, but if he continues to struggle in this series, suddenly the Dodgers' circle of trust gets a whole lot smaller.

1. Can we trust Dave Roberts?

Say this for Roberts: He certainly outmanaged his counterpart Aaron Boone in Game 1. But that doesn't mean he's completely above criticism: Trying to get more length out of Jack Flaherty, and letting him face the top of the Yankees order a third time through, was getting greed, and it nearly came back to bite his team. This is a lesson that Roberts has somehow yet to learn despite all of his postseason experience, and all the prior concerns we had about his bullpen management remain. His stars (and some baffling decisions from Boone) bailed him out in Game 1, but who's to say the old bugaboos won't return the next time these teams find themselves in a close game late?