The Los Angeles Dodgers suffered a tough loss on Sunday, falling 5-4 to the Toronto Blue Jays. They managed to win the series, but couldn't pull off a sweep. Their lead in the NL West is down to two games over the San Diego Padres, and if the postseason began today, Los Angeles would be forced to start in the Wild Card Series. This is unfamiliar territory for a team that had the best record in all baseball last season.
Manager Dave Roberts made some questionable decisions, but also some questionable comments following the Dodgers loss to Toronto. As such, Roberts could be losing his handle on the Dodgers.
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Dave Roberts could be losing his handle on the Dodgers
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Shohei Ohtani was thrown out trying to steal third base. Roberts revealed that this was Ohtani's decision and not that of himself or the coaching staff. He responded to a question by calling out Ohtani and saying it was "not a good baseball play."
Calling out Ohtani can be forgiven. The two-way superstar made a mistake, and it's okay for Roberts to point out that it was a mistake. Sometimes, managers have to say things that players or fans may not want to hear, and that is simply part of the job.
However, the fact that he let Ohtani make the decision to steal on his own raises some eyebrows. Roberts and the coaching staff should have done everything in their power to ensure that didn't happen. While Ohtani made the decision, the coaching staff needs to do a better job of ensuring players only make those types of decisions if instructed to do so.
Later in the game, Roberts used Michael Conforto in a key spot. The game was tied 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth. Conforto worked the count to 3-1, but ultimately swung and missed at a pitch that was on a platter, and then proceeded to pop out and end the inning.
Roberts had something to say about this as well.
Dave Roberts on Michael Conforto’s at-bat: “I mean, you can’t ask for a better pitch… 3-1, you get a pitch that couldn’t be put on a tee much better, you gotta move it forward.”
— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) August 10, 2025
The issue here is that if Roberts was frustrated with Conforto not coming through, he could have used a different weapon off the bench. Not using Conforto, a .190 hitter this season, might have been the better decision.
Unfortunately, Roberts made some questionable decisions, some of which were costly in Sunday's loss to the Blue Jays. Now, the Dodgers find themselves losing control of first place.