On the day after clinching, Dodgers rest Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman
Dave Roberts was all smiles the morning after the Dodgers clinched the National League West with a 6-2 Saturday night victory over the Seattle Mariners, as he and the team recovered from a night full of celebration.
It was the seventh division title for the Dodgers since Roberts’ first year as manager in 2016, and the team’s 10th in the past 11 seasons.
“I feel good. A little tired,” Roberts said on Sunday. “But you know, (I) come out here and see our guys work and get ready to go. Some of the guys had a longer night than I did, which is fitting and good. And yeah, still just feel good about last night.”
With Saturday’s clincher, the Dodgers’ mark of 11 straight playoff berths is the third longest in Major League history, trailing the 1995-2007 Atlanta Braves, and the 1991- 2005 New York Yankees.
The Dodgers currently have the longest playoff streak in baseball, ahead of the Houston Astros, who are at seven.
Roberts has steered the ship for plenty of great Dodgers teams, but something about this year’s squad is special to the skipper.
“I think that every year is different, but for me this is the most fun I’ve had managing,” Roberts said on Saturday during the team’s champagne celebration. “Certainly the players are a big part of it, and to watch those guys celebrate one another, pull for one another, sacrifice for each other, makes my job that much more joyful.”
While the Dodgers have wrapped up the division crown, there is still plenty to play for in the final weeks of the season. Going into play on Sunday, the Dodgers were five games back of the Atlanta Braves in the loss column for the top seed in the NL playoffs, and have a magic number of eight to secure a first round bye.
The aftermath
After their big Saturday night win, a few of the Dodgers regulars took a well-deserved day off on Sunday. Kolten Wong was in the lineup in place of Mookie Betts at second base, and first baseman Freddie Freeman had the day off too, with Kike Hernandez in his place.
Freeman initially wanted to play, but Roberts convinced him to finally spend a day on the bench, as the first baseman has played in all 147 of the Dodgers’ games so far this year.
“It was (challenging), but at the end of the day he just realized that it was probably the right thing to do,” Roberts said. “And we set a precedent. He set the precedent, as far as once we clinch, he’ll take the day off, so I had to revisit that conversation.”
Kershaw to pitch next weekend
Roberts was pleased with Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw’s outing on Saturday night, as the lefty went four shutout innings and allowed just two hits while striking out four.
It was Kershaw’s first start since Sept. 5, when he struggled with velocity issues in an outing against Miami. Roberts said that he could have had Kershaw go one more frame against Seattle, but decided that four innings was plenty as the team tries to keep him healthy for the postseason.
“We’ll see when he goes next, but I think it’ll be next weekend against the Giants,” Roberts said.
Pitching plans
With the NL West title in hand and nearly two weeks to go, the Dodgers have already started lining up their pitching staff in advance of the playoffs. Roberts said that for this week, the Dodgers will have Lance Lynn start on Monday, with an opener going on Tuesday before Ryan Pepiot takes over for the bulk of the game. Bobby Miller will pitch on Wednesday.
Roberts will be careful with the bullpen too, and probably won’t pitch anybody more than two days in a row in the remainder of the regular season. Fans can also expect to see more of the bench players for the next couple of weeks as Roberts tries to keep his stars healthy, while getting the subs ready for the playoffs with some more regular at-bats.