SAN DIEGO — Fans in the Dodger Stadium pavilions were not the only ones throwing things in places where they shouldn’t have on Sunday night.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts accused San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado of throwing a ball at him with “intent” during the break before the Dodgers batted in the bottom of the sixth inning of Game 2.
Dodgers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty and third baseman Max Muncy both mentioned the incident following the Padres’ 10-2 victory on Sunday. But Roberts’ comments before Monday’s workout at Petco Park were more direct.
He said he didn’t see the throw at the time but saw it on video later. The ball bounced off the netting in front of the Dodgers’ dugout where Roberts was standing.
“I didn’t notice it. I did see the video. And it was unsettling,” Roberts said. “Obviously I have a relationship with Manny from years past. There was intent behind it. … And that was very bothersome. If it was intended at me, I would be very – it’s pretty disrespectful.
“I don’t know his intent. I don’t want to speak for him. But I did see the video. And the ball was directed at me with something behind it.”
Machado and Flaherty could be seen exchanging words and gestures after Machado’s throw and third base umpire Tripp Gibson immediately confronted Machado and talked to him on the field.
Major League Baseball has been in touch with the Dodgers’ security staff and asked for footage of the incident, ESPN reported, citing unnamed sources, but any punishment from the league seems unlikely.
Machado was asked for a response to Roberts’ comments Monday.
“I spoke about this last night after the game,” he said. “I’ve already turned the page, and I’m just looking forward to playing in front of our fans tomorrow and preparing for another tough battle against a very good team.”
When he was asked about the incident after the game on Sunday, Machado said, “I throw balls all the time into the dugouts. They have bat boys. You throw the ball back there.”
But he then accused Flaherty of intentionally hitting the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. with a pitch in the top of the inning.
“When you try to hit our best hitter – you can’t get him out, don’t hit him,” Machado said. “They got the best player in the game right? Ohtani? We don’t go out there and try to hit Ohtani. We try to get him out. Don’t go out there and try to hit my guy.”
Flaherty denied that he tried to hit Tatis.
“I understand them taking offense to Tatis getting hit. We would react the same way if any of our guys got hit,” Flaherty said Monday as the team’s prepare for a pivotal Game 3 on Tuesday night with the best-of-five series tied. “But I think things got out of hand there. I wish that after that happens and he throws a ball, I wish he would have just let it go. The umpires did their job. They stepped in and talked to him, but yeah, that’s not how I want things to go. We want to keep things on the field and keep it right there, and focus on the game.”
Flaherty said a player throwing a ball at the opposing team’s dugout is “not a normal thing to do” but acknowledged that emotions were running high at that point.
“It’s the playoffs man, a lot of emotion,” Flaherty said. “I think it got out of hand yesterday with everybody – from me and him to the fans getting involved. You know, there was emotion after the punch out (Flaherty struck out Machado in the sixth). There was emotion after every home run.
“It’s two teams, two really good ball clubs that are competing, and it’s gonna be a fun rest of the series. Everybody knew it was gonna be this way, and things probably got a little chippier than expected and quickly.”
Roberts said his team needs to find a balance for Game 3 between “trying to drown out the noise” while at the same time taking the back-and-forth and “using it as fuel.”
“Clearly that team over there, they like the villain-type kind of role and they feed off of that,” Roberts said. “So whatever gets us going, the motivation is individually, collectively, to win a baseball game, to win a series.
“It’s going to be hostile (at Petco Park for Game 3). It’s going to be noisy and rowdy. And it’s up to us to still stay focused and compete and fight, like I’ve said time and time again.”
