Dodgers Team News

Dodgers’ Dave Roberts On Justin Turner, Curtis Granderson, And More

The Los Angeles Dodgers took a 1-0 lead after an epic performance against the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the 2017 World Series. It was a great team effort from everyone involved, and Dave Roberts was really impressed with the way his ball club played assertively during his post-game conference.

Below are some of the statements he made Tuesday evening, compliments of SportsNetLA.com!



Justin Turner has embarked on an incredible journey throughout professional baseball, and continued cementing his legacy as the present-day Mr. October, after hitting a 2-run home run against Dallas Keuchel.

You look at his career, and he just comes up with big hits; not only in the regular season, but the postseason as well. The on-base [percentage], the OPS, those home runs, those big hits… It’s hard to explain, but I know that he’s the guy that you want in those big spots, and he doesn’t scare-off.

Chris Taylor was named Co-MVP of the 2017 National League Division Series last week, and showed that the honor was no fluke by blasting a solo home run off Keuchel’s very first pitch.

Just having Chris at the top of the order, he’s a threat every time he gets in the box. He can grind you [opposing pitchers] for 10 pitches an at-bat, he can earn a walk, he can slug you, he can steal a base, and I think that just the discipline he’s had to stay in the strike-zone makes you pay, when a pitcher makes a mistake.

So you have that consistency all year long [offensively and defensively], he’s done it all for us. He’s one of those guys that sort of gets overlooked with all the superstars that we have on this team, but he’s a big part of this.

Clayton Kershaw is a man on a mission. The future Hall of Fame pitcher wants to prove that he’s one of the greatest starting pitchers to ever play in the Major League’s, and his 11-strikeout outing will certainly help cement his status in baseball history.

You see the swing-and-misses, the depth of the slider, the fastball command, and the backdoor cut of the curveball. Tonight was one of those nights, the first time in awhile, that we’ve really seen all three of his pitches sinked up. He just repeated delivery, held the velocity, was throwing the baseball where he needed to, where he wanted to.

Very talented team over there, and for him to keep them off balance, work them front-to-back, up-and-down all quadrants… This was a special night for Clayton.

Corey Seager returned to the starting lineup, after missing the NLCS due to a back injury. He looked sharp after going 2 for 3 in Game 1, and Roberts will move him back to his regular spot in the batting order against Justin Verlander during Game 2.

I think the at-bats Corey took tonight were really getting him into the flow of World Series baseball. So he’ll be two tomorrow. (smiles)

Roberts was also asked about how low-profile players have boosted team-building in a positive way, compared to having a team full of big-contract acquisitions in the past.

For us, we believe it’s imperative to have that grinder, blue-collared player. It’s a long season… It’s a game of failure. You need to have those guys that really live-and-die baseball. You need guys that are tough.

Dave Roberts also spoke with the media before Game 1 and discussed not having Curtis Granderson on the World Series roster. Here is what he had to say:

Rich Hill and the Dodgers will face Justin Verlander and the Astros on Wednesday at 5:09 p.m. PT at Dodger Stadium. What are your predictions? Let us know in the comments below!

Dodgers Release 25-man Roster For 2017 World Series

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