Andy Pages four-hit night powers Dodgers to | College News

Dave Roberts made it only three steps out of the dugout when he acquired ejected Tuesday night.

Before he went back, the Dodgers supervisor made sure to get his money’s value.

On a contentious night that noticed two superstars get hit by pitches, both dugouts obtain umpire warnings, and the Dodgers finally beat the San Diego Padres 8-6 at Dodger Stadium, tensions reached their boiling level in the underside of the third inning.

And it was the normally even-keeled Roberts whose feelings burned hottest.

After Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch in the highest of the third by Dodgers reliever Lou Trivino (the second time in two weeks that has occurred), reigning National League MVP Shohei Ohtani was hit in the leg with one out in the underside half of the inning.

Unlike Tatis’ hit by pitch, which got here with a runner in scoring place in an inning that noticed the Padres rating two runs, Ohtani’s plunking occurred amid more suspicious circumstances.

With one out and no person on base, Padres starter Randy Vásquez threw an inside, knee-high heater for ball one, brushing Ohtani back off the plate. With his next pitch, Vásquez fired it even more inside, pelting Ohtani’s proper thigh with a 94 mph fastball.

Afterward, both Vásquez and Padres supervisor Mike Shildt insisted the throw wasn’t intentional. “Just trying to make quality pitches and fight for the inner part of the plate, and a ball got away,” Shildt stated.

Ohtani was not made out there to reporters to talk about the scenario.

But in Roberts’ postgame handle, he declared he “absolutely” thought it was intentional.

“Vásquez took one shot at him, and then hit him again. It’s very hard to miss that bad with a right-handed pitcher,” Roberts stated. “For me, if they feel that’s warranted on their side, that’s part of baseball. That’s what they feel. And I give him credit because they hit him in the leg. Own it, and we move on. But it’s not a misfire. I do feel it was intentional.”

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1. Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. is hit by a pitch thrown by Dodgers pitcher Lou Trivino in the third inning. 2. Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani reacts after being hit by a pitch thrown by Padres pitcher Randy Vásquez in the third inning. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

What actually set Roberts off, however, was what occurred after the umpires gathered for a assembly.

Crew chief Marvin Hudson emerged from the huddle and issued warnings to both dugouts. Roberts immediately requested for an rationalization, raising his arms in confusion as he began onto the sphere.

Hudson motioned to Roberts to keep put. But when he didn’t, third base umpire Tripp Gibson did the honors of ejecting him from the sport.

“He can’t argue the warnings, so we had to get rid of him,” Hudson later instructed a pool reporter. “He had to be ejected.”

Initially, Roberts stated he wasn’t conscious he had been ejected. But once Hudson knowledgeable him that Gibson had already tossed him, Roberts unleashed the kind of tirade that’s been uncommon during his 10-year managerial profession.

He angrily pointed at Gibson a number of occasions while pleading his case. He was bodily shielded by Hudson from confronting Gibson face-to-face. And only after stomping around for virtually two full minutes did Roberts finally retreat, trudging back to the clubhouse with a scowl on his face.

Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts factors at third base umpire Tripp Gibson, left, after being ejected in the third inning Tuesday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

“I didn’t feel a warning on both sides was warranted, number one,” Roberts stated. “I wanted an explanation on their thought process. I didn’t come in hot. I just wanted to know why, why they issued [the warnings].”

Roberts also expressed frustration with the very fact that, after he was ejected, Shildt was allowed to stroll onto the sphere to talk about the warnings with the umpire crew.

“I think what anyone wants is consistency, right?” Roberts stated. “For me, I wanted an explanation of what’s going on for their decision-making. And I got run. … And then, I see the opposing manager get the same courtesy of an explanation and he stays in the game. So there’s just no consistency with that.”

Hudson’s rationalization for why Shildt was granted a dialogue: “He just asked about the warnings. He asked about pitching inside. I said, ‘We’re not taking that away.’ And he left.”

In what has rapidly turn out to be a heated rivalry collection, there have been more fireworks to comply with.

In Monday’s series-opener, tempers flared when Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages was hit by a Dylan Cease pitch and immediately stared at the Padres pitcher. In the heat of that second, cameras caught Shildt yelling from the dugout, “Who the [expletive] do you think you are?”

A night later, Pages offered a resounding reply with a four-for-four efficiency at the plate. The second-year slugger belted a go-ahead home run in the underside of the second inning. He launched a tying shot in the fourth. Then, after Will Smith put the Dodgers (45-29) in entrance with a two-run homer at the top of a 12-pitch at-bat in the sixth, Pages added an RBI single in what turned a five-run rally, serving to catapult the workforce to an 8-3 lead.

Andy Pages is congratulated by Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel after hitting a solo home run in the second inning Tuesday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

“I have a lot of confidence in the work I’m putting in,” stated Pages, who raised his batting average to .293 and continued to construct his case to be an All-Star choice. “I have a lot of confidence in my plan, what I’m doing at the plate to prepare for the games, and finding pitches in my zone and hitting them as well as I can.”

As for Shildt’s dugout feedback the night before, Pages provided a diplomatic reply.

“Yeah, I actually saw it this morning,” he stated. “Obviously, didn’t pay much attention to it. I left yesterday’s game behind, and I focused on today.”

Teammate Max Muncy, on the opposite hand, provided a more pointed response.

“I think Andy spoke for himself today,” Muncy stated. “I think Andy told him who he was today.”

More controversy around the umpires arose in the seventh, as the Padres (39-33) threatened to erase the Dodgers’ lead.

First, Dodgers reliever Matt Sauer hit Padres shortstop Jose Iglesias with a pitch, but was not ejected — despite Manny Machado taking a couple steps out of the dugout to yell at the umpires, given their earlier warnings.

It ended up not mattering, with Trenton Brooks coming off the bench for a pinch-hit home run in the next at-bat.

Then, the Padres caught a break when Tatis was initially known as out on a fielder’s alternative play at second base, only for home plate umpire Ryan Blakney to intervene.

Tatis had initially slid in safely when shortstop Mookie Betts dropped a flip throw from second baseman Tommy Edman, who made an spectacular diving stop in the opening. As Betts retrieved the unfastened ball, however, Tatis stepped off the bag, apparently pondering time had been known as. Betts rapidly tagged him, and Hudson, the second base umpire, known as him out. But moments before the tag, Blakney had known as time from behind home plate, to the chagrin of Smith.

“Why you call time [right there]? I don’t know,” Smith stated. “But he did. So we had to deal with it.”

Deal with it, the Dodgers just barely did.

Tatis was allowed to keep on second, and finally got here around to rating when Michael Kopech entered the sport and stumbled on a throw with the bases loaded, ensuing in a run-scoring balk.

Kopech, however, acquired Xander Bogaerts to ground out and retire the aspect. From there, the Dodgers held on, with Anthony Banda stranding the bases loaded in the eighth and Tanner Scott (pitching a third-straight day for the first time this season) amassing his 14th save.

“We all understand how important this is,” Banda stated. “The emotions are high. They’re always going to be high in this type of playoff atmosphere. The fans were into it. Everybody was loud. It was fun to be a part of.”

Echoed Roberts: “It was a fun game, unfortunately, to watch from my office. But our guys really played well. … Huge win.”