Padres Manager Shades Dave Roberts Again Ahead of Game 5 vs Dodgers

Maren Angus-Coombs | Oct 11, 2024

Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

The tension between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres is hitting a high point as they head into Game 5.

Padres manager Mike Shildt added more fuel to the fire with a subtle jab at Dodgers manager Dave Roberts during Thursday’s press conference.

When asked about his lineup for the pivotal game, Shildt didn't hold back.

"Everybody operates their own club the way they operate it," he said. "We're more like Vince Lombardi, power sweep, here it is. Yu Darvish is going to start, here's our lineup."

This was a clear reference to the Dodgers' decision not to announce their starting pitcher ahead of Games 4 or 5.

Mike Shildt says he doesn’t yet know who will be starting Game 5 for the Dodgers:

“Somebody’s gonna show up and we’ll be ready for ‘em.” pic.twitter.com/DPDPpatFMm

— Sammy Levitt (@SammyLev) October 11, 2024

For both teams, everything rides on this game. The winner will advance to face the New York Mets for the National League pennant. Shildt is already fired up.

"I’m already excited for Friday,” he said just after the Padres’ 8-0 loss in Game 4. “How fun is that going to be? Missed opportunity, chance to close it out. Didn’t. Move on. Play Game 5. Winner take it.”

The challenge for the Dodgers is huge: they’ll need to do what very few teams have done since the All-Star break — beat the Padres in back-to-back games. That feat has only been accomplished three times since mid-July, but San Diego is ready for the fight.

Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill echoed the team's confidence.

“You play a regular-season baseball game, specifically one that we play our baseball, and we play it tomorrow, and you can’t beat us. We play the right brand of baseball and the way we usually play. I haven’t seen the team that can beat us on that day. … Regardless of what day it is. It could be the birth of more baseball, it could be the end of the season, and at the end of the day, we’ll reflect on what happens. That’s our identity. We treat every game like a postseason game, so we’re already used to it.”

Shildt has been instilling a Game 5 or Game 7 mentality in his team since spring training, preparing them for this very moment. He’s confident that if the Padres stick to their game plan, they can take down the Dodgers in their own stadium.

“Here’s the part I’m excited about for this group: We’ve done that the whole season,” Shildt said. “We treated the whole season (as if every game was big) for this moment. We don’t need to feel like, ‘Oh my gosh.” Because in everything there is attention to detail. Everything is important. Everything matters. We normalize that. … We just go play, just go execute.”