BRONX, NY — If anyone knows what it is like to overturn a 3-0 postseason series deficit, it’s Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
The veteran skipper was a utility outfielder for the Boston Red Sox in 2004 when his team overturned a three-game deficit in the ALCS to stun the New York Yankees — his late stolen base to get into scoring position in Game 4 is considered the turning point of the entire series as Boston stormed back for one of the most historic results in Major League Baseball history on their way to a first World Series in 86 years.
Twenty years later, his Dodgers entered Tuesday up 3-0 over the New York Yankees in the World Series. A Game 4 win would clinch the championship, which would be Los Angeles’ second in four years.
Despite the healthy advantage, there was a certain degree of unease from Roberts after his team’s 4-2 win in Game 3 on Monday night in the Bronx.
“Don’t talk about that,” Roberts said when asked about his experience overturning a 3-0 deficit. “Wrong guy. Way too early.”
When asked what he remembered about those Red Sox’s mindset, he was even more blunt in ensuring no intel would make its way down the hall into the Yankees’ clubhouse.
“I don’t want to divulge any secrets,” Roberts said. “We have to stay focused, stay urgent. I think offensively, to be quite honest, we’ve left a lot of runs out there. Still found a way to win a ballgame. There’s just got to be urgency. I just don’t want to let these guys up for air.”
Even with 15 men left on base and a 3-for-19 clip with runners in scoring position during this Fall Classic, the Dodgers have found the timely hits when necessary — mainly off the bat of Freddie Freeman — while their pitching has been lights out against a sputtering Yankees offense.
While the struggling Aaron Judge implored that it would take just “one swing” to get New York out of its malaise, a generationally talented, starving Dodgers team has not taken anything for granted. History helps them do just that.
“I think that they’re very familiar with 20 years ago and what can happen,” Roberts said. “I mean, anything’s possible. Our guys are very heady, very hungry for a championship, a parade. So nothing is going to get in the way of that. Nothing.”
