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As the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres managers Dave Roberts and Mike Shildt went at it on Thursday night after players were beaned, the rivalry no doubt has reached new heights. With the Padres' skipper having a rant at the Dodgers about hitting their players, Roberts spoke about the incident that took place.
While it wasn't the first time, star Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch in the top of the ninth inning, which led to Shildt approaching home plate to check on his player but also walked towards Roberts and the Los Angeles dugout. Shildt took issue with the team, as this led to Roberts approaching him, giving him a light shove as the dugouts were cleared.
Roberts gave insight into why Shildt confronting him “bothers” the manager, according to ESPN.
“Obviously,” Roberts said, “I think anyone knows there was no intent.”
“And so as [Shildt] comes out, and he's yelling at me and staring me down, that bothers me,” Roberts continued. “Because, to be quite frank, that's the last thing I wanted. I'm taking starters out of the game, trying to get this game over with and get this kid a couple innings. I took that personal because I understand the game, and I understand that it doesn't feel good to get hit.”
Dodgers-Padres benches cleared after Fernando Tatís Jr. was hit by a pitch 😳 pic.twitter.com/qj78xAKCp9
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 20, 2025
The Padres' manager had a strong message for the Dodgers
Though the Dodgers and Padres' feud with one another is hostile, it wasn't just the hit by pitch on Tatis that happened, as a half-inning later, Shohei Ohtani also was hit. However, he waved off his teammates to prevent any further confrontation.
The San Diego manager ranted after the game about Tatis being hit, since this is the third time in the past nine days by Los Angeles, per ESPN.
“We got a guy who's getting X-rays right now, is one of the best players in the game, fortunately on our team, and this guy has taken shots, OK?” Shildt said.
“And before this series, and I can back this up with complete evidence, the track records speak for themselves — teams that I manage don't get into altercations like this because teams that I manage don't throw at people. But also, teams I manage don't take anything.”
“And after a while, I'm not going to take it,” Shildt continued. “And I'm not going to take it on behalf of Tati; I'm not going to take it on behalf of the team, intentional or unintentional. It's really that simple. That's how this game is played. And if you want to call that old school, then yeah, we'll play old-school baseball.”
At any rate, the Dodgers are 46-30 and are first in the NL West as they start a three-game series against the Washington Nationals on Friday night.
