Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts on Tuesday called the San Diego Padres out for throwing a beanball at Shohei Ohtani.
Padres pitcher Randy Vasquez plunked Ohtani with a 94-mph fastball in the bottom of the third inning at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif.
Roberts vehemently protested to the umpires, claiming there was animus behind Vasquez’s pitch that hit Ohtani. It didn’t take long before third base umpire Trip Gibson threw Roberts out of the ballgame. The ejection was Roberts’ first of the season.
During his postgame press conference, Roberts didn’t mince words when asked if he thought the HBP on Ohtani was intentional.
“Absolutely. Absolutely,” said Roberts. “For me, if they feel that’s warranted on their side, part of baseball, if that’s what they feel, own it. And we move on. But it’s not a misfire. I do feel it was intentional.”
Roberts felt that the pitch to Ohtani was in retaliation after Dodgers pitcher Lou Trivino hit Fernando Tatis Jr. with a 95-mph sinker. Trivino’s hit led to the Padres scoring two runs to take a 3-2 lead. It’s hard to imagine the initial hit was intentional.
But the Dodgers had the final say of the night as they escaped with an 8-6 victory, which Roberts had to watch from the Dodger Stadium clubhouse. The home team improved to 4-1 this season against their division rivals
