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Dave Roberts Faces Backlash After Benches Cleared in Padres–Dodgers Game

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Cole Sullivan | Last updated Jun 20, 2025 10:51 AM ET

Over the past 10 days, the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers have faced off seven times—and on Thursday night, in the final game of a four-game series, the tension finally reached a breaking point.

In the top of the ninth inning, with the Padres leading 5–0 and looking to avoid a sweep, San Diego star Fernando Tatis Jr. was drilled on the wrist by a pitch from Dodgers rookie Jack Little.

Padres manager Mike Shildt stormed onto the field visibly frustrated, especially given that there had already been six hit-by-pitches in the series. His reaction prompted both benches to clear.

During the confrontation, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts escalated the situation by making the first physical move—shoving Shildt—which led to a heated exchange between the two managers that lasted several minutes before both were ejected.

Check it out:

Benches cleared during Padres-Dodgers after Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit

Dave Roberts and Mike Shildt had words for each other pic.twitter.com/5NQkbRKtlg
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 20, 2025

Following the incident, much of the backlash was directed at Roberts—not only for his actions, but also because some fans believed the pitch that hit Tatis Jr. was intentional, while others saw it as an unfortunate wild pitch.

"Once is an accident. Two is coincidence. Three is pattern," a fan said.

Another fan posted, "Dave Roberts should be suspended for a month. What a childish, amateurish, unprofessional job of making a bad situation exponentially worse."

Someone else added, "Dave Roberts is a clown man."

One more fan commented, "Roberts should be suspended."

In the bottom of the ninth, the Padres decided to make matters worse by throwing up and in at Shohei Ohtani, brushing him just below the shoulder. But Ohtani quickly waved off his dugout, signaling his teammates to remain in place as he calmly took his base.

The two teams won’t face off again until mid-August, but that matchup is already shaping up to be drama-filled, given everything that unfolded during this recent stretch—one that saw the Dodgers take five of seven games and extend their NL West lead over the Padres to six games.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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