Dodgers' Dave Roberts Reveals Why Clayton Kershaw Threw Tantrum in Dugout

Manager Dave Roberts spoke on the outburst in the dugout and how it was not only indicative of the defense behind Kershaw on the mound, but understood by the rest of the team.

“I think it sort of came to a head yesterday with the way Clayton responded after his outing, that was a lot of frustration – in my opinion – of the way we’ve played,” Roberts said. “I think that one of the things that we do well consistently is do the little things, which lead to winning baseball games. When everything is not synced up, those things really come to light a lot more.

“We just need to do a better job of doing the little things and playing the right way. I think that for a guy that’s giving everything he has, where he’s at, and to not have guys hold up their end of the deal, it’s frustrating. I think that’s something that everyone in that clubhouse understood why he was so frustrated.”

Kershaw allowed three runs in his start, but only one was an earned run. Namely, a fourth inning that saw Milwaukee tie the game at 3-3 was the result of a pair of errors from the defense.

LA would eventually lose, 6-5, on Sunday as the Brewers completed the sweep, but it left a feeling of frustration after the game as Roberts spoke more about his defenders.

“It’s frustrating,” Roberts said. “That’s the word everyone uses when things aren’t going well, but you also have to make your own breaks. And when things are tough, you can’t do things to sabotage yourself. Today, specifically, it was the defense.

“I think the defense, the plays that I’ve seen, (our) lack of focus,” Roberts said. “That’s what I feel … Recently we’re seeing that more and more. That shouldn’t happen with our club.”

The Dodgers were able to squeak by the Minnesota Twins this week, taking two of three thanks to a come-from-behind, walk-off win on Wednesday. Nevertheless, the team is playing far from its best baseball in just about every facet of the game.