Padres' Mike Shildt Continues to Take Issue With Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts

The San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers have been a part of some intense moments over the last few seasons.

Before the debacles of this past week in L.A., the 2024 NLDS brought the rivalry to new heights as superstars being hit with pitches, debris being thrown onto the field, and many factors unrelated to baseball took place in an intense series between two ball clubs.

Manager Mike Shildt spoke on some of those issues from last season that may have made their way back during the recent four-game set against the Dodgers.

“There’s some history that’s very public with what happened last year with Manny that I took exception to and handled that very privately,” Shildt said. “This got to be more public. And it’s ultimately about the defense of our team, and anybody that is going to take the steps that I feel are inappropriate against our team, then I will take action.

“ … I’m not a grudge guy, but I am a foxhole guy.”

Playing any team seven times in 11 days can bring a new set of emotions, but with the Padres and Dodgers, Thursday night's events were bound to happen.

Players had been hit by pitches back when the marathon of matchups started in San Diego, and the bullpens were even at their gates, ready to run onto the field when the teams got to L.A. on Monday, but when Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit on the wrist while the Dodgers were down 5-0 on Thursday, Shildt had had enough.

He stormed from the dugout to confront Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and both teams emptied their dugouts and had a tense discussion on the field, stopping the game for about 10 minutes.

After the game, superstar Manny Machado said that the Dodgers better "pray" that Tatis would be okay after the hit.

“They need to set a little candle up for Tati tomorrow and hope that everything comes back negative," said Machado.

Luckily, Tatis was okay and back in the lineup the next day.

“The candle worked,” Shildt said “ … Very thankful and grateful that no fractures or anything that showed up on any imaging. … He’s sore, but he said he wants to go compete."

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