Dodgers' Dave Roberts Scrutinized By MLB Insider for Decision in Loss to Phillies

Sep 12, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (30) before the game against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The Dodgers employed a unique strategy in Monday night's 6-5 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, which went to 10 innings.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts opted to use reliever Anthony Banda as an opener, with the intent to get a quick three outs to open the game. The Phillies feature two left-handers, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, in the top of their lineup, and Roberts hoped to challenge the two hitters with Banda, a left-handed pitcher.

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After striking out the right-handed Harrison Bader, Schwarber took Banda deep for the NL MVP candidate's 53rd home run of the season. Banda walked Harper on the following at-bat, and was pulled from the game in favor of starter Emmet Sheehan.

"You know, you just don't know," Roberts said after the game. "Obviously, if I knew in hindsight that Schwarber was going to hit a homer – it still got us into the seventh inning. When Emmet came out of the game, we had a two-run lead. I felt we prevented runs up until that point."

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MLB Network's Brian Kenny criticised Roberts' decision on Tuesday, noting the strong performances Schwarber and Harper have had against left-handed pitchers.

“Famously I love the opener. I want (Shohei) Ohtani to open. Bring on a guy to limit and attack the highest scoring inning, and that’s the first inning,” Kenny said. “The thing is, you either want to have a pitching advantage with some leverage pitcher on the mound — that’s not Banda — or you want a platoon advantage. By the way, that’s not victimizing either Schwarber or Harper.”

"So, I'm saying, 'Dave Roberts, why?'" Kenny said on MLB Now. "Why get cute when you don't need to?"

The Dodgers are currently slated for the No. 3 seed in the National League bracket, meaning they would have to win a Wild Card series before playing the second seed, which is currently, coincidentally, the Phillies.

With this in mind, former MLB catcher Anthony Recker defended Roberts' decision to give Banda the start.

"Maybe there's some part of them that knows Sheehan's going to face these Phillies come playoff times, maybe we can save him an at-bat," Recker said. "Maybe in some scenario it was, 'Well wait, let's see what Banda can do against these hitters in this scenario because a month from now we may need him.'"

If the Dodgers were looking to test Banda against the bats of Harper and Schwarber, the 32-year-old didn't necessarily pass. Whether he will get another chance to face the duo, either in this series or in the postseason, remains the question.

For more Dodgers news, head over to Dodgers on SI.