Dodgers News: Dave Roberts Reveals Why He Waited to Use Evan Phillips in Game 4 Loss

After the Dodgers were eliminated, Dave Roberts broke down the Almonte vs. Phillips decision in the seventh inning of Game 4.

Flashback to that dreaded Saturday night. Game 4 of the NLDS, I know you remember the last few innings. 

Tommy Kahnle approached the mound to start the seventh inning and immediately issued a leadoff walk followed by two singles. 

This situation forced Dave Roberts to make a tough decision of who to bring in for Kahnle. He chose Yency Almonte over the team's ace all season long, Evan Philips.

During the regular season, Philips recorded 2 saves, finished with a 7-3 record, posted a 1.14 ERA, and dealt 77 strikeouts across 63 game appearances. 

Meanwhile, Almonte had only appeared in 33 games, collected 1 save, served 33 strikeouts, and posted a 1.09 ERA which is still impressive. 

But why this choice? In the postgame interview, Doc shared his plan. This was after the team gave up 5 runs in the seventh and was eventually eliminated by the Padres.

"

In the seventh inning (Evan Phillips) was going to finish the game for us. Martin came in in the sixth inning and got through that, so at that point in time where they were at in the order, we felt that Yency was the right guy there. And having more right-handers than left-handers and having Phillips at the back end to finish the game with potentially left and right-handed hitters, we felt good about that

.He gave up a ground ball that got by Max and then a base hit to Soto and a punch and a pop-up.I feel good about Yency, and then again, the ground ball, Muncy could have fielded it, could have been a double play. It wasn't to be, and that's baseball.

In his first postseason debut, Almonte allowed 2 runs on 2 hits but also struck out 6 in 2.1 innings of work. On the other hand, Phillips only gave up 1 walk, 1 hit, and struck out 6 across 3 innings in the series.

If Doc did decide to use Evan Philips in that seventh inning, would the game have played out differently? I guess we'll never know but it's something Doc is going to have to live with and think about most likely for the next few days, even weeks. 

His management of the Dodgers' pitching staff especially in the postseason has received a lot of heat from fans and even some wanting him fired before the 2023 season. However, sources did confirm that he will be returning next year.