Dave Roberts Sends Blunt Message to Dodgers Amid Struggles

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts isn't used to seven-game losing streaks.

For only the third time in his career as the Dodgers' skipper, Roberts had to address a brutal seven-game skid that was finally snapped with a narrow victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday. Instead of carrying on the momentum of their extra-inning win, the Dodgers found their way back in the losing column the next day.

“We’re a wild-card team right now,” Roberts told reporters ahead of Monday night's much-needed win over the Kansas City Royals. “We have to get going and play with urgency. We have to make sure we don’t get ahead of the playoff situation, and talk about winning now, winning today, winning tomorrow.”

As it stands now, the Dodgers have the third-best record of the National League's division leaders, meaning they would have to play in the wild-card round rather than enjoying a bye week and free ticket to the Divisional Series.

Dave Roberts did not mince words today re: #Dodgers latest skid:

"We’re a wild-card team right now. We've gotta get going and play with urgency. ... The ‘We’re gonna be OK and we’re good,’ — that’s not good enough. Clearly it’s not, given how we’ve played over the last month."
— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) August 11, 2026

The Dodgers are still heavily favored to win the World Series, but Roberts isn't buying the notion that they're going to waltz through the postseason to a third-straight title.

“That part of the, ‘We’re gonna be OK and we’re good,’ that’s not good enough,” Roberts said. “Clearly it’s not, given how we’ve played over the last month. We put ourselves in this position. A lot of talent. But I think across the board, we need to play with more urgency. And our guys know that.”

The Dodgers put that urgency on display on Monday night against a Royals team that is lightyears out of the playoff picture, with some of their stars leading the charge.

Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman started the Dodgers' scoring after falling into an early 3-0 hole. Max Muncy drove in three runs with a double in the sixth inning to give the Dodgers a lead and Freeman had the game-winning RBI after the Dodgers allowed the Royals to come back.

Max clears the bases on his bobblehead night! pic.twitter.com/TvD1DXeKqc
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 11, 2026

It wasn't a pretty win against a team that the Dodgers should be expected to beat, but it was a welcome sight for fans who have been lamenting LA's recent struggles.

Expect the Dodgers to continue playing with the sense of urgency that made Monday's win feel more like a postseason matchup than a mid-August bout.

“We’re past letting [guys' play out of it,” Roberts said. “We’re in a playoff race. Trying to win the division, number one. Number two, capture one of the first two playoff spots. This is go time. I’m going to manage accordingly, like I said. We’ve seen enough of a sample of guys and what they’ve done this year.

"Everyone understands it’s about winning. It’s not about feelings."

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