LOS ANGELES — After wondering aloud if “there was intent” regarding airline delays for his team’s traveling party leaving Toronto, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts downplayed any suggestion that the Canadian government had played a role in his staff’s hellish travel day.

“I know the Prime Minister is not worried about calling airline security or the FAA to make sure that they delay us,” Roberts told The Athletic. “I know that. Obviously. I think the Prime Minister has bigger fish to fry.”

The Dodgers were scheduled to work out at 5 p.m. at Dodger Stadium, which will host the Blue Jays for Game 3 of the World Series on Monday. But Roberts and his staff did not arrive at the ballpark until around that time, after losing several hours to delays while flying from Toronto Pearson Airport to Los Angeles International Airport.

When asked at his news conference about the travel, Roberts managed a smile.

“I don’t want to get too far into it,” he said. “I just arrived about 30 minutes ago. So there was some delays. I don’t know if there was intent or not. But, man, the international stuff was a bear. But we made it.”

The comments sparked some outrage on social media, in part, because United States customs would process the team’s return to California. The Blue Jays cross the border, passing through U.S. customs, on every road trip. When they return to Toronto, there is another stop with Canadian customs. At points this year, though, particularly stringent customs officers have delayed the team for over an hour. It’s an accepted aspect of Major League Baseball outside the United States.

When later approached by The Athletic, Roberts conceded that he “could have omitted ‘intent,’” when outlining the travel woes.

For the World Series games in Toronto, which the two teams split, the Dodgers carried a traveling party of about 400 people spread across four planes. The players fly on their own plane, which left Toronto after the game on Saturday and arrived in Los Angeles without incident. Roberts, the coaches and the rest of the staff did not depart until Sunday morning.

“The process was very long,” Roberts said. “But a lot of it had to do with our big, huge, four-plane travel party. It’s just a part of international travel. And passports. Airline security. That’s part of it.”

For what it is worth, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney did pick the Blue Jays to win in six. But that was unrelated to the Dodgers’ issues leaving the country on Sunday.

“Canada is not trying to sabotage the Dodgers,” Roberts said. “I know that. It was just a long day.”

The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon contributed to this report