How did Dave Roberts sleep after Monday’s 18-inning marathon of a game?
Well, actually, he explained with a smile.
“I took a little sleep aid to get off my high,” Roberts said with a grin. “Woke up with clarity, freshness, and excited to go tonight.”
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Indeed, only in baseball can one playoff game end minutes shy of midnight, for the next to begin just 17 hours later.
That was the challenge facing both the Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays entering Game 4 on Tuesday. And even though many players in the Dodgers clubhouse had previous experience from their 18-inning World Series game in 2018, “I don’t know if there’s anything you can learn from it,” third baseman Max Muncy said with a laugh.
“Tomorrow, later today, is going to come really, really quick,” Muncy said in the clubhouse after Game 3. “So you’ve got to get home, try to get some rest and try to recover as best you can.”
Despite the record-setting nature of Monday’s six-hour, 39-minute game, the Dodgers made no alterations to their lineup on Tuesday.
The team had the same starting nine — which posed a particular challenge for catcher Will Smith after catching all 18 innings the night before.
“He’s going to go out there and catch again today somehow,” Game 3 hero Will Klein joked.
Shohei Ohtani also will still make his scheduled pitching start, even after reaching base a postseason record nine times on Monday.
“It’s trust, it’s kind of getting to know the person, the player, and what his limitations are,” Roberts said about how he would manage Ohtani’s pitching workload in Game 4. “But, yeah, he’s in great shape, very well conditioned. I expect him to be ready for today. This guy is a different kind of athlete and a different brain.”
The Blue Jays did have to make an alteration for Tuesday, playing without designated hitter George Springer after he left Monday’s game early with an apparent side injury.
“He’s hour to hour,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said of Springer before the lineup was announced.
As for the rest of his team, how are they adjusting after Monday’s stinging defeat?
“It’s just wake up,” Schneider said, “get ready to do it again.”