Dodgers’ Manager Compares Season to Running a Mile

It’s a common saying to liken Major League Baseball’s regular season to a marathon. However, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts preferred to use a mile analogy instead.

“The third leg is the hardest leg,” Roberts remarked, making a reference to the four laps of the mile-long 1600-meter races. “I think it’s pretty similar to that.”

At the start of the season, the Dodgers surged ahead, outpacing every other team in baseball by July 4 with five more wins than any competitor. Yet, just as in the previous year, they experienced a downturn after the break, managing a 23-26 record in their next 49 games.

This third lap was particularly tough—especially for an aging roster that had just come off two consecutive trips to the World Series.

“You can consider that we’ve gone through many seasons together, playing a lot of baseball,” Roberts noted.

“They call them the dog days for a reason,” added Tarik Skubal, a newly acquired pitcher.

However, this week has marked a return to form for the Dodgers as they strive for a third straight title.

Like last season, just as October looms, they’ve started to find their rhythm again. On Tuesday, they matched their season-long win streak by defeating the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2, marking their sixth consecutive victory.

“You feel that second wind in September,” Roberts noted.

“Everyone’s elevating their intensity a little,” Skubal echoed.

It was around this same time last season that the Dodgers turned things around after a late-summer slump. On September 6, they had suffered consecutive walk-off losses to the Baltimore Orioles and faced a tough battle in the NL West after a 22-32 stretch.

Afterward, they surged to a strong finish, closing the regular season with a 15-5 record, securing the NL West title in the final week, and winning nine out of their first ten playoff games for a second consecutive championship.

This year, they’ve gotten their act together a bit earlier. A strong finish now could potentially enhance their playoff positioning.

Following Tuesday’s win, the Dodgers’ magic number to clinch the NL West has dropped to seven. More crucially, they’re now 2 ½ games ahead of the Atlanta Braves for the National League’s No. 2 playoff seed. This position not only offers a bye but could also place the Dodgers on a more favorable side of the postseason bracket.

“We noticed the magic number was 7 since they displayed it on the scoreboard,” Teoscar Hernández joked. “But we’re not focused on October right now; we just want to play the game and win.”

Of course, how the team plays right now is just as important as their playoff standing.

It all begins, fittingly enough, with their starting pitching. On Tuesday, Skubal showcased his most effective outing as a Dodger.

In only his second game of the season where he pitched into the eighth inning, the two-time Cy Young Award winner threw 94 pitches, allowing only two runs—from a notable 444-foot homer by Elly De La Cruz in the third—over 7 ⅓ innings, lowering his ERA in his seven starts for the Dodgers to 2.93.

As for the lineup, they’ve capitalized on the pitching success, thanks to several key veterans stepping up at the plate.

Will Smith kicked off the scoring with a home run, his first since returning from the injured list. Hernández, on a roll, racked up three hits and a walk, including a triple that almost turned into an inside-the-park homer. He also contributed a tie-breaking RBI single in the fifth, amassing 16 hits in his last nine games.

“This changes the dynamic of our lineup,” Roberts commented on Hernández’s impact, “especially with some guys not quite hitting their stride.”

This includes Shohei Ohtani, who was out of the lineup again due to load management.

Despite that, the Dodgers remained on track, maintaining momentum as they press on.

“The fourth leg is the easiest,” Roberts concluded, referring back to his earlier mile metaphor, “because you can see the finish line.”