'Troubling': Dodgers manager Dave Roberts questions Manny Machado's throw

During Game 2 of the National League Division Series on Sunday night, San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado threw a ball toward the Dodgers' dugout between innings that nearly hit manager Dave Roberts.

Roberts told reporters Monday he didn't notice the throw at the time, but later saw video of the incident and called it “disturbing.”

“I don’t know his intention. I don’t want to speak for him,” Roberts said. “But I saw the video. And the ball was pointed at me with something behind it.”

The sequence occurred before the bottom of the sixth inning after Dodgers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty struck out Machado in the half-inning earlier and shouted profanities toward the Padres star on the way back to the dugout.

Read more: Plaschke: Dodgers fans lose their temper and Dodgers lose their lead in the series debacle

According to witnesses to the game, Machado's throw toward the Dodgers' dugout came as the Padres were warming up defensively for the bottom half of the inning. Machado allegedly threw the ball with one swing into the wall of the net protecting the dugout, near where Roberts was sitting.

Video of the incident obtained by the San Diego Union-Tribune showed Machado making the throw from the infield grass between second and third base. Roberts looked at his lineup sheet as it bounced into the net in front of him.

Although Machado admitted after Sunday's game that he threw a ball toward the Dodgers' dugout, he characterized it as a routine throw intended for a ball boy.

“I throw balls in the dugout all the time, both dugouts,” Machado said. “I mean, they have foul balls, you know, you throw the ball in there.”

According to the San Diego Union Tribune, Machado made this comment about the situation on Monday.

“I talked about it last night after the game,” he said. “I’ve already turned the page and I’m just looking forward to playing in front of our fans tomorrow and getting ready for another tough battle against a very good team.”

Roberts said if Machado had intentionally aimed the throw at him, “that's pretty disrespectful.”

Roberts previously mentored Machado with the Dodgers in 2018 after the team acquired him at the trade deadline. Machado then signed with the Padres as a free agent the following offseason.

“Obviously I’ve had a relationship with Manny for years,” Roberts said.

After Machado's throw, he was approached by third base umpire Tripp Gibson. The two had a brief conversation during which Machado put his arm around Gibson's shoulder.

Did Roberts feel Machado should have been left out of the game?

“I don’t think they should have had a little mutual conversation,” Roberts replied, alluding to Machado’s interaction with Gibson. “If players can throw balls at opposing managers, you know…”

The confrontation with Machado initially began in the top of the sixth after Flaherty hit Fernando Tatis Jr. with a sinker to start the inning.

Flaherty said he didn't intentionally drop Tatis, noting it was only a two-run play at that point. Tatis, who hit a home run and a double against Flaherty early in the game, didn't seem to think it was intentional either, saying after the game that it was “too important a series to just throw at the guys.”

However, Machado saw things differently.

“He tried to hit our best hitter,” Machado said after the game. “Get him out.” If you can't get him out, don't hit him. Right? You have the best player in the game, right? Ohtani? We're not going out and trying to meet Ohtani. We're trying to get him out. Don't go out and try to hit my husband.

After Tatis was hit, Machado walked to the on-deck circle and began chirping at Flaherty, according to Roberts. At that point, Roberts said he “looked at Machado and shook his head, making it clear that we weren't going to intentionally hit him to start an inning down two runs.”

When Flaherty ejected Machado a few moments later, he appeared to shout a profanity at Machado while telling him to sit down.

“I just wish things between me and him don't get out of hand,” Flaherty said Monday after Roberts discussed the game in his weekend press conference. “I just wish I had held it together a little better after an emotional game.”

Read more: Fans threw balls and beer cans at Padres players – and exchanged punches – at Dodger Stadium. No arrests

Instead, tempers only heated up further when Machado threw the ball.

Television cameras showed Flaherty yelling at Machado from the dugout just before the end of the sixth period began, which Flaherty later described as a reaction to Machado's throw. Other Dodgers players in the dugout also became animated, including Teoscar Hernández, who can be seen in the video immediately pointing at Machado from the dugout steps near Roberts.

On Monday, the consensus among many Dodgers team members was that Machado intentionally threw the ball hard, contradicting his description that he merely intended to throw it to a bat boy.

“What if the ball went over the dugout and hit someone?” shortstop Miguel Rojas asked rhetorically.

Major League Baseball contacted Dodgers security personnel and requested their video of the incident because the Fox broadcast did not record it, according to several people with knowledge of the situation who were not authorized to speak publicly. The Athletic first reported that the Dodgers had sent a video to the league.

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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.