Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts addressed the team's offensive struggles at a press conference on June 21, 2026, pointing to passivity and poor pitch selection as the root causes of the team's problems following a loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
Roberts stated that the Dodgers have been taking hittable fastballs and chasing spin, calling it inconsistent with the team's identity. "Taking strikes, hittable strikes with the fastball, then chasing spin — it's just not who we are, who we need to be," he said. He added that the offensive mindset should center on making pitchers uncomfortable in the strike zone. "The mindset of scaring pitchers out of the strike zone and we're just not doing that right now," Roberts noted. He also described the offensive struggles as a collective issue, stating, "I think this is more of a collective thing for me," rather than placing blame on any individual group of hitters.
Roberts also evaluated the starting pitcher's outing, acknowledging it was a difficult night on the mound. "The slider wasn't in zone. They were seeing him well. He wasn't efficient. It was a grind," he explained. Roberts also evaluated EMTT's performance as part of his pitching assessment. Despite the rough outing, Roberts confirmed the starter will remain in the rotation, saying, "He'll get a start this next one and we'll see where it takes us." Roberts also noted that he felt positive the starter was limited to two runs early in the game.
Roberts made a pitching change to Drier in an attempt to keep the Dodgers in the game. "For me, I just felt the best chance for us to try to stay in that game was to use Drier," he said. However, Roberts acknowledged that Drier got the first batter out but then walked a batter and allowed a two-out hit to a lefty, resulting in two runs. Roberts also credited the opposition, stating, "You got to give credit to the Orioles and how they pitched us, but we just didn't do a good job ourselves."
Roberts noted that the Dodgers managed to win one game in the series against the Orioles despite the offensive difficulties, and he acknowledged that the starting pitcher has long been central to how the team sets its tone. The Dodgers will look to the starter's next scheduled appearance as an opportunity to reverse the recent trend.