Dave Roberts said on July 22, 2026, that Shohei Ohtani had no issues after his bullpen session and will throw another one on Saturday. "He's going to throw another bullpen on Saturday, but he came out of it," Roberts said during a press conference.
Roberts also addressed several performances from the recent stretch. He praised Eric Lau's professionalism in working through irregular rest, noting, "he understands that he gets to start every six days and this time it was probably 13 days." Lau faced Bryce Harper during that outing, according to Roberts' remarks.
On offense, Roberts credited Muny with a key two-run home run off Aaron Nola that put the team ahead for good, calling it a moment where "he comes up with a big two-run home run that puts you in the lead for good." Roberts also noted that a pitcher discussed in the session has won all eight games he has started in the 2026 season, a trend Roberts jokingly acknowledged by saying, "he's told me that when he starts we win." Roberts added that the pitcher has received 65 runs of support across those eight starts.
Roberts recounted joking with the pitcher about the win streak, initially miscounting it as six starts before being corrected to eight. He also said Tommy is playing the best version of himself, with much-improved at-bats against pitching, stating, "honestly, this is the best version we've seen of him." Tommy made a defensive play on a ball hit by Will Klein that Roberts singled out for praise. Roberts further noted that Dalton showed improved plate discipline during his recent stretch, explaining, "I just saw the downshift. I saw a controlled at-bat."
With Will Smith currently out, Roberts explained that a young catcher stepping in is learning on the job, adding that the recent struggles will help him in the long run: "he's learning on the run, learning on the job." Roberts also emphasized the team's approach of stacking wins and winning series even after dropping the opener, noting that this marked the team's 22nd series win of the 2026 season.