Dodgers' Roberts: 2020 team is best suited to win World Series
Dave Roberts has managed his fair share of impressive Los Angeles Dodgers teams since becoming skipper in 2016, but Roberts believes the 2020 edition is the one most capable of winning a World Series.
"It is," he said of this year's Dodgers after sweeping the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
"We've had a lot of talent here over the years I've been here. But we're controlling the strike zone, and in the past few years, we haven't done that very well. It's a credit to the hitting guys and players for understanding that. It's a buy-in about team baseball. Everybody wants to be the hero, but taking what the pitcher gives you, when we're at our best, we do that."
When asked for his reasoning behind the claim during an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Friday, the 48-year-old mentioned the acquisition of Mookie Betts, a deep lineup capable of handling both left- and right-handed pitching, and additional starting pitching depth as his rationale.
Roberts' declaration comes as no surprise. Los Angeles posted MLB's top record during the regular season and hasn't lost a game in the postseason thus far.
The Dodgers have also outscored their playoff opponents by 19 runs after recording a league-leading 349 runs during the 60-game campaign. Additionally, L.A.'s pitching staff owns a combined 2.00 ERA in 45 postseason innings, including a 0.96 WHIP and 59 strikeouts.
Roberts also believes this year's club is capable of winning a tough seven-game series, both in the upcoming NLCS against the Atlanta Braves and a potential World Series should the team make it that far. The Dodgers have lost in the Fall Classic twice since 2017.
"When you're talking about playing seven games in a row ... I just like our guys," Roberts said.