Long game was a wake-up call for managers

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts sat on the dais Saturday afternoon with a serene smile as he discussed the state of his team before Game 4 of the World Series.

He seemed so chipper a reporter commented, “You seem like you’re very awake right now. … Did you sleep much at all?” Roberts leaned forward. “I’m excited. It’s the World Series, Game 4,” he said. “I’m three coffees, three cups deep. I’m good.”

Boston manager Alex Cora lacked similar pep. He sat down, rubbed his eyes and had some trouble focusing on answering questions early in his news conference.

Granted, the makeshift interview room was noisy. A group of chatty people stood behind the curtain that served as the outer wall.

But Cora’s exhaustion was evident even after the group fell quiet. Asked about his usage of Andrew Benintendi in the lineup, he surprised even himself.

“He put up good at-bats against lefties early in spring training,” Cora said. After a beat, he continued, “I mean — golly. World Series.”

Kershaw goes again

Clayton Kershaw’s seesaw postseason career took another tumble in Game 1 of the World Series. He surrendered five runs and didn’t record an out beyond the fourth inning in the Dodgers’ 8-4 loss. After the game, he lamented his slider’s limited bite. A straight slider spells trouble for Kershaw, who pitches Game 5 Sunday. If it lacks depth, then it resembles his fastball too closely because the velocities are so similar. On Saturday, Kershaw said the pitch has been a focus.

“You can’t just assume it’s going to be there the next time,” Kershaw said. “Definitely working on it. Definitely trying to make it better. It happens from time to time in the regular season as well. I focused on it. My bullpen focused on it, playing catch. I hope it’s better tomorrow.”

Kershaw, 30, has either been dominant or lackluster in his four playoff starts this October. In his two wins, he has given up one run in 15 innings. In his two losses, he’s given up 10 runs (nine earned) in seven innings. The Dodgers need the good Kershaw to reappear in his 14th playoff start over the last three years.

“It is a challenge for sure,” Kershaw said. “I think anybody will say playing baseball every day is a difficult thing to begin with. In October you kind of get that rejuvenation of energy and adrenaline, because the games are so meaningful and impactful. And you kind of hope that adrenaline carries you through October. And I don’t think that’s changed for me. I think that’s still the same. The second a season ends, you start feeling the aches and pains a little bit more. But we’re all kind of running on adrenaline right now for sure.”

Late-night gamesmanship?

At 1:27 a.m. Saturday morning, almost an hour after Game 3 finally ended, the Dodgers announced a change to their Game 4 plans. Rich Hill wasn’t listed as their starting pitching anymore. They said the choice was TBD. It was a surprising late-night development — and seemingly trivial. Hill was the only Dodgers starting pitcher on regular rest. He was the only option to give them length.

And the Dodgers ultimately acknowledged their reality, announcing Hill would start Game 4 early in the afternoon. What was behind the brief suspense?

“We were just kind of just potentially toying with the idea of an opener, and just kind of wanted to leave it open-ended,” Roberts said. “And just after more conversation and thought, [we] just feel great about Rich starting and going through his normal routine.”

Roberts said the Dodgers had considered starting with a reliever for the first time this season.

“It was just something we were thinking about,” Roberts said. “We were just thinking about all scenarios, and what would give us the best chance today.”

Trump tweet

Reliever Dylan Floro stood by his locker in a corner of the Dodgers clubhouse Saturday night, confused at the question a reporter posed him.

Something about a tweet from President Trump about Game 4.

Floro had not seen the tweet, so the reporter held out his phone, and Floro scanned the screen silently.

“It is amazing how a manager takes out a pitcher who is loose & dominating through almost 7 innings…” Trump wrote, “and brings in nervous reliever[s] who get shellacked … Managers do it all the time, big mistake!”

After allowing one hit while striking out seven, Hill left after 61⁄3 innings with Xander Bogaerts on base. The Dodgers went through two more relievers in the inning as the Red Sox brought the Dodgers’ lead to one run with a three-run homer by Mitch Moreland.

Hill left the game after throwing 91 pitches.

Moments before the Trump question, Floro had expressed frustration at criticism for an exhausted bullpen — one that shut down the Red Sox for 11 innings the night before, giving the Dodgers a 3-2 win in the longest game in World Series history.

Other Dodgers asked about the tweet offered no reaction, but Floro’s composure cracked as he read.

“I wouldn’t say ‘nervous,’ ” Floro said. “I mean, they could go a totally different way.… They weren’t saying anything last night when we dominated for eight innings. So we had a rough night tonight, but we’re gonna come back tomorrow and be ready to go.”

When asked about the tweet, Cora simply said: “Dave Roberts is a good manager.”

Then he said David Price would start Game 5 instead of Chris Sale.

Roberts sat at the podium in front of reporters when he heard of Trump’s words. He smiled.

“The president said that?” Roberts said. “I’m happy he was tuning in and watching the game. I don’t know how many Dodger games he’s watched. I don’t think he was privy to the conversation. That’s one man’s opinion.”

Manfred won’t shorten games

On the day after the longest postseason game in major league history, Commissioner Rob Manfred said he had no intention of introducing any rule designed to shorten playoff games.

The Dodgers and Red Sox played for 18 innings, seven hours and 20 minutes in Game 3. The game ended at 12:30 a.m. in Los Angeles — and 3:30 a.m. in Boston.

It would be nearly impossible for a minor league game to last that long anymore. Under rules adopted for the minor leagues this season, any extra inning starts with a runner on second base.

“Even if you were going to think about a rule change like that, I don’t think you’d want to do it in the World Series,” Manfred said Saturday at Dodger Stadium. “There’s a long tradition of playing your games out in the World Series, and I think that’s a tradition we should respect.”