Dodgers’ Roberts apologizes to Ray for incident

LOS ANGELES – A day after tempers flared in a postgame fracas, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts reached out to apologize to Diamondbacks lefty Robbie Ray for yelling at him after the Diamondbacks’ 3-2 win at Dodger Stadium.

The incident began when Diamondbacks reliever Archie Bradley barked at the Dodgers’ A.J. Pollock for taking his time getting off the field after being called out on a replay review. Bradley’s actions prompted players in the Dodgers’ dugout to begin screaming, something Bradley said they were doing up until the final out of the game.

After striking out Will Smith to end the game, Bradley stared, yelled and gestured at the Dodgers’ dugout, prompting both benches to empty. No punches were thrown, but at one point Roberts appeared to be screaming and gesturing in Ray’s direction.

Ray said he heard from Pollock, who relayed that Roberts wanted to talk. Roberts said that because was wearing a black pullover and shorts – he exited the game hours earlier – he confused Ray with a team staffer who had made his way onto the field.

“Dave wanted to apologize; he sincerely didn’t know it was me he was yelling at,” said Ray, adding that he appreciated the gesture. “I get it. In the heat of the moment, you’ve got 25 guys on each team with a Type A personality not really to take anything from anybody. We’re all competitors.”

As for Bradley, he said he wouldn’t change anything about the way he acted, but he said he had no hard feelings toward Pollock, his former teammate, or anyone else on the Dodgers.

“That’s one thing I would say that you could tell all those guys: Nothing is personal,” Bradley said. “They were cussing at me, throwing s--t back. I mean, it’s the game. That’s what makes this so great. Yeah, there are a million games ahead of us. Who cares?”

Rare sight

Shortstop Nick Ahmed was out of the Diamondbacks’ lineup for the first time since June 10, snapping a streak of 49 consecutive games.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo gave his usual reasons – wanting to keep his player as fresh as possible for the remainder of the season – but admitted that Ahmed has become increasingly difficult to leave on the bench.

Ahmed remains one of the better, if not the best, defensive shortstops in the majors. His 19 defensive runs saved are the most for a shortstop and are the second-most for any defender regardless of position, one behind Padres catcher Austin Hedges.

He’s also continued to improve as a hitter. He hasn’t turned himself into an impact bat, but his .265/.327/.423 line is closer to the league average than he’s been in his career.

“We all know about how good he is defensively,” Lovullo said.