Dave Roberts wasn\'t happy when Manny Machado threw a baseball towards the Los Angeles Dodgers\' dugout on Sunday night.
Machado\'s throw triggered another heated back-and-forth between him and Los Angeles pitcher Jack Flaherty.
\"It was unsettling,\" Roberts said. \"Obviously I have a relationship with Manny from years past. There was intent behind it. It didn\'t almost hit me because there was a net. And that was very bothersome. If it was intended at me, I would be very -- it\'s pretty disrespectful. So, I don\'t know his intent. I don\'t want to speak for him. But I did see the video. And the ball was directed at me with something behind it. But I don\'t know what led to that.\"
Major League Baseball has been in touch with the Dodgers\' security staff and asked for footage of the incident, according to sources, though any punishment seems unlikely.
After Sunday\'s Game 2 -- a 10-2 win by the Padres that evened the NLDS at a game apiece -- Machado accused Flaherty of hitting Fernando Tatis Jr. on purpose to begin the sixth inning, an accusation the pitcher vehemently denied. Two batters later, Flaherty struck out Machado and afterward yelled in his direction, telling him to \"sit the f--- down.\"
Machado did not seem bothered by Flaherty\'s reaction, instead chalking it up to \"competition.\" But the two exchanged words when Machado came back onto the field for defense in the bottom of the sixth, seemingly challenging each other to a postgame fight. Flaherty later revealed he was angry that Machado threw a baseball into the Dodgers\' dugout.
Machado initially dismissed the accusation, saying he constantly tosses baseballs into dugouts after warmups conclude. But people on the Dodgers who either saw the throw or watched a video feed of it say it was thrown firmly, bouncing before hitting the netting that resides directly in front of where Roberts sits during games, on the home-plate end of the dugout.
He downplayed the throw but also seemed to hint at his intentions when asked if it\'s normal for him to throw unneeded baseballs into the dugout of an opposing team.
\"Both dugouts,\" Machado said. \"They have foul balls, you throw the ball back in there. I mean, when you try to hit our best hitter. Right? Get him out. If you can\'t get him out, don\'t hit him. Right? They have the best player in the game, right? [Shohei] Ohtani? We don\'t go out there and try to hit Ohtani. We try to get him out. Don\'t go out there and try to hit my guy.\"