Padres’ Mike Shildt throws shade at Dodgers in response to Machado Roberts drama

By now, virtually every heartfelt San Diego Padres fan is fully aware of the drama from Game 2 of the NLDS against the Dodgers. Jurickson Profar thrilled fans before trolling them to hell, Dodgers fans showed their true character when they started throwing things on the field, and of course we have the controversy between Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Manny Machado.

Both sides remain convinced that they were not in the wrong. Roberts claims he believes Machado intentionally threw the ball into the Dodgers’ dugout and even suggested that the umpires should have done something about it. Machado moves on, adamant that he did nothing of the sort and that the Dodgers were wrong to strike Fernando Tatis Jr.

Padres manager Mike Shildt was asked before Game 3 for his assessment of the entire situation. Not only did he extensively defend Machado as a player and person, he also managed to take a not-so-subtle dig at the Dodgers.

Mike Shildt hilariously attacks the Dodgers while defending Padres and Manny Machado from criticism

To be clear, this was always the type of answer Shildt would give. He will go to war for his boys and wants them to play with a little edge. It was this advantage that ultimately allowed the Padres to win Game 2 in an exceptionally hostile environment in LA. Right or wrong, Shildt would never accuse Machado, nor would he try to escalate the feud…too much.

Again, the most In Shildt’s comments, he questioned how Roberts presented the situation against his team while also highlighting Machado as the leader and heartbeat of this Padres team. However, after a break, he clearly couldn’t resist commenting on Machado’s arm talent while referencing the triple play against the Dodgers that punched San Diego’s ticket to the 2024 postseason.

Would Shildt have been angry if the roles were reversed? Absolutely, and it’s likely that his reaction would have been stronger than Roberts’. Is there really bad blood between these two teams and grievances on both sides? You can bet on it. This is rivalry baseball at the highest level.

One can only hope things don’t go the way they did in Game 2, when fans took matters into their own hands, but you can expect this matchup between the Padres and Dodgers to infuriate one team because of their bitterness Rival moves on, and that could lead to success for great baseball.

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