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

Eric Cole
Eric Cole

Friars On Base

Division Series - San Diego Padres v Los Angeles Dodgers - Game 2 / Orlando Ramirez/GettyImages

By now, virtually every San Diego Padres fan with a pulse is fully aware of the drama from Game 2 of the NLDS against the Dodgers. Jurickson Profar got into it fans before trolling the hell of them, 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 adamant they were not in the wrong. Roberts maintains that he thinks Machado intentionally threw the ball at the Dodgers' dugout and even insinuated that the umpires should have done something about it. Machado is moving on and is steadfast that he was doing no such thing, and that the Dodgers were wrong for hitting Fernando Tatis Jr. It is a bit of a mess and has only heightened the drama of this showdown between rivals.

Padres manager Mike Shildt was asked before Game 3 about his take on the whole situation. Not only did he give a lengthy defense of Machado as a player and a person, he also managed to slip in a not-so-subtle dig at the Dodgers in the process.

Mike Shildt takes hilarious dig at Dodgers while defending Padres, Manny Machado from criticism

Just to be clear, this was always going to be the type of response that Shildt was going to make. He will go to war for his guys and wants them to play with a little bit of an edge. It was that edge that ultimately allowed the Padres to win Game 2 in an exceptionally hostile environment in LA. Right or wrong, Shildt wasn't ever going to throw Machado under the bus nor was he going to try and escalate the feud ... too much.

Again, most of Shildt's comments took issue with how Roberts was framing the situation against his team while also propping up Machado as a leader and heartbeat of this Padres team. However, he clearly couldn't help himself after a pause to comment 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 furious if the roles were reversed? Absolutely, and it is likely his response would have been stronger than Roberts' was. Is there genuine bad blood between these two teams with grievances on both sides? You bet there is. This is rivalry baseball at it's highest point.

One hopes it doesn't devolve like it did in Game 2 when fans took matters in their own hands, but you better believe this Padres-Dodgers matchup is going to leave one team furious that their bitter rival is moving on, and that could make for some great baseball.

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Eric Cole

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.