Dodgers OF Michael Conforto Sends Honest Message to Dave Roberts

Michael Conforto is finally starting to feel good at the plate.

The much-maligned Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder shared his appreciation for manager Dave Roberts after he had three hits in the first two games and drove in a pair of runs in LA’s 6-0 win over the San Diego Padres on Saturday night.

The Dodgers moved back into sole possession of first place in the NL West by winning the first two games. Behind Clayton Kershaw’s gem Friday, LA pulled even with the Padres with a 3-2 win.

What Did Michael Conforto Say About Dave Roberts?

Conforto has been a productive offensive player for both the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants over his 10-season MLB career. But in his first season in LA, he has been the only hitter in the Dodgers lineup who hasn’t yet found his groove this year.

Conforto is worst among Dodgers regulars in almost every offensive stat, including OPS (.663), bWAR (-0.6), home runs (9), RBIs (27), runs scored, (42) and total bases (108).

“It’s not for a lack of effort,” Conforto said Saturday. “You want to come through for the team, especially with how the year has gone for me.”

Yet, much to the chagrin of Dodgers fans, Conforto has been running out to left field just about every day, since he has played 107 of LA’s 123 games. Though Roberts has publicly showed his loyalty, Conforto shared how the veteran manager has challenged him.

“A lot of long conversations,” Conforto said. “The gist of it is he wanted to see more out of me, which is fair.

“I expect more out of myself, and we talk through a lot of things, but that’s the main thing.”

He finally began rewarding Roberts’ faith this weekend though, especially Saturday night. With the bases loaded and the Dodgers leading 1-0 with two outs in the first inning, Conforto delivered a huge single to right field that drove in Will Smith and Mookie Betts and ballooned LA’s advantage to 3-0.

“[Roberts] just wanted to see a bit more out of me,” Conforto said. “Today was great to come through in that spot and something I’ve been working through for a long time.”

That hit settled in starting pitcher Blake Snell, who had allowed three hits and got two outs on caught stealings. Snell allowed just four baserunners over his final five innings and picked up his third win of the year.

What Did Michael Conforto Say About Where He Is?

Conforto lauded Roberts for the challenge but also for being a sounding board through his struggles.

“Having those conversations, it’s nice to get his perspective and to get some things off of my chest,” Conforto said. “I think it definitely helped, and hopefully I can keep taking those steps to being that guy in those spots.”

He may be heating up, but he also knows it’s getting late in the year for him to salvage his offensive numbers this year. Conforto is way off his career .789 OPS and has almost no chance of reaching his 162-game average of 25 home runs.

So Conforto is instead now focused on doing whatever he can to help the Dodgers win the NL West.

“At this point in the season, it’s about winning games and putting ourselves in a good position going into October,” Conforto said. “All the numbers and the rest of the stuff, it is what it is at this point. We just got to go out there and do everything we can to win the games.”