Yasiel Puig's failed stolen base attempt in Game 2 of the National League Division Series on Friday received some attention after he hugged and kissed former teammate Charlie Culberson, but the play also got under the skin of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
Roberts is still annoyed with his eccentric outfielder for running on his own and getting caught during a delayed steal while Cody Bellinger had a favorable count at the plate.
"Yasiel is just one of those guys that's so emotional, and he has a hard time at times letting the game come to him. He tries to, at times, impose his will on the game, and it gets him into trouble," Roberts said on Saturday, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. "But other times he comes out on the other side.
"But in that situation, where you've got Cody in a good spot against a pitcher and stressing him a little bit and to run into ... we've talked about that, especially in this situation, you don't want to give outs away, and essentially he gave an out away, and it kind of flipped Cody's at-bat, his mentality during that at-bat. So we talked about it, yeah."
Puig's mistake could be costly. Roberts is considering different lineup combinations ahead of Sunday's Game 3 in Atlanta, and Puig might not be in any of them, Gurnick notes.
With the Braves also announcing left-hander Sean Newcomb will start instead of Kevin Gausman, Puig's .628 OPS against southpaws won't help him get into the lineup either.
