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Roberts says there are no excuses, expects to beat Astros with Gurriel in lineup

Jake Roth / USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is ready to move on from the Yuli Gurriel situation, and with the Houston Astros first baseman avoiding any immediate discipline from the league, Roberts anticipates his club evening the series.

"I expect to beat them with him (Gurriel) in the lineup. I don’t want any asterisk with him not being in there," Roberts told Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times.

In Friday's game, Gurriel was seen making an insensitive gesture in the dugout after hitting a home run off Dodgers starter Yu Darvish. After the fact, Gurriel apologized, adding that he didn't mean to offend anyone, while Darvish took to Twitter, saying he wanted everyone to stay positive and move on.

On Saturday, Gurriel was handed a five-game suspension that he must serve at the start of the 2018 season.

"I'm happy that the commissioner of Major League Baseball dealt with it very swiftly. I think that it gives us all some closure in the sense that it was something that happened," Roberts told reporters before Game 4. "The way that it was dealt with I support. The way that Yu responded, I think on camera, through social media, I completely commend him, support him, echo his thoughts that we need to learn from this. It's obviously not acceptable."

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