Shildt: ‘Zero’ chance Machado targeted Roberts
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
SAN DIEGO — Padres manager Mike Shildt vehemently came to Manny Machado‘s defense Tuesday, one day after Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called the third baseman’s throw toward his dugout “unsettling.”
When asked about Roberts’ comment, Shildt said he would never “disparage another player on another team, especially anybody I’ve managed in the past, nor will I do it to a collective team.”
The Padres manager then praised Machado’s “professionalism and leadership” in the team’s 10-2 win in Game 2 of the National League Division Series on Sunday, most notably the impromptu team meeting he led in the dugout after a seventh inning that saw Dodger Stadium fans hurl objects onto the field.
“He nor I nor anyone would profess to be perfect,” Shildt said, “but Manny has made some strides that are very impressive both on and off the field. It’s been a privilege to witness that. It’s representative of him being a Roberto Clemente Award winner, and I expect him to win it. I get the privilege of seeing him, along with our players, behind the scenes do some really special things for young people, our community.
“But people have their right, clearly, to share what they want and how they want to share it.”
Roberts declined to comment when read part of Shildt’s remarks before Game 3.
Major League Baseball reviewed footage of Machado’s throw toward the Dodgers’ dugout, which caromed to the netting in front of where Roberts usually sits, and will not hand out any discipline, a source told ESPN.
Asked if he had any reason to believe Machado was targeting Roberts with his throw, Shildt said, “Zero.”
“Manny has exceptional arm talent,” Shildt said, before noting how the Padres clinched a playoff spot at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 24. “I think he proved that on the triple play.”
Both teams expect emotions to be high in front of a charged crowd at Petco Park on Tuesday, and Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy emphasized the importance of keeping the focus internally.
“The Padres — as a team, as a stadium, as an atmosphere — thrive on that kind of emotion,” Muncy said. “If we play into that, we’re playing right into their hands. We’ve got to focus on ourselves.”
Knight’s Choice has won the 2024 Melbourne Cup, defeating Warp Speed and Okita Soushi in a thrilling finish at Flemington on Tuesday afternoon.
The massive outsider saluted for Irish-born jockey Robbie Dolan, who claimed victory in what was his first ever ride in the “race that stops a nation”.
In what was a gripping 164th staging of Australia’s most-watched thoroughbred race, Knight’s Choice proved too strong in a sprint to the finish, pulling over the top of Okita Soushi and holding off Warp Speed by the barest of margins.
Trained by John Symons and Sheila Laxon on the Sunshine Coast, Knight’s Choice was well down the betting across all markets. It was Laxon’s second Melbourne Cup triumph after she trained Ethereal to victory 23 years ago.
“This is the pinnacle of all pinnacles, this is the Melbourne Cup,” Symons said.
Zardozi rounded out the first four.
As the field approached the final few hundred metres it appeared as though Jamie Kah, aboard Okita Soushi, would become just the second woman to ride the winner in the Melbourne Cup. But Okita Soushi was swallowed up as the winning post neared, with Knight’s Choice beating Warp Speed to the line after a peach of a ride from Dolan.
“We’ll be singing tonight after a few beers,” Dolan, who was a contestant on the 2022 edition of “The Voice”, told Channel 9.
“It is amazing and a lot of people doubted this little horse. Doubt me now.”
Laxon was more than happy with the ride, with Dolan threading his way through the field from near last on the bend.
“He started the race, and he knew how to ride him. We didn’t give him instructions, he knew what to do,” she said.
“I love it being down for the Australians. The Australian horse has done it, and Robbie is Australian now as well, so I’m thrilled to win the Cup, and it is the people’s Cup, and that’s what it is all about.”
Knight’s Choice is just the sixth Australian-bred horse to win since 1993, and the first since Vow and Declare back in 2019.
The five-year-old gelding carried only 51kg to victory and was making its first start over the 3200m trip. It had most recently come off a fifth-placed finish in the Bendigo Cup, but had showed sparing little form this preparation otherwise.
“I watched every Melbourne Cup for the last 40 years. I thought my best chance was to get him to stay the trip and, hopefully, he can run home and do the quick sectionals he can on a good track and he proved everybody wrong,” Dolan said.
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