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NL DIVISION SERIES: DIAMONDBACKS VS DODGERS

October 5, 2017

Torey Lovullo

Los Angeles, California - Workout Day

Q. You got a starter for tomorrow?
TOREY LOVULLO: We do. We do. We're going to start Taijuan. It's something we've been thinking about pretty much the entire time. We just want to check a few extra boxes and make sure. We're excited about it. He's throwing the ball well against the Dodgers and he's going to be ready for the challenge.

Q. Is Robbie Ray available out of the bullpen or are you going to have him start Game 2?
TOREY LOVULLO: We haven't gotten that far yet. Everything that Robbie gave us yesterday told us that he feels good, and we want him to walk into the throwing program today and tomorrow and just see where he's at. So we haven't quite determined the Game 2 starter, but we're going to drill down to that as quickly as we possibly can. So we'll keep that as TBA right now.

Q. Safe to say though if Robbie's good, that's your top choice then?
TOREY LOVULLO: Yeah, I mean, it would be everybody's choice, right? If he's healthy, and strong, and ready. He's been an elite pitcher all year long, so we're certainly leaning in the direction of putting Robbie out there as quickly as possible. But we're going to make sure he's okay first.

Q. And that would set you up to have Zack go in the third game?
TOREY LOVULLO: Correct. Correct. I think that will keep Zack right on his fifth day. So we're looking for Zack, Game 3.

Q. Being from the area, Montclair Prep, coming back to play the Dodgers in the postseason, is it a little bit more special than the regular season?
TOREY LOVULLO: Certainly, certainly. I was born and raised right here. There is something special about Dodger Stadium to me, and it's a very unique story. Here I am managing the teams. Going to come in here for five games and battle them, and at a place that I grew upcoming to. I've seen All-Star Games. I've seen World Series here. So it's a circle of life. It's awkward at times, but I'm embracing it right now. I have a lot of support from my family, my friends, and I'm looking forward to getting this started.

It's a small world, kind of a crazy story in my head right now. I probably haven't slowed down enough to think about it. But I'm proud of my roots. I'm very proud of being a guy from Southern California.

Q. Have you decided which of your starters will be shifting to relief for this series?
TOREY LOVULLO: Shifting to relief? Not yet. We haven't walked through that. I know I've been talking to you guys about having that book two over there on the side of our desk. We haven't gotten to it yet, so we're going to sit down as a staff and a front office at some point tonight and finalize our roster and put guys in the right roles and right situation to help us be successful. So I'll have some information for you tomorrow on that. But what's clear to us is that you need four starters in a series like this and that fifth one will be very capable throwing out of the bullpen.

Q. Any idea how many starters you're going to carry or pitchers you're going to carry as post position players the first time around?
TOREY LOVULLO: Not quite yet. We're thinking of 11 and 14, and we're bouncing some thoughts back and forth. I think what this organization does is we do a really good job of sharing our thoughts, researching, and then having a strategy. So whatever it is, it's going to give us the best chance to move forward for the next five days?

Q. Just curious your thoughts on the reports and the insinuations that you guys were doing something not by the book with one of your coaches having the I phone watch and all that?
TOREY LOVULLO: Right. Right. Well, I can say is it was just an honest mistake. We asked, found out, and talked to Ariel, and that's what he told us. And in no way did it impact the game, and in no way is it going to impact the game tomorrow. It's just not something we do or believe in. We're trying to steer our direction and steer our ship to tomorrow's game.

So we're aware of what's going on and we're cooperating. We're doing exactly what MLB is asking us to do.

Q. Was there just a general message about the Division Series just a little while ago with the team?
TOREY LOVULLO: Yeah, I hesitate to talk about these things, but yes, I did have a few minutes with the team. Things happened so fast yesterday, I can't quite explain what that day is like from inside of our clubhouse and inside of me. I really didn't get a chance to do and say a few of the things that I wanted to last night. So I felt like it was a good opportunity for me to stand before them and set up my expectations. And I've asked a lot of these guys all year long. I made it very clear what my expectations were, and they've listened. I just wanted to make sure that I had a minute to walk over a few of the things that were important to me and make sure that we're ready to perform tomorrow, Game 1. We're going against a quality guy in Kershaw against a great team, and we've got to be our best.

Q. Jake is coming off a great game last night. Doesn't have any at-bats in his career against Clayton Kershaw, what are you leaning toward there, and what are the factors involved in a guy never having faced him before?
TOREY LOVULLO: Well, it's a tough decision. You're walking off a game where you get four hits and you're right in the middle of everything versus lefties and righties, it just didn't matter. One of our main performers and offensive catalysts all year long. So I've got to figure some things out. I haven't quite gotten to that decision yet. But it's at the top of my list. I want to make sure that I give us the best chance to win the game tomorrow and match up with Kershaw the best we possibly can.

There are two sides to the track that I'm working through right now. You know, it's going to be a tough decision. That's why I'm the manager, right? I've got to do things like that all the time. So I'll find a way to make sure I do the best I possibly can to make us win that moment tomorrow.

Q. Any injury updates? Did Peralta come through yesterday? It looked like he might have tweaked something around first base there?
TOREY LOVULLO: Yeah, everything was good. I think David plays hard, he goes hard, and things just kind of get a little wobbly every now and then, but he always comes out of it. He's a gamer.

Everybody's doing just fine. Once again, we haven't finalized our roster. We're going to make sure everybody's healthy today. We have extra players here. Ketel had a tremendous day yesterday. He was also on our injury list. There was one more. Sherfy, we had him up a couple times, hot, ready to come into the game. He felt good after the game. So everybody was trending toward being very healthy and ready to go. So we'll see how this workout goes today and kind of piece together where we can go from there.

Q. Chris Owings an option?
TOREY LOVULLO: We're leaving all doors open for CO. He was going to go and do some baseball activity today, and he's working his butt off to maximize the opportunities to be put on this roster. So that's something that we're going to talk about, it's also at the top of our list tonight when we get together as a group. We're going to figure out if he's an option for us. I can assure you if he's here and healthy and ready to play, that he'll pinch-run. That's the criteria that I'm following.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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