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NL DIVISION SERIES: DIAMONDBACKS VS DODGERS

October 7, 2017

Paul Goldschmidt

Los Angeles, California - pregame 2

Q. Just curious, you guys will be heading home Game 3. I know you talked a lot about the crowd for that Wild Card game. How big a factor was that for you guys and what are you guys looking for when you go back home?
PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT: It's fun to play in front of your home crowd, for sure. I don't know if it really has an effect on the game, but definitely being in your home stadium you're a little more comfortable there. You get to bat last, all the advantages that come with that. I mean, the crowd's going to be fun anywhere. Last night they were obviously against us, but it was still fun to play in that atmosphere. That's a little bit different than the regular season.

Q. You were kind of thrust into a postseason run your first year with the Diamondbacks and had five years in between that. Are you able to maybe appreciate this a little more this time around, just having to wait the five years in between?
PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT: Yeah, I mean, I remember the first year. You don't know any better. It's just the first two months in the Big Leagues and all of a sudden you're in the playoffs. But I remember a lot of our veteran guys who had been in the big leagues eight, ten years and they were like, hey, realize how rare this is, how special this is, try to take it in. I did my best, but you can't really appreciate it until you've gone through the ups and downs like the last five, six years have been. So definitely like when we clinched and made the playoffs, just giving a lot of guys hugs that have been through and been through it. Because it is tough. You go out there and play hard every year, it's a long year, and then to come up short of your goal. There's only one team that's going to accomplish their goal. But, yeah, definitely, even before the Wild Card game and these games, it's like, hey, this is pretty cool, let's just enjoy it. Not in a pressure way, but, hey, this is fun.

Q. Robbie will make his sixth start against the Dodgers today, and he's had 50 strikeouts in those games. What's it been like for you watching him work especially against this Dodger team?
PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT: Yeah, he's been good for us all year. Hopefully he can do it again for us. We need it, you know. They've got good pitchers too. They've got Rich Hill going again tonight. He's pitched against us a few times and done well. He's a great pitcher. That's kind of the weird thing about this is just us playing the Rockies and now the Dodgers there is so much familiarity. I don't know if it's really an advantage for either team, but this is definitely there are not as many guesses about how a guy's going to pitch you or what the other team's going to do. But I'm sure Robbie will be ready to go. But I know Rich Hill and their entire team will too.

Q. The one-game-at-a-time approach is always the mentality, but the bigger picture idea of getting a split away from Chase Field, can you talk about how important that would be?
PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT: Yeah, I mean, it's our best case scenario here right now since we lost Game 1. Was trying to get the win tonight. It's really where all the focus is, and you can start worrying about other games after that. It would be better to be 1-1 than 0-2. But regardless what happens, you just come out that next game and try to win.

Q. This season there is a new mix of guys, obviously a new manager. Just wondering from your perspective, have you taken on a different type of leadership role? What's that been like for you?
PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT: Every year is a little different. I think the more experience, the more you've been around, you can be a little bit more of a leader. But I also think the veteran guys brought in this year made it, so I didn't really have to do much of that. We have Mathis, Iannetta, Descalso, Rodney, I'm sure I'm forgetting others, Blanco. So all those guys. Whereas the last couple years we've had one of the youngest teams in baseball. Now bringing in those veteran guys, I think that was more of a change of leadership than anything I did.

I look to those guys every day, and they've helped me out a ton. I know they've been doing that for our entire team. The guys that came back from years before, too, they've gained more experience last year and the years before that. So I think that was definitely helpful. But those guys definitely set the tone for us early on. Then as we started playing well and now having the chance to make the playoffs at the end of the year and now being in it, those guys have a lot more experience in the playoffs. So we've been able to rely on them and talked about it, and they've helped a lot of guys out.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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