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NL DIVISION SERIES: CUBS VS NATIONALS

October 12, 2017

Matt Wieters

Washington D.C. - pregame 5

Q. What did Hendricks do to you guys in Game 1 that you can sort of plan for in this game, if anything?
MATT WIETERS: Well, he does a good job of getting you in between. I think we'll probably need to do a better job of being able to be aggressive on a pitch we're looking for and not kind of worry about trying to hit both his fastball and a changeup, because he plays them both off each other well.

So being committed is huge against him, and hopefully we can learn from the first game and take a step forward.

Q. What's the most important thing for Gio? When is he at his best?
MATT WIETERS: So going out and pitching his game. I think when he can move his fastball around in and out, it's huge for him. You know, off-speed, any time, has really been Gio's strength this year; so to be able to get ahead with it and put guys away with it helps him. But his fastball command is always going to be huge for him.

Q. When you see a pitcher for the second time, or they are seeing you, as well, who has the advantage?
MATT WIETERS: Whoever makes the better pitches or gets the better pitches to hit. You can face a guy a hundred times; if you're swinging at bad pitches to hit, it's going to be tough to get a hit off him. So being able to get a good pitch to hit is huge, no matter whether it's your first time seeing a guy or whether you've seen him a hundred times.

Q. Normally as a catcher, you're working with your starting pitcher for the night coming up with a game plan; when you have a all-hands-on-deck-type situation, do you prepare with other guys who might be pitching that aren't typically relievers?
MATT WIETERS: Yeah, I've done that, really, from the beginning of the series. Because once you get in a playoff series, you never know what situation a guy might be in against what kind of hitter. So you kind of prepare and the best kind of info is when you have actual at-bats where guys have faced guys.

I've tried to watch as many at-bats as possible of our guys against their guys. And from there, you kind of go with the report and what you see back behind the plate.

Q. Building off that a little bit, it's not often you face a team five times in succession like this in such a tight period of time. When you have faced their hitters so many times from a defensive perspective, do you feel like you have a good understanding of what you want to accomplish against each guy?
MATT WIETERS: I think it can help. I think it can help kind of building on what I've seen the last few games when I've played them. At the same time, you can't get to where you're complacent with thinking you know what they are going to do, because you've got to be able to adjust at any time when a hitter on the other side is going to be able to adjust at any time.

It's nice to have that info, but you still can't rely on it. You have to trust your eyes when you're behind the plate.

Q. From a catcher's perspective, I know a lot of fans take a look at a guy like Trea Turner, and say, he's fast; he causes havoc. From a catcher's point of view to prepare for a guy like that, what specifically does it take and how much attention does it really require to to be able to prepare for a guy who can do what he can?
MATT WIETERS: Well, you try and keep him off base. I know from playing against Trea in the past, the biggest thing you can do is keep him off the base because once he's on, it's going to take a lot of perfect going on to be able to throw him out. He's a catalyst for our offense, so if we can get him on tonight.

And then not only does it make it hard for the catcher to call the game he wants to, because he's got to be able to call a pitch he can throw on, but it also makes it hard for the pitcher to be able to focus on making the right pitch.

Q. Having been through American League playoff series and National League playoff series now, does it feel different at all to you between the two leagues?
MATT WIETERS: Well, I think you've kind of got to figure out what pinch-hitter might be coming up a little bit more in the National League than in the American League. But even then, you know, regular season, National League is a little different than Postseason National League because there can be such a quick hook on pitchers when their spot is coming on, so you can't work the lineup as you would during the regular season.

But at the same time, even in the American League series I've played in the past, you've got pinch-hit for hitters there that you've got to be ready for. So I think you really have to be prepared for anything, and the regular season is a little bit different, I think, National League than the Postseason in the National League.

Q. When you guys got here today, were you still riding high off yesterday what Stephen did in in that game, like a total reset? What's the vibe coming back here?
MATT WIETERS: Yesterday's over. We've got to win today. Yesterday doesn't mean anything. We're focused for today's game and we're pretty much putting all of our effort and energy and focus into today. We'll see where that gets us.

Q. For those of us who have not been around Gio all year, what do you like about his makeup, especially going into a game like this, and why would you guys feel confident with him on the mound tonight?
MATT WIETERS: He's a lefty with three pitches who has three really good pitches, and is confident throwing any time, any place.

So that makes it easy for a catcher to be able to go through and call a game. And he's never been a guy -- he doesn't really question pitch selection. He knows if he makes a pitch in the right spot that he wants to make it, he's going to have success more times than not.

Q. Do you think it's an advantage to hitters to have seen a pitcher like Kyle Hendricks or anybody control-wise with his stuff twice that week?
MATT WIETERS: Like I said, it still goes back to getting a good pitch to hit whether you've seen him or not recently.

But like I said, short-term memory is probably a big attribute to a baseball player, so the quicker you kind of get them together, it actually may have more on our memory than if you haven't faced him in a couple months.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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