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NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: DODGERS VS BREWERS

October 17, 2018

Craig Counsell

Los Angeles, California - postgame 5

Los Angeles - 5, Milwaukee - 2

Q. Was the plan all along to give Miley just the one bat and switch off to Woody and then come back with Miley in Game 6?
CRAIG COUNSELL: Yeah, that's what we were going to do all along. Wade is going to pitch Game 6. If we went down 3-1 we were considering having Wade pitch this game. But other than that, this is kind of what we decided we were going to do.

Q. Does it feel like you guys are heading back to Milwaukee having missed a pretty good opportunity here?
CRAIG COUNSELL: You know, I wouldn't say that. Look, we were unable to score enough runs, really, I think that was the bottom line of the three games here. We gave ourselves a chance through obviously 12 innings yesterday and 6 innings today to try to put ourselves in a good spot, and they've done a good job of holding us down offensively.

We pitched really well. Woody pitched -- we got everything from Woody that we could have asked for. He was outstanding. He was really, really good. We gave up some runs late but obviously we've got to do a little better job offensively.

Q. How would you describe Kershaw's evolution from Game 1 to Game 5? What were the biggest differences that you saw?
CRAIG COUNSELL: Yeah, it's just a classic case of he executed a lot of pitches today. He didn't execute in Milwaukee and he executed today. I don't think it was a vastly different game plan; it's simple execution.

Q. Why the subterfuge? Why not just put Woodruff out to pitch the game and prepare Miley for Game 6?
CRAIG COUNSELL: I don't know what "subterfuge" means. (Laughter.)

Q. Sleight of hand.
CRAIG COUNSELL: Look, they're trying to get matchups, we're trying to get matchups. They're a very tough team to get matchups against. And we weren't able to give Woody some matchups.

Q. Having Woodruff go a third time through, that has not happened that often with your team, especially lately. Can you explain sort of the thinking there? Was it a reflection of what you had in the pen today or a reflection of how he was throwing or both?
CRAIG COUNSELL: Yes, I would say both. I don't think through the first five innings that you could see anybody throw the ball better. It was five innings, it was as good as we've thrown the ball for five innings. So I felt good about him going out there. I thought he threw the ball well in the sixth inning. He gave up one hard hit ball in facing 23 hitters, I think. I think you'll take that from a guy going through a lineup every single time you go out there.

Q. You mentioned with Woodruff getting all you could out of him. It seemed like it set you guys up pretty good with the plan. You've got guys with a couple days in a row rest, how does that set you up?
CRAIG COUNSELL: Look, we're going back home, to me, in a position of strength. And that's part of it. We're sitting in a very good spot, to me, going home for Game 6. And we have a great opportunity.

We've got Wade and Jhoulys lined up to begin the games. And I guess Jhoulys could be involved in Game 6 if we need him. But we've got two starters lined up and we've got a bullpen that's going to get a day off and some of our key guys are going to get multiple days off and be ready to go in a two-game stretch where we can use them.

We're in a good spot, man. We're going home. And I know you're going to play what-if if we could have captured another one of these games, but we're still going home and have a chance with this thing with a bunch of guys in really good shape.

Q. (INAUDIBLE)?
CRAIG COUNSELL: Yeah, that was our general thinking, yeah.

Q. What have you seen aside from results in Yelich's at-bats? And did it feel like that was a critical at-bat there with Barnes?
CRAIG COUNSELL: Yeah, I mean I thought that was probably the at-bat of the game. And he made some great pitches to Hernandez and gets a strikeout. And it feels like there's a path to get through the inning there. And really, for Barnes, he was just rewarded with contact.

I think once they tied the game, Kershaw was going to hit, we would have had a strikeout or infield ground-out. We brought the infield in and tried to be aggressive there. So I would agree that that was the at-bat of the game. And I think that certainly we get to their bullpen and they've got to do some work in the bullpen. So that changed things, for sure.

Q. (INAUDIBLE)?
CRAIG COUNSELL: Yes, he's just not on it right now. I'm glad we've got a day off. I'm glad we're going back home. He's just not on it right now.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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