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NL DIVISION SERIES: NATIONALS VS DODGERS

October 3, 2019

Dave Roberts

Los Angeles, California - pregame 1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How did you come about the 25 men that you chose for that roster, particularly May over Gonsolin and leaving Ferguson off as well.
DAVE ROBERTS: Those are tougher decisions. I think with Ferguson having Rich available starting Game 4, having two other left-handers was kind of the driving force behind that one. Gone is a Lynn, again, he's a guy that gets lefties and righties out. He's been built up for a couple, two, three innings. But to have May, who has really been lights out throwing the baseball, really dominant. And I think that just the stuff against certain hitters in their lineup, I think match up better. And with Ross Stripling being on the roster, to have Tony is a little bit redundant.

Q. As you go into postseason play what is your biggest concern about your team right now? Because you had things wrapped up for awhile.
DAVE ROBERTS: I really don't -- obviously you don't know until you play the games how you're going to play. I think all you can kind of manage is the preparation, the mindset, which we're in a good place on both fronts. You just got to go out there and play. So I'm not worried about the pitching, the at-bats that we're going to take, the quality. I know we're prepared. Those guys are still going to try to get outs and get hits off our guys. As far as catching the baseball I think we have done that well after a little slump in the middle of the season. So I think that we're in a good spot in health. JT, I'm assured that he's in a good place. Richie is going to throw bullpen here, so we're good there. So I think that on the health side, so we're pretty excited.

Q. When did you or I guess when did you come to the decision to start Clayton in Game 2 and Ryu Game 3?
DAVE ROBERTS: It was a few days ago and it was more under the, just appreciating what Clayton has done out of the pen, and you're talking about Game 5. And so, where you could potentially put all three of those guys in the hat and roll out your 1, 2 and 3 starters. But now when you dig a little bit deeper and understanding that Clayton has done it, he's done well, you've got to prepare for a Game 5 if it does happen, so what best prepares you for that? And that's Clayton pitching Game 2 and walker having the opportunity to pitch twice in this series. We just felt very good in that sense.

Q. You guys obviously have a couple very young players on your roster, 22, 23. Why do you think there's such a willingness to trust such young guys around baseball in those spots and how does that compare maybe to when you were playing, how managers viewed 21, 22-year-old players.
DAVE ROBERTS: When I was playing there weren't too many of those. I think that nowadays -- and I think that you can look back on even the last eight, ten years of postseason, there's been a lot of young players that have come up and performed really well. You look back at our three years, Seager was one of those young players, Bellinger was one of those young place, Urias, one of those young players. And now you're kind of supplementing those guys with some other guys, some young, new faces in May and Smith and Gavin Lux. So I think that still the sum, the majority of the guys have a lots of experience, albeit some of these guys are still young. We just believe in those guys and I think that just the industry around baseball, you saw it last night, you get young guys coming out and making an impact and it just, you just know your players and you just believe in the talent, the stuff. And the guys that we have on our roster are very talented.

Q. If Rich is throwing a bullpen today do you still plan on having him available out of the bullpen today or tomorrow?
DAVE ROBERTS: Today, no. We're going to get Rich in there and we, there was talk JP, but obviously him throwing a bullpen today, won't be available tonight. And it's going to be a smaller session, so tomorrow possibly, but, yeah, tonight, no.

Q. What did those four rookies in particular do to prove that they were ready for this moment as far as Smith and Lux and Beatty and May?
DAVE ROBERTS: I think that starting with Beatty, I think that his ability, we started him, he's got a lot of big hits for us coming off the bench. I think he's taken a lot of good at-bats. His ability to conduct a quality at-bat when you're talking about velocity, stuff in the postseason I think that that's a good bet. As far as Gavin, didn't know a whole lot about him. Obviously, he was our minor league Player of the Year, had a tremendous season, and for me just seeing the way he moves, he's in tune in the box, defensively, he really can catch the baseball. So that's something that really excited me, because you can trust the defense. He played a lot of short stop. But the way he can turn a double play and make plays, the ball goes in his glove. And then the at-bat quality. I think, yeah, the numbers might not be over the top, but I think that when you look at him in the batters box he does a good job at swinging at strikes and taking balls. So that's something with Gavin. With Will, I just liked, I like the guy a lot. I like the head, I like the compete, the acumen, the baseball acumen. And he's tough. I joke a lot, the baby face, don't let that fool you because this guy is as tough as they come. He's a college kid, he's groomed, he's intelligent. So I think that -- so that's an easy one. I think that him and Russell are going to be really, work really well together. And the pitchers are really understanding, trusting Will and so that's been really good to see that growth. With Dustin it's, I know that Boonie used the term savage, but he's a savage, man. He's 6'5", 6'6" and there's elbows and it's a big leg kick and it's 97 coming at you downhill with a cutter in there and there's a big head of hair that you're kind of trying to find the release point, so I just like him and he's very confident.

Q. Following up on those questions about the young guys, how much has the clubhouse environment helped and the fact that you've got veterans that basically embrace these guys and there isn't any having to earn your way and all that. They have embraced them right away.
DAVE ROBERTS: It's a credit to the coaches and the players. I guess it's the whole mindset, if you can't beat them, join them. That's where David Freese and Clayton and Kenley and JT, because there's so many young players around, so you got to kind of conform, and you got to understand the way they think and what makes them tick and that is for me as well. So the young players aren't going away. They're very talented, in my opinion, more talent than we have ever seen in baseball. And so now the question is is how do you get the most out of these players on your particular ball club. And our guys have done a great job of that.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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