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NL DIVISION SERIES: NATIONALS VS DODGERS

October 7, 2019

Walker Buehler

Washington, D.C. - postgame 4

Nationals - 6, Dodgers - 1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You're certainly no stranger to clinch opportunities or big games on the big stage. While you guys would love to have closed it out tonight, what excites but pitching at home in a Game 5 situation?
WALKER BUEHLER: Well, I guess this will be kind of my third of those scenarios, so something I'm familiar with and getting to do it at home certainly helps and there's not a lot to it, we got to win a game and if we don't, we go home.

Q. Walker, do you embrace that, do you embrace the big stage, the big moment, everything on the line?
WALKER BUEHLER: Yeah, I mean I think in those kind of games I think it also helps to know that you got everyone else behind you, it's kind of all hands on deck and go as long as you can, as good as you can and try and get out of it as clean as you can. So we're excited. I think the thing that's kind of lost in playoff baseball is that it's really fun and I think the pressure and things like that, if you spin it in your head the right way it can make it more fun. So that's our plan.

Q. They say the more times a guy sees a pitcher the advantage goes to the hitter. Are you aware of that when you're facing this team a second time or do you just bring your best stuff rather than try to keep them off balance?
WALKER BUEHLER: This will be the fourth time I faced the them this year. Obviously being in the National League I threw against them guys twice and then about five days ago. So I think I pitched against the Rockies five or six times last year, there's always going to be familiarity, there's only 30 teams in this game. So it is what it is, I don't really know if there's any difference. If I look back at my outing I think there's about 10 or 12 pitches I wish I made better and I think there's about 10 or 12 things that they wish they would have made better. So I think it's more about who makes the better adjustment than, oh, we've seen him five days ago.

Q. I know you don't have to face him, you have to face their hitters, but just the intrigue of a Walker Buehler/Stephen Strasburg matchup for a game that decides who goes to the LCS?
WALKER BUEHLER: Yeah, hopefully I'm in the game long enough to face him. We hit in the National League. So, no, it's the playoffs, I don't think many guys or many teams are going to walk in there with guys that you haven't heard of and obviously he's had a great career and a great year, so it's our job to try and come out on tomorrow.

Q. Clayton is probably going to be available behind you in Game 5 and as you said basically everybody's available in a Game 5. Does that maybe allow you to sort of go max effort every pitch, almost treat it as if you're coming out of the bullpen or something like that?
WALKER BUEHLER: I don't know if that changes anything from the normal playoffs. I think for the majority I'm trying to throw every pitch about as hard as I can and within reason try to put it where I want it. So it doesn't change much for me, to be honest.

Q. Considering the caliber of pitching on both sides of this matchup, is there any surprise that this one is going to a Game 5?
WALKER BUEHLER: I don't think so. I think when you look at it obviously the other two teams left in the National League are pretty good, but I think you would say starting rotation-wise these are the two best, so I don't think it's super surprising.

Q. In an elimination game are you the kind of player, pitcher that feels pressure or not?
WALKER BUEHLER: I think that anybody's going to feel pressure, I think it's more about what you do with it and I think that's for you guys to write about and to judge, not for me to really say.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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