NL DIVISION SERIES: GIANTS VS DODGERS

October 8, 2021

Dave Roberts

Oracle Park

Los Angeles Dodgers

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. Just first, how are you and how is the team feeling today heading into Game 1?

DAVE ROBERTS: We feel good. I think we're just ready to get going. Good off-day. Players were over and staff kind of met pre-Series meetings and now it's just kind of getting ready to play a ball game.

Q. I know you always say that momentum starts with the starter, so today Walker Buehler. But how can you see the carryover from the Wild Card, the energy from that game, and just the success you guys had to end the regular season really carry over into this series?

DAVE ROBERTS: Well, I think for us in particular we've been playing good baseball for quite some time. Walker coming off of a real big win, I think is great for our Club, the psyche of it.

Playing now, coming and playing a team that's been playing really well also obviously all year, the familiarity with Walker and these guys, he's seen these guys more than any team. So kind of all of the, they know each other, and so good or bad, and it's just about execution on both sides of it.

So I feel good with Walker making adjustments that he needs to make, whether it be to start the game or in-game, and we have seen Webb and I feel good about our game plan coming in.

Q. As far as the roster, what went into going with Price over Bruihl and what role do you see Price kind of having in this Series?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think with David, I think the, certainly the experience, the ability to add some length, a neutral arm.

I think with Justin, certainly has done some really good things for us in a small sample. I think the, kind of where we feel him going up-and-down, back-to-back right now we're just not a hundred percent comfortable with, I think. So that's one part of it.

Was there any other question that you asked?

Q. What role do you see out of David?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think with David it's more of, obviously we have a lot of leverage arms that are neutral. I think he's neutral. So just find lanes that make sense, leverage that makes sense, and we'll deploy him.

Q. Walker stepped up for you many times in the postseason, even when he doesn't have his best stuff. What makes him so unique to be able to handle these moments in these type of games?

DAVE ROBERTS: Number one, I think that he just embraces the moment, these games. That's the biggest thing.

I think that number two, he's performed well in these games, so that adds to kind of the confidence in a situation like this and beyond.

Lastly, it's just the talent. He has very good command and he has the ability to attack a lot of weaknesses for hitters.

Q. Walker, last time he pitched here didn't have a great outing. What do you feel he needs to do to not repeat that performance here tonight in Game 1?

DAVE ROBERTS: Well, the last question I said, I answered by saying he has really good command. In that particular start, he did not have good command with his, with any of his pitch mix. So they came out very aggressive and they took advantage of mistakes. So our expectation is he makes better pitches tonight.

Q. What kind of hostility are you expecting in the ballpark tonight? Have you already felt it and how will the fans affect the series? The fans are the ones who fuel this rivalry.

DAVE ROBERTS: I've been here since noon, so I haven't felt it yet. They were easy on our buses coming in at noon. I don't know about hostility. I do know it's going to be very loud. There's going to be a lot of black and orange. It's going to be loud. And these guys are traditionally, I think this year they played well home and on the road. But you've got to just kind of weather the kind of the momentum. They feed off their crowd, as do we at home. So it's really helpful and nice to know that we have guys that have been in this environment, though.

Q. Given that the Giants have been a little less successful against left-handers, would you consider Price as an opener in Game 4?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think anything should be on the table. So for us to continue to see where we're at in this Series come Game 4, whether how the Series is at, the shape of our pen, all that kind of stuff certainly has to play into the decision-making.

But, yeah, they have certainly been much better against right-handed pitching.

Q. Brandon Crawford has always been a constant here for a little while now. But just was wondering what stand out to you maybe about the season that he put together this year sort of at this point in his career?

DAVE ROBERTS: A lot of things. He's having, and I don't know the back of his baseball card, but I think he's probably having one of his best seasons all around of his entire career.

I think that I've always appreciated him being one of the top two or three shortstops defensively, but I think that the last couple years it might have been a little bit not as elite as it has been throughout his career. So I think that's been an uptick.

In the batter's box there's been years where he hasn't been good against lefties, and other years he's been better against lefties than righties. This year he sort of put it all together. Am I biased that he's a Bruin? Yes. Does that even out that he's a Giant? Yes. So I'm kind of at a net neutral right now with Brandon.

But, no, as a baseball fan, this guy is a heck of a ball player. He's made adjustments mechanically, approach, I've seen this year. Things that he hasn't really covered that he's adjusted. So, yeah, I mean, if he hadn't had the year that he had in the clubhouse, on the field, it's a safe bet that this Club wouldn't be, wouldn't have the year. So everyone knows he's a huge part of that.

Q. Going back to the last game. When you pulled Pollock out of the lineup and double-switched at that point with the pitcher and put Taylor down in the bottom of the lineup, are you already making plans that Taylor could come up in the 9th inning to do what he did? Is that part of the whole equation?

DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, it is. It was. I think that the first look is to add a grade better defender, in my opinion, to give Chris two cracks at two at-bats potentially in the game and then it also creates a pitcher's spot opportunity for a left-handed bat as we come around. So that was kind of the math.

Q. It's kind of one of the little micromanaging of the game that goes unseen.

DAVE ROBERTS: Every night he goes unseen, yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for the question.

Q. Did Boch take you up on your dinner wager?

DAVE ROBERTS: He did not, so we're waiting. I'm in wait mode right now. So I'll follow up with him. So right now he's won this thread, so we haven't revisited that, so I'll get back with him. Thank you.

Q. Yesterday you said you were going to go with 12 or 13 pitchers. Why did you guys go with 12?

DAVE ROBERTS: We just felt that the versatility getting in and out of defense, the potential matchups offensively in the batters box is more beneficial in a short Series than an extra arm.

Q. You mentioned there switching, putting Taylor in the game late. Did you consider starting him in left field or even Gavin Lux today?

DAVE ROBERTS: Not with Webb, with the potential to deploy either of those guys at any point in the game. I think that outfield defense in center field is important. So I thought about it, but ultimately I just felt that the way I wrote it out gives the best chance to win tonight.

Q. Bob mentioned Bochy. Do you think Bochy will manage again? Do you think Bochy will manage next year?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think there's, any team would be very fortunate to have him leading their Club on the field. I think if it's the right situation for Boch, he'll consider it. So do I think he will? My guess is no.

Q. Why?

DAVE ROBERTS: Just a hunch. And I don't, this is just my guess, and no one knows better than Boch, but that's just an honest answer.

Q. Another subject. You seem to have a few Cy Young award candidates, in fact, two guys off the roster who have won them in the past. What's that like? And do you have any thoughts on assessing their candidacies, Scherzer and Buehler, and you even have a 20-game winner in there as well?

DAVE ROBERTS: It's interesting. I don't know. I don't really know -- you guys know much better than I do how the voting process goes. Every manager can kind of spin it a way that kind of gives a bias towards their guy.

But, yeah, I think all three of those guys have a case for Cy Young and what voters and people value. So to win 20 games and to be able to pitch and get a decision in 20 games and to win 20 games, the goal is still to win baseball games. Do you need your offense to help you get wins? Absolutely. The WHIP and strikeouts per innings and who you faced all that stuff and who is the best pitcher and that matters, I absolutely get that. To pitch innings and to be able to post and log innings and play and you see who Walker's faced, all that stuff and winning and ERA and all that stuff I think it all matters. So fortunately or unfortunately I don't have a vote but I just, we do have three Cy Young candidates, legit candidates. So, in the wash, but Corbin's had a fantastic year as well, so has wheeler. But I just know our guys, I'm more familiar, so I'm more biased.

Q. This is the first time these two teams are playing in postseason against each other. With you and Gabe managing this first series of all time for the first time in the postseason, has it kind of hit you what the historic significance of this series is or is this something you're going to think about after it's done?

DAVE ROBERTS: I'll tell you, I think that this with Gabe and speaking for Gabe, I think that it's bigger than us, obviously and I think that this series is hitting me more than any other series because of the history and/or lack thereof in the postseason. So it's really cool to be a part of, I don't take it lightly and it means something. So this is, I said a couple days ago this is what baseball wanted and this is great for baseball, it's awesome.

Q. Just how important was it that you guys were able to stay away from Julio the other night and what's made him such a good postseason performer in the past to you?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think the stuff obviously certainly helps but it's just the mindset and it's kind of I alluded to Walker and he has those same ingredients, as far as not running from the big moment, wanting to be the guy. You can't be afraid to fail and guys got to embrace the big spots and he does.

Q. Gabe is pretty aggressive as a manager during the regular season, what does that sort of give you a feel for what he'll be like in a postseason to manage against?

DAVE ROBERTS: He's done a great job with this team. So what it means tendency wise in this series, there's tendencies, there's trends, but when you get to the postseason where everything is more magnified you just can't, it's a little bit less predictable. So we have an idea, there's a lot of familiarity both ways, but you don't know until you know. So you've got to be ready for anything.