NL DIVISION SERIES: GIANTS VS DODGERS

October 9, 2021

AJ Pollack

Cody Bellinger

Oracle Park

Los Angeles Dodgers

Postgame 2 Press Conference

Los Angeles Dodgers - 9, San Francisco Giants - 2

Q. Cody, that double you got. How big was that for you, for your confidence getting the hit after what's been going on this year, you came back from the injury and going on in the season?

CODY BELLINGER: It felt good. Obviously it felt pretty good. CT really set the table in front of me with a really, really good at-bat to really simplify my plan and just try to get the run in right there.

Q. For both you guys. It seemed you struggled a little bit against Webb and then Gausman tonight. Was it just so simple as seeing another arm in Leone to kind of get you guys going and have those back-to-back doubles?

CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, I mean, that's the game. Sometimes you're going to get beat and fresh arm, who knows.

But in my situation, bases loaded, one out, you try to simplify and get the job done right there.

AJ POLLOCK: I think, we tipped our cap to Webb. He had good stuff. We'll be ready for him next time. But, yeah, he was really good.

And, yeah, Gausman's been great all year. So you get to the playoffs you got guys with really good stuff. I think it was a battle and I think we just did a good job of, we were up 2-1 and just scratching runs across. Those are so important. The whole team up and down the lineup was doing it. So it was big.

Q. For either of you. With the throw that Mookie made, do those plays come as a surprise at all, given how athletic they are or just given how many times you've kind of seen that movie?

AJ POLLOCK: He does that all, since spring training. The ball has so much carry to it, like he's just so accurate. I mean, it's nuts.

CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, I mean, still like an unbelievable throw. You go in the dugout, like, yeah that was a good throw. Like we don't expect it. It's just really accurate and really strong arm.

Q. AJ, did you expect him to get to that ball when he first hit it or what did you see off the bat? Mookie, sorry. What did you see off the bat? And also the pirouette, can you explain why he even did that?

AJ POLLOCK: You'll have to ask him. That's Mookie's move. No, he's just so good. He's almost like an infielder playing the outfield. He's always, he's really good with his feet, and all his throws are right on the money. They're never too far off. He's always, it's always bang, bang. If you want to test him, it's just, even if you think you got it, it's always going to be close because he's just so accurate. His ball's got so much carry.

So we have seen it a lot. We have seen balls that he hasn't thrown guys out, but it's just like, wow, it's right on the money. It was awesome. It was huge for us to get that out.

Q. Both of your doubles came on the first pitch of the at-bat. Will Smith's home run came on the first pitch of the at-bat and so did Corey Seager's double. What about that area that the Giants, why do you think that was an area that you guys could exploit, I guess?

CODY BELLINGER: I mean, I think that's just how the game goes sometimes. At least in our situation there's a guy on third, less than two outs, so you just simplify the plan and try to get the job done right there. And I mean, that was my plan. I can't speak for the other guys. But, yeah, that's just how it goes. Sometimes it goes a complete opposite way.

AJ POLLOCK: Yeah, I agree. We were ready to hit and if it was where you wanted it, especially guys on base, you don't wait around.

Q. You guys have to play the next few games but how nice is it to have things lined up the way they are. You guys win a game here in San Francisco on the road and the next two games at home and also having Max on the mound for Game 3?

AJ POLLOCK: Yeah it was huge. Obviously you come here and that first game they, Webb threw really well, and we didn't put enough pressure on him, for sure, so a lot of that is on us.

But we regrouped, got the win, 1-1, go back to our place. And, yeah, we got Max, so we feel pretty good about where we're at.

Q. Cody, it seems like you've been attacked with velocity for a lot the of this season. How much is that something you sort of have been conscious of going into at-bats and especially going into an at-bat like that against Leone?

CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, that's the game. It's cat-and-mouse. So sometimes your plan works, sometimes it doesn't. And in that situation, CT really kind of swayed the momentum to our side and I just tried to continue that and just try and get the job done right there.

Q. Does he need to be in the zone especially early on especially knowing the situation there, bases loaded, nobody out?

CODY BELLINGER: What was the question?

Q. Do you have a feeling like he needs to be in the zone with that sort of a pitch especially early on in the count with that situation?

CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, I mean, just playing the game, just hitting and he's pitching. Just strictly, he's just playing the game. Like, I don't really know how to answer that.

Q. Dave said he thought your guys' approach was a lot better tonight, just as a team. How much of an emphasis was that after last night's game and is it difficult to be able to make those kind of adjustments on a day-to-day basis depending upon who you're facing and just trying to be a little more disciplined in the zone as a team?

CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, I mean, Webb got us yesterday, after the game, tipped our cap. And we have been down 1-0 before and we knew we had to come out today and really execute our plan even more so than yesterday, obviously, and no panic and just trusting the guys that we got and we executed our plans today.

Q. Similar follow-up question on that then is one of the things he mentioned specifically was that it felt like you guys were chasing a lot. He said that he made some comment about we had one club in the bag and it was driver. Was that like was that --

CODY BELLINGER: Who did?

Q. Dave did last night. He said -- was that a specific area you talked about addressing today?

CODY BELLINGER: I mean, you don't want to chase, but Webb's got really good stuff and we're not trying to chase, but sometimes that's just how it goes.

AJ POLLOCK: He had a lot to do with it. Obviously when we face him we got to be better and I think there's truth to what he's saying, so, I mean, I don't, when you put up nine runs, obviously everyone's going to feel like your approach is good and when you put up zero, no one's going to like it. So we're going to have to regroup, obviously, when we face him again. But, look, we take it one game at a time and we'll see who we got Game 3.

Q. Woody?

AJ POLLOCK: Wood's going? Oh, nice.