NL DIVISION SERIES: BREWERS VS BRAVES

October 12, 2021

Craig Counsell

Truist Park

Milwaukee Brewers

Pregame 4 Press Conference

Q. Can you share with us the conversation about going with Lauer today? And we know you've prioritized rest for your starter, so was Corbin short even in the discussion in any way?

CRAIG COUNSELL: How it worked, Corbin came to us basically the day after he pitched and said -- we had a conversation about it. He was interested in doing it. And I said, well, we have to make sure you're physically able to do it.

And as the day's gone on, he's just not physically ready to do it. He wanted to do it, but we had to make sure he was physically ready to do it. He's just not ready to do it.

Q. Just in terms of his arm bouncing back, Craig, is that what you mean, the routine you go through to get your arm ready to pitch again?

CRAIG COUNSELL: Yeah. Yeah.

Q. Nothing else is bothering him?

CRAIG COUNSELL: No.

Q. I know it would be unusual, but they both had shorter outings than usual yesterday. Would Adrian or Freddy be available for you today, by any chance?

CRAIG COUNSELL: We'll ask everybody today for sure. We'll look at everybody. We'll let them go play catch and make decisions after we see them play catch -- their throwing program.

Q. Those last few weeks when you were giving Avi time off when he was going through his back and leg stuff, do you think it has anything to do with how he's struggling? I know he scalded the ball his last at-bat, but generally he's not having good at-bats.

CRAIG COUNSELL: No, I think, look, hitters go through ups and downs during a season when they're playing a lot, when they're not playing. Rest has been good for Avi a lot this year. And it's three games and he just hasn't -- three games and he just hasn't been on it these three games.

I think he could have a great day today. So I don't think there's any -- you want to go into the postseason with -- feeling good. There's no necessary explanation why you are or aren't. You miss a pitch, that's your damage pitch. And then maybe you get pitched in a well-pitched matchup and facing tough pitchers, you get one shot.

And so far we've had a bunch of guys that just haven't -- we haven't capitalized maybe on our pitch to hit.

Q. Just considering how tough Charlie Morton was in Game 1, do you think there's any advantage having seen him so recently in terms of the prep and to know what to expect to see from him?

CRAIG COUNSELL: Yeah, I think there is probably a small advantage on our end. He pitched, I think, as well as he can pitch. I think we'll get more pitches to hit this time. So I think pitch shape, type, you get the release. You have pretty recent knowledge on all that. So I hope we can use that to our advantage.

Q. On Lauer, he's shown to be pretty good, lefty and getting right-handers out, too. Do you think that makes him a better matchup against this righty-heavy team than some lefties?

CRAIG COUNSELL: The big thing about Eric is he's pitched extremely well basically the last -- second half of the season essentially. And he gets lineups with right-handed hitters like most left-handed starters do.

Right-handed or left-handed, doesn't make a difference for Eric Lauer. Some guys are neutral, we call them; they have strengths against both-sided hitters. So he's not a pitcher who carries platoon splits. His effectiveness is very similar against left-handed or right-handed hitters, not much difference between them.

Q. Just to follow up on Corbin, would you even considering using him out of the bullpen, or is he totally off limits today?

CRAIG COUNSELL: At this point we're not considering using him.

Q. Your team had built itself a big lead late, but you had some adversity earlier in the season. Do you think your guys are equipped to get going in a situation like this when it's been a bit since they really faced real tough times, if that makes sense?

CRAIG COUNSELL: I don't necessarily -- I mean "tough times" may be a little harsh there. I don't think these are tough times. This is an opportunity to tie a series and go back to Milwaukee and play Game 5. That's how we see it. It's an opportunity. It's a blast to go out and play in this game. It's a tremendous opportunity to go out and play in this game.

That's how we look at it. I don't think you look at it any differently. Is it a must-win, absolutely, it's a must-win. You can call it a must-win.

But I don't see it as adversity. It's about us going and playing a good baseball game and get an opportunity to play another fun baseball game.