NL DIVISION SERIES: GIANTS VS DODGERS

October 14, 2021

Max Scherzer

Mookie Betts

Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles Dodgers

Postgame 5 Press Conference

Los Angeles Dodgers - 2, San Francisco Giants - 1

Q. Two things. How sure were you that you were going to get in this game and what has to happen in your mind for you to be ready for Game 1?

MAX SCHERZER: I told them I was good to go and they told me I was going to be pitching after Kenley. I just know how these situations go. When you go down to the pen you better expect the ball. Your number's going to get called. You got to assume that and find, and mentally know to get ready for it. When your number's going to get called, you're ready for the moment.

Q. How gratifying is it to win this series? You guys grinded it out so hard with the Giants and you guys have merged victorious?

MAX SCHERZER: Yeah, they're a great team. 107-win team and the guys that they had this year, how well they were, the season they had and the fight they had in this series, I mean, went down all the way to the last pitch. Just fight all season long. I'm just glad I got to join it in mid-season and be a part of this and be a part of the winning team.

Q. For both of you. A little different perspective. We know how intense the atmosphere seemed in the press box. Max, I saw you pacing in that bullpen for most of the game. What was it like from that advantage, and for Mookie, being in the game with such a close game back and forth?

MAX SCHERZER: I was just trying to keep my legs loose. That was going to be my biggest challenge tonight to come in the game. I knew I could get my upper body loose, but I didn't know if could get my legs fully loose. I got them loose before I went down there and then I just paced around. That's what I do.

MOOKIE BETTS: From my perspective it was just a lot of fun. I was soaking it all in and enjoying it, enjoying the rivalry, enjoying just really good baseball. I think this whole series is really good baseball. And what I enjoyed the most was I think before Flores touched first base, Scherzer was halfway to the mound. He was ready to come out and shut them down in the 9th. So that was just a fun game.

Q. You guys seem obviously happy about the win. You guys seem so relaxed. Is this series win kind of like a (inaudible) moment, you can let it go because of how tough and intense it was?

MOOKIE BETTS: For me, no, not at all. I think it's just step one to our final goal. We can be happy right now, but I'm of the mindset that you got to turn the page and get ready for the next series and you can't celebrate until you hold up that World Series trophy.

MAX SCHERZER: Yeah, I'm with Mookie on that, except we can party hard tonight.

Q. Max, any doubt in your mind that you're starting Saturday?

MAX SCHERZER: I can't even comment on it. I got to come in tomorrow, see how my arm feels tomorrow, and then make a decision.

Q. How good do you think the pitching staff was in this series, the whole staff?

MAX SCHERZER: Kudos to absolutely, everybody. That's what it was going to take. It was going to take absolutely everybody, Walk, Julio, Treinen, Kenley. I mean, we can just go down. I mean, how many meaningful innings all these guys threw, to be able to go out there and consistently get one of the best teams in baseball out. They lead the league in homers. Like I said, we have a ton of respect for what they can do. So kudos to our staff for being able to pitch as well as we did.

Q. What was the lobbying process for you to get in this game and what point did you know for sure that you would be pitching tonight?

MAX SCHERZER: It was not a lobby. I just told them I'm hot and ready to go. If you want me you can use me. That's when they said if we're going to use you, we're going to try to use you after Kenley. So that's it.

Q. Mookie, Logan Webb was pitching very well. You were able to get some hits off of him on some pretty good pitches there. How important was it just to do something to kind of help ignite the offense through most of the game?

MOOKIE BETTS: Obviously super important. At the end of the day, we still only scored one, so he did throw a great game. Got to tip your cap there.

But just trying to do my part and get on base, really. Just try and scratch a run across. Finally we did, and late in the game we, once we were able to get him out, I can't say it got any easier, but I think everybody kind of was like, finally, you know. And so that was good. But I got to definitely got to tip my cap to Logan there.

Q. During the play, did you feel like it was going to come to you there in the 9th inning or did you feel like, hey, someone else is going to take this and that's just the way we do things, you pass the baton and hope someone else does something?

MOOKIE BETTS: I don't think I felt any way. I just know that it takes, in our lineup it's going to take all nine of us to score some runs. You can't win games scoring from one part of the lineup.

So we did a great job battling all night, keeping our head in it, and we were finally able to push another one across.

Q. Mookie, to follow-up on that, was there like one key that you were able to unlock against Webb that maybe wasn't working in Game 1?

MOOKIE BETTS: No, not really. I think I was just able to put some good swings on the few pitches that he left over the plate. Like I said, he did a great job. I was just able to get a hit on a couple pitches that were out over the plate.

Q. Max, from a preparation standpoint, what did you do the past few days knowing that you wanted to be available tonight that you would not have done on a regular starting schedule?

MAX SCHERZER: I didn't throw my bullpen yesterday. So I didn't get my upper body lift in, just did my normal kind of day-one stuff, so that's all can you do.

Q. Mookie, I asked you this a couple days ago about what you thought of the Giants-Dodger rivalry compared to Yankees-Red Sox. Does this kind of maybe send it up another notch, given the way this series went?

MOOKIE BETTS: I mean, yeah, yeah, no, I don't really know.

MAX SCHERZER: You got to know. There's only one person who is going to know.

MOOKIE BETTS: I know, but that, that Yankees-Red Sox, man, that's mean. That's different.

MAX SCHERZER: That's fine. Say it. Yeah, I like it. I like it.

MOOKIE BETTS: This is definitely different. Maybe the different coasts, East Coast people are different than West Coast. I don't know. But it's definitely, it's definitely a lot of fun to be a part of a rivalry like this and just being able to, just being a part of it, being able to contribute in it is just fun.