NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: BRAVES VS DODGERS

October 17, 2021

Max Scherzer

Truist Park

Los Angeles Dodgers

Postgame 2 Press Conference

Atlanta Braves - 5, Los Angeles Dodgers - 4

Q. Dave Roberts just mentioned that when you came out that you had told him that you gave it your all, but you kind of felt it today. Can you just kind of explain what you were feeling, if there was any fatigue, or how would you describe kind of what was there?

MAX SCHERZER: Yeah, I would just say my arm was dead. I could tell when I was warming up that it was still tired. And I've been in this situation before. You don't want to always go out there and pitch full strength. Usually in those situations kind of once you get past pitch 45 sometimes it kind of loosens up and you're able to get deeper into a game.

But after that 3rd inning it didn't loosen up. It was still more tightening up. So I could tell that my pitch count was going to be limited. I wasn't going to be able to get truly deep into a game and I wasn't going to be able to get to that 95, 100 pitch count. I knew it was going to be sooner than that.

After the 4th inning I was like, hey, if this is a long inning, you're going to have to pull me, but if it's a quick inning I can go back out there. And that's when we looked at the lineup and said, all right, I got Swanson, the pinch hitter, and then at that point I knew I wasn't going to be better than Vesia. Vesia was going to be better against the lefties than I was going to be.

So for me I have to know the bullpen, who those guys are, who is coming in, because then I can honestly answer the question if I'm good or not. In that situation I knew Vesia was going to be better than me.

Q. Just on Alex Vesia, how big were those strikeouts for him?

MAX SCHERZER: Oh, man, I mean, in my time here I've gotten to see him pitch. He's explosive. He's got a bounce in his step and he can go out there and pitch really well. So I knew in that situation he was the best man for the job and he's got a great fast ball and great breaking ball so he can go out there and attack you and do great things.

Q. You threw in Game 5 of the NLDS rather than throwing your bullpen between starts, came back out, and now we're seeing Julio didn't throw his bullpen, pitched in relief today. How comparable are those two situations and was there any deleterious affect by going into the game rather than the bullpen?

MAX SCHERZER: Julio's coming from a smaller pitch count. I was coming from 110 to relief appearance to Game 2. He's coming from probably 60 pitches, throwing in Game 5, to a relief appearance. So he's going to have an easier recovery coming from that.

The reason I knew, I had history pitching on two days' rest. In 2019 I relieved in Game 2 and then started in Game 4 and I was able to go 109 pitches that game. I mean, my arm was dead after that one, but I knew if I had to realistically guess what my pitch count was going to be today based on that experience I thought it was going to be 95 pitches. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

So you got to look at the pitch counts over the past couple starts to really evaluate how you recover. And so for Julio, he's coming from a different spot, a lower pitch count, so you can bet that he's going to have a fresher arm and that he should be full go when he gets the start.

Q. Throughout your experiences, do you feel like you'll be able to bounce back when the next time calls upon?

MAX SCHERZER: Yeah, what I'm dealing with is just my arm's dead. It wasn't like I'm dealing with tendons or ligaments, nothing, nothing -- no, I wasn't dealing with red flag injuries, it was just my arm was tired. I went out there and pitched as much as I could today. So, yeah, usually in these situations if your arm's dead your changeup's a little bit better so I was trying to get some changeups in there early. And so it, for me, it was just trying to locate pitches and navigate a lineup.

Q. You've seen a lot of this team over the years, what strikes you, if anything, that's different for them right now, whether it be the growth of like an Austin Riley or just some of the additions they got at the deadline?

MAX SCHERZER: I mean, this has always been a tough hitting lineup team. This lineup is, from top to bottom, they can put the bat to the ball and they can do great things. I'm not shocked by what they're doing, how they're hitting, but, I mean, when you're in the NLCS you're going to be facing great teams and great lineups and great pitching, that's just the way it is. You're not going to face, there's not going to be a free outs anywhere. So this is Major League Baseball at this time of year.

Q. Big picture, Max, how bad is it, how much of a blow to leave here down 0-2?

MAX SCHERZER: It's unfortunate, but we got Walk going Game 3, so if the baseball sayings are right, you're only as good as your next day's starting pitcher and so we got Walk going on the mound and we definitely believe we can win with him. So that will be our mindset is just win the next game.