NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: BRAVES VS DODGERS

October 17, 2021

Brian Snitker

Truist Park

Atlanta Braves

Postgame 2 Press Conference

Atlanta Braves - 5, Los Angeles Dodgers - 4

Q. When you look back on this game, I don't think you probably just thought Ian would go three innings. You weren't thinking it was going to be a bullpen game, so to see what your pitching staff did, what does that tell you, not only from tonight's game, but the first two games of this series?

BRIAN SNITKER: No, you're right. I mean, I had no intention of Ian going three innings, and those guys stepped up and did a great job. Great job, I mean, which they have been doing. Hat's off to them. They gave us a chance to win this game.

Q. Not just the winning hit for Rosario, but the slide he had, what he did in Game 1 too, that first sequence, what about just all the ways he's impacted this series?

BRIAN SNITKER: No, he's done a great job. It was a great slide, like you said. We got big hits. I mean, all of them, him, Joc, Austin. I mean, that's what it takes to win these games, and I mean, they're hard games to win, but he had a really nice evening.

Q. Rosario got a late start compared to the other guys that you picked up in July because he was hurt, but he's had quite a few of these clutch hits it seems like, big hits --

BRIAN SNITKER: No, he does. You know what, when we got him, I mean, just we, guys would talk to guys from Minnesota and that's the one thing they said about him, that you want him up there in big situations. He fits right in here. He's an aggressive hitter. But that's what was said, that he likes to be up there in that situation and he's shown it.

Q. Heredia in center field, did you think he thought he was going to catch that ball?

BRIAN SNITKER: I didn't think anything. I don't know.

Q. Last night you won a game where you struck out 14 times. Tonight you won a game where you walked nine. Could you describe what it's been like to walk that tightrope these last two games?

BRIAN SNITKER: Yeah. No, good God. Yeah, I don't know if we got enough time (laughing).

I don't have any hair. Yeah. You know what, I'll be honest with you. I didn't realize we had struck out 14 times. I don't know, I guess I'm, I get so focused on everything that I didn't realize we struck out 14 times. I didn't even realize we walked that many guys tonight, quite honestly, because I'm just kind of staying hitter to hitter and the innings and not really processing all that until after the fact.

But obviously we did a great job of limiting damage against a really good club and that's not a really good recipe for success against a team like this when you're letting that many guys get on base because these guys are so dangerous.

Credit to the guys. They just kept pitching, especially out of the bullpen. We used a lot of guys tonight. Didn't intend it to be like that, but you just kind of, probably the last thing going into it that we planned for, but you have to adjust on the fly and the guys stepped up, especially out of the bullpen, did a great job.

Q. How did you, how much did you have to audible? I mean, is there any point this afternoon you say, what if Anderson leaves now?

BRIAN SNITKER: Yeah, you know what, I'll be honest with you, we didn't even talk about that. We talked about the 5th or 6th inning type thing because figuring Ian would get there. It just wasn't his day. I mean, it just wasn't coming out good. The location wasn't good. And it happens. That's what I told him. You know what, this happens. It didn't matter that it's postseason. It's a baseball game and you've been pitching a long time and over the course of the year, and things like that happen.

And he'll be fine coming into the next one. But we just had to start audibling and looking, kind of fast forwarding matchup-type scenarios that we had talked about prior to the game. It just, kind of everything got pushed up about three innings, quite honestly. And the guys did a great job of handing the ball off to each other.

Q. That's what I was going to ask you is just kind of what was your message to Ian, I mean, you just kind of explained it --

BRIAN SNITKER: No, I told him, I said, you know what, and I told him, I said, just looking at this and all, it just doesn't feel like it's going to get any better. You know what, the biggest thing I told him, I said, it's okay. That happens. That's not a big deal. We'll tee it up again in four, five days.

I know it's postseason, but it's still, these guys are on rotation, on their turn and all that, and it's still a baseball game and not everything's perfect about that. He'll regroup and come out and make his next start and be good.

Q. To go off that, what can you say about your guys being able to ride the wave of emotions like they have these last couple of games and fall behind but still find a way?

BRIAN SNITKER: No, I mean, these guys have always been like that. They're never out. I think that's what keeps people coming back here, because this is a team that you batter not leave early. It's not, you know, leaving the 4th quarter when the team's down because these guys, you know what, you'll end up missing the best part of the game and listening to it on your radio when you're driving home because these guys never quit. They never have. They haven't for years here. And if they got an out left or a strike left, as we have seen, they might make something happen. So these guys just keep playing the game. They play a hard 27.

Q. Obviously this is the fourth playoff run for you with these guys in a row and it's going well. How does this run feel different or how is this group any different?

BRIAN SNITKER: I don't know. I think they all feel special. You're all excited about getting here. I don't know that you can really look at any -- I mean, in 2018 it felt great. 2019 it felt great. Last year it felt great. Right now it feels great. I don't know that any of them feel any better when you're going through it. That may be something that down the road a few years or whatever.

But I mean, it's just, I think especially in this game you live in the moment and it's really good what these guys are doing right now.

Q. How about how important could it be having Chris Martin? It seems like he's back to --

BRIAN SNITKER: Threw the ball really well today. That was really, really good to see. I loved getting him in in that situation because I was curious. But he threw the ball extremely well tonight and that could be really big for us.

Q. Here's another fun with numbers thing for you. Your starting pitcher gave up three hits in three innings. Your bullpen gave up one hit over, against the Dodgers over six. I mean --

BRIAN SNITKER: That's pretty good, right? I mean, (laughing) no, I know. I don't know that you go in, like I said, this was kind of an Omaha after Ian left after three. I really didn't see that coming. But it just was one of those days, and those guys did an unbelievable job of stepping up, like I said, handing the ball off to each other and doing really, really good work, all of them, all of them.

I mean, Will was ready to go out. If we didn't score he was ready to go out in the 10th. He had limited pitches and he wanted to go out. So, which is, these guys love to play the game, but it's not one of those things, like I said we probably planned for everything but a short start, quite honestly, but it worked out.

Q. You've used Tyler Matzek in every game of the postseason so far. How --

BRIAN SNITKER: God bless him. (Laughing.)

Q. How bionic is he? How tired is he?

BRIAN SNITKER: Oh, no, he's the one guy, he's the one guy, all of them do, that comes in and it's like, he goes, I can pitch every day. It's amazing. I mean, he kind of gets pissed off when I don't pitch him. But he is, he's like, I could pitch all the time. And he always assures me that he's ready to go. He said, that's a luxury I have is I can pitch. I'm like, well, okay, so we'll, you know, I'll pitch you then.

Q. So it's not impossible he could pitch in every game of the postseason?

BRIAN SNITKER: I'll be honest with you, yeah. You know, we want to, but I mean, as much as we've used him, he never is like needing a day off. I mean, he, every time we're like, we tell him, you're down, he comes, Kranny will go, we'll talk about it in the morning over a couple of coffee, and it's like, you're down, and then at some point in time of the day he sticks his head in my office and says, Snit, I can pitch. I'm good. I can throw every day. He's amazing, that kid. That's just a great story. He's a wonderful guy. I mean, no situation. I mean, it's, no-hitter, it's really good what he's got going on.