NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: BRAVES VS DODGERS

October 18, 2021

Dave Roberts

Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles Dodgers

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Any update on Justin Turner?

DAVE ROBERTS: Justin is here, getting treatment as we speak. I don't anticipate him doing much baseball activity. But feels better than did he yesterday and so my expectation is he'll be in the lineup tomorrow.

Q. I'm just curious, with the amount of work you have put on the starting pitchers, are your relievers open to pitching more innings?

DAVE ROBERTS: Am I what?

Q. Your relievers, are they more open to pitch a little more?

DAVE ROBERTS: Well, I think with Walker being on extra rest, I think to have him, to push him, go deeper is certainly a very good option.

As far as Game 4, the plan is, depending upon how Julio feels today, still got to win two of three at home to keep this thing going, so whether it's Game 4, Game 5, but our relievers have pitched. I just think for me with the off day today whoever gets us the outs, I think that that's kind of where we're at right now.

Q. After two games that were very, very winnable, the team's back, you got a little clearancy now, a chance to step back. What's the mindset of the squad right now? You've been here before against this same team.

DAVE ROBERTS: I think for us is we're back home. We expect to win Game 3. And I think that for us, we've got Walker going tomorrow, and we're going to do everything we can to get back in this series.

Q. Following up on Justin Turner, it seems like he's still dealing with a hamstring, has a neck stinger, and then he gets drilled in the elbow. To what degree is he sort of compromised in this last week or two?

DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, I think that with all that he's gone through, it certainly hasn't been easy, and it's been certainly a grind, but I think that he's just so mentally tough to kind of get through it all to be present and to put his best foot forth in a particular game.

So last night's game I just, like I talked about, I just didn't think he was capable, but I think that kind of layering everything in, the hamstring, the hit by pitches, the neck, I think he'll be in a really good spot to help us win the ball game tomorrow.

Q. So with Julio, you don't know if it's going to be Game 4 or Game 5 yet?

DAVE ROBERTS: There's going to be a bullpen game Game 4 or Game 5, so we knew that. We knew that going in. So now it's what puts Julio in the best chance to be most effective and that's kind of having, knowing that Max is going to start Game 6.

Q. And kind of depends on what happens tomorrow?

DAVE ROBERTS: Absolutely. Absolutely.

Q. I'm going to poke the bear a little bit today. Going into the postseason you said that this was the best bullpen you've ever taken into the postseason or a postseason. Why have you felt it necessary then to use starters in relief roles?

DAVE ROBERTS: So you're just talking about Julio yesterday?

Q. Max in Game 5 as well.

DAVE ROBERTS: Well, I mean, I think that it's what we -- we absolutely have great bullpen. But I think that in the particular case with Max and talking through it with all of our guys if you want to go back to Game 5, we felt that that was the best chance to finish that game and it was a leveraged situation and we felt good about winning that game to get to the next round.

As far as Julio, just appreciating that it's a seven-game series and him being a viable option, being open, talking about it, and appreciating that he's done it before. He's not the young rookie that I think people can't get past that, looking at three arms, three innings to cover, he was in that mix.

So I just felt that that was the best thing and not compromising Julio's next start. I don't think it's a slight on our bullpen, I don't, especially in a long series.

Q. And you also said that whenever you do this with a Scherzer or Julio there's a cost or a potential cost. Do you feel that you have had to pay a cost in these --

DAVE ROBERTS: Absolutely. Absolutely. Certainly. But if we didn't go with Max we might not be having this conversation right now. So I think that there's certainly a cost, absolutely. I don't think us using Max in Game 5 is a reason we're down 2-0 right now in this series. We planned on a bullpen game either Game 4 or Game 5 this series, so I don't think that using Julio in Game 2 -- 1 or 2 changed that.

So I don't see the cost. And, again, we had to get to a point where we were at to win that game to get to this point and sort of figure it out. Things just aren't, can't be scripted. You've got to kind of sometimes go off script to what we feel, what I feel is the best chance to win a game, let alone a particular series.

Q. The perception in a lot of places out there now is that you're, and I don't mean you, but the collective you, over-think this and almost outsmart yourselves with the way you use the pitching in the postseason. How would you answer that?

DAVE ROBERTS: You know, I think that's certainly something that's alive as far as that thought. It's something that we've kind of had to deal with or, you know, all year every year as far as kind of the way we go about how we manage a roster or how we go about playing games and using pitchers and things like that.

So it's certainly bleeding in and more magnified in the postseason, which I absolutely understand, but I just don't think that, again, like it's different doesn't mean it's wrong. A decision that doesn't work out doesn't mean it's the wrong decision. So I do know that everyone in that clubhouse believes that we're going about it the right way and no one is compromised and so I think for me, for us, it's, that's the most important thing.

Q. One lastly, are we guilty of over-thinking this by hashing out all the pitching decisions when you're two hits with runners in scoring position away from leading this 2-0. Is that situational hitting really the problem?

DAVE ROBERTS: I think that it's kind of where, whether it's a fan, whether it's the organization itself, whether it's the media, you kind of look at what you want to see as far as this small scope where we're at right now as the Dodgers, down 2-0.

I think it's a combo that we can get better at. I think that the processes that we go through, the players that we have, I believe in. I believe we're going to win this series. I believe we're going to win tomorrow. I think that that's the great thing about baseball, man, it's like, you know, that's, it opens things up for kind of second-guessing. It's not basketball. It's not a missed shot. It's not football, a play that wasn't executed. It's a lot of different variables that you can kind of think through, second-guess.

So we think through a lot. There's things that we know about our players that we just don't want to share because I think it's just not smart that also lead to the decisions that we make that, unfairly, that fans and media just don't know and have to have their own opinions and thoughts, which, to be fair, that's the only, you can only make the decisions or the opinions that you have the information on.

So I guess that's what I got on that. Hopefully I answered some of your question. It was long-winded. I'm sorry.

Q. Now that you're a few more days removed from that Giants series, looking back Game 5, flying across the country to Atlanta, playing those two games, how drained and exhausted do you think your team was and how much do you think they need a reset?

DAVE ROBERTS: It was, it was a lot. Certainly last year being in one spot, not having to travel, and the travel day was essentially an off-day that you can kind of reset. But no excuses. Whether we got to make pitches when we need to make pitches, we need to make plays defensively, or we need to get hits when we need to get hits.

So in that particular moment, those moments, the travel, the fatigue has nothing to do with the outcome. There's not a player in there that will say that. So, but to your point, it's tough, but it's tough on everyone.

Q. To go back to the runners in scoring position, how have you felt like the quality of at-bats in those situations, less so the results --

DAVE ROBERTS: Not very good. I think, I don't need numbers to see, to know what I see, and if we're going to chase, then there's no reason for him to throw the ball in the strike zone. So I think that we've got to kind of lock in more in the strike zone and when we do that we'll have more success.

Q. Would you say that's the biggest difference in this year's run so far compared to last year?

DAVE ROBERTS: Absolutely. Yeah.

Q. And then with Walker, have you been able to check in sort of just how he's feeling bouncing back off of his first start on short rest?

DAVE ROBERTS: He's feeling great. He's got the extra rest and he's out there throwing right now and he feels great. He'll be ready to go.

Q. Though 0-2 is a tough spot, do you feel like if you can get this thing back to Atlanta with Max and Walker on extra and regular rest, would you like your chances there?

DAVE ROBERTS: I do, I do. I think that for us it really hasn't been about preventing runs, I mean, to be quite honest. So I think that Walker and the guys behind him tomorrow are going to prevent runs and we're going to score more than they will and I think we're going to do that in Game 4. So, yeah, we're going to go back to Atlanta and we'll have Max ready for Game 6, but right now our focus just has to be tomorrow night and winning tomorrow and whatever that takes and we'll deal with Game 4 then.

Q. Have you talked to Julio today? How is he feeling?

DAVE ROBERTS: I haven't seen him yet. I'm expecting him to come in. So, yeah, I'm expecting him to come in and just talking to him and get the trainer's sort of insight. I just can't tell you how much I appreciate him and trust him and respect him. But he's a man, he's a star player, and I said this earlier, it's like he's not that 19-year-old rookie any more that I think that sometimes I get that in my head, that he's still this young guy. He's a seasoned veteran. So whatever he feels today will impact the decision on Game 4 or Game 5 and he'll drive that.