NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: BRAVES VS DODGERS

October 19, 2021

Cody Bellinger

Mookie Betts

Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles Dodgers

Postgame 3 Press Conference

Los Angeles Dodgers - 6, Atlanta Braves - 5

Q. Cody, Luke just said he would throw the exact same pitch again, high and out of the zone. You just you beat him. Is that just what it was, your good beat his good?

CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, it's not a hitter's pitch right there, but in the moment whatever happened, I saw it, and I just tried to put the barrel on it and continue to pass the baton.

Q. Cody, you've had some pretty big hits in the postseason over all the years, this postseason as well. What is it about postseason moments, good years, bad years, it seems like you come through pretty consistently in October?

CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, I mean, in a way it's a whole different season. Luckily for me I got a clean slate going into the postseason and I was feeling good towards the end of the regular season and I just tried to continue that and continue that feel into the postseason and help this team win.

Q. Mookie, doing a lot of running on the bases this postseason, a lot of successful stolen bases, just wondering how much of that is initiative on your part, how much of it has been sort of game-planned by the team since you're not the only one who's been stealing bases this postseason.

MOOKIE BETTS: I think it's just an element of my game that I can put on display right now. We're not, it's not like we're just slugging and scoring a whole lot of runs, so we have to find ways to manufacture runs, and part of my game is stealing bases, so I'm just doing anything I can to help us win.

Q. Cody, was Albert Pujols saying anything to you guys in the dugout when things were not working out and how it felt getting a big hug from him after that home run?

CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, I mean, it always feels good when you get a hug because that means you hit a homer. So, no, I think that in between each inning he came in after defense and said, let's go, keep going, keep going, and that's the only thing you can do is just keep on going and try to get some hits together. And Will and AJ had really good at-bats before me and so credit to them as well to let me have that opportunity.

Q. Mookie, along the lines of the stolen bases there in the big inning, right before you came to the plate Chris Taylor steals second, stays out of a double-play situation, Beaty's ground ball brings him over to third. How big was that moment? I know a lot of people didn't, will look at Cody's homer, but that moment and since you've come over what do you see in Chris Taylor as a player?

MOOKIE BETTS: I mean obviously a stolen base right there is huge, just to get another guy up to the plate and give us two more chances instead of one.

But CT's been amazing. All year he's just been a grinder, man. He just is a baller. He's like, I mean, it doesn't matter how he's feeling, he's going to go and play no matter if he's hurt, anything. So CT's obviously someone that is kind of like an unsung hero, and everybody needs a CT on their team.

Q. For either of you guys, is this the Dodger magic coming back because it seemed like all the air was out of the stadium and as soon as Will hit that single, it was just rally.

CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, I mean, with the team that we have and we've been in similar situations before, one hit in the postseason for both teams, you know, but with the lineup we have especially, but one hit really can change things, get energy back in that dugout. So props to Will and then AJ for continuing it. Back-to-back hits is huge.

Q. Cody, just as you're going around the bases there, obviously last year, right, there was kind of a half crowd and you guys were like in neutral territory, home crowd. As you were going around the bases what are you feeling, what are you hearing, what are you seeing?

CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, pure enjoyment. In the moment it's loud. You don't really hear anything and you don't really see anything. Rounding second saw the boys in the dugout giving me the celebration, so I had to do it back.

But I'm just, you know, pure joy and just glad that I could tie up the game right there to give us a chance.

Q. Mookie, you talked about in here before Game 5 of the Giants series that Julio is kind of an old soul, I think was your word, and he's calm with anything. He's had a couple of outings since then, neither one starting, one was good, one was unfortunate last week. How do you see him tomorrow? Has his demeanor changed at all given his use over the last couple outings?

MOOKIE BETTS: No. I think Julio's going to be Julio. He'll go out and give us a chance to win. It's just our job to put up some runs and give him an opportunity to put up some zeros.

Q. Mookie, when you're down three in the 8th inning and you're down 0-2, how aware are you of the gravity of that moment, what the odds are of winning if you lose its first three games of the series and where you are in this game in this series?

MOOKIE BETTS: I think everybody's super aware of it. It's impossible not to be aware of it. But I think that's a weak way to think of things. I think our mindset has been why are we going to focus on that when we are here now, we can win the game now, and all it takes is a hit or two, and then you get some energy, and then you forget, you forget that you're down 0-2 and whatnot.

So I think that's one of our strong suits is not worrying about what happened yesterday, focusing on right now.

Q. Cody, as you said, that wasn't really a hitter's pitch exactly. I don't know if you've seen the video, but it seemed like you were kind of laughing. Are you like in retrospect kind of like, well, maybe I shouldn't have swung at that, but result was good? That was just a crazy pitch.

CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, it was. Honestly, for as weird as it was, I saw it. I saw it and I just tried to put a good swing on it. It's just one of those things. Ball's coming in hard, some shadows you're dealing with, so I saw it well and I just tried to barrel it up, and I just tried to get Will home. Like I said, just continue to barrel up the ball and pass the baton.

MOOKIE BETTS: Tell them, Belli. They're good, but you drive a Benz too.

CODY BELLINGER: I do got a Benz. (Laughing.)

Q. Cody, teams have attacked you with velocity a lot this year, just wondering, what adjustments have you made over the course of the season and then tonight maybe even in that at-bat are you anticipating that pitch to catch up to it?

CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, I mean, just body's feeling good and I've had no problem with it in the past, so body's feeling good, swing feels pretty good, staying simple and staying positive and just doing all that just to help this team win.

Q. So when you say your body feels good, is this the healthiest you think you've felt all year?

CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, I would say so. I'm working with the strength coaches every day and the extra adrenaline in the postseason definitely helps.

Q. Cody, you said you your homer brought the energy back. So for both of you, how deflating was that 4th inning where the breaks didn't go your way, the calls didn't go your way, some plays maybe you would normally make didn't go your way, guys looked frustrated. What was the temperature of the dugout and how deflating was that inning for you guys?

CODY BELLINGER: I mean, that's, we're fine. We're facing good pitchers, so it was only a matter of time before we strung some hits together. You know, at that point it was baseball, man, you know, we're going to, like you said, we've been in that situation before. So it's just baseball. It's not, it's never going to just be easy and handed to us. We got to fight for it.

Q. Would it be an exaggeration to say that single swing saved the Dodgers' season knowing where you might be down 0-3?

CODY BELLINGER: I don't know, you know. I don't know. I don't have that swing without Will and AJ, though. Like I said, they really brought the energy into the dugout and when I'm walking up to the plate I just try to continue that and continue to pass the baton.

Q. Mookie, obviously it's been a challenge to get runners on, in with runners in scoring position. Can you talk about how difficult has it been against the Braves and did the energy of the moment kind of lift you in that situation in the 8th inning?

MOOKIE BETTS: You know, I think we have had some bad approaches. We've been in scoring position. We could always take the blame, take the blame, but I think we should give some credit to those arms over there. They're really good. I know Belli drives a Benz, but they drive Benzs too.

So it's tough. It's tough to calm down and relax and try and get a good pitch to hit. But in the 8th right there when Belli comes through, I mean, I think it's kind of a sigh of relief like we finally did it, and now it becomes contagious.

And so I think that's kind of how that, everything kept going, but today's game is over, and we got to do it tomorrow.