NL WILD CARD SERIES: PADRES VS METS

October 9, 2022

Bob Melvin

Citi Field

San Diego Padres

Postgame Press Conference

San Diego - 7, New York - 0

Q. Bob, how does this celebration hit and feel different than last week?

BOB MELVIN: You get in. It's something you strive for. It's something you deserve to celebrate. This is at a different level here. This is a really tough venue to play at against a really good team.

So to take it to another level, I think, certainly feels a lot better.

One thing I feel great about is we're going to be able to take this thing home and have a playoff series in front of our fans in San Diego. Can't wait to see them. Can't wait to get back there. They deserve it.

Q. How locked in was Joe, and kind of when did you know that was the Joe you were going to get tonight?

BOB MELVIN: Man, like the first inning. Once you get through the first, that's the one that's sometimes most difficult on a starter, but from the second inning on, it's just locating with everything, using all his pitches.

You could see the resolve in his face and the demeanor he had. He was on a mission today.

Q. I was wondering your thoughts on what happened before the sixth inning.

BOB MELVIN: Look, so I tend to be a high road guy, and I'm going to, but the problem I have is that Joe Musgrove is a man of character. Questioning his character to me, that's the part I have a problem with, and I'm here to tell everybody that Joe Musgrove is as above board as any pitcher I know, any player I know, and unfortunately that happened to him because the reception that he got after that was not warranted.

So I just want everybody to know that Joe Musgrove is a high character individual.

Q. Bob, what was the difference in the series, why you're moving on and the Mets are not?

BOB MELVIN: Well, look, we won the first game, they won the second game, and Joe Musgrove pitched the third game for us. That's what ended up being the difference.

Obviously we scored some runs. Trent Grisham was absolutely fantastic in series. You really have to give him a lot of credit for going through a very difficult season, getting benched for a little while, coming to the series, and showing up looking like an All-Star -- offensively, defensively, running the bases. It takes some mettle to fight through something like that and have the type of series he did.

Then it was just across the board, the defense we played tonight, the pitching that we got, the timely hitting, base running. We did everything really well tonight.

Q. You mentioned Trent Grisham a little bit. The whole bottom of the order came through all series long with Ha-Seong Kim and Austin Nola with that great at-bat with Bassitt for that two-run single. How encouraging is it to have the bottom of the order really produce going into --

BOB MELVIN: We have some big names in the top middle portion, but for us to succeed and win a series like this, it takes everybody, and that includes the bottom of the order.

The at-bat that Nola had that knocked in the first two runs, that's a huge momentum swing in this game. Fighting off, fouling off pitches, getting himself in a position to just try to get a barrel on one with the bases loaded, in a game like this, scoring first, getting that first big hit and breaking through is monumental.

Not only that, he caught a heck of a game and a heck of a series too. Credit to guys throughout the lineup, Noles had a fantastic series.

Q. When you went out to the mound, what did the umpires tell you they were looking for? They took off his cap. They were checking behind his ears. What was going on there?

BOB MELVIN: They just said they were going to check him. That included his glove. That included his hand. That included, obviously, his face. Unfortunately that happened.

Q. And this is over the fact that his spin rates were up tonight?

BOB MELVIN: I don't know what it was about.

Q. That's pretty much what --

BOB MELVIN: They've got a pitcher throwing 3300 in Lugo too. That has nothing to do with that. There's a lot of adrenaline in a game like that. I don't know if spin rates are up or not. I'm just here to defend Joe Musgrove.

Q. For you personally, it's been a long time since you won one of these. How does it feel for you as a manager in all the years and your track record?

BOB MELVIN: Actually, we won a couple years ago against Chicago. We won the Wild Card, same type of series. Any time you get to the postseason, it's special.

Q. How do you best describe Wil Myers' defense at first base?

BOB MELVIN: Cat like. Here's a guy who's an outfielder who plays first base like a Gold Glover. It's part of the reason he was in the game today with all the left-handed bats in the lineup and Joe on the mound. You have to try to find a balance between offense and defense. Wil's fantastic over there.

Q. It seemed like today you guys had a really concerted strategy to mess with Bassitt's timing, whether that meant kind of stepping out or getting him out of his rhythm. You were helped a little bit by his own PitchCom situation. How much of that was a concerted effort to get him out of his rhythm?

BOB MELVIN: It really wasn't. Unless the players talked about it, he works quick. Some of our guys are delivered in the box. Now, come next year, we'll have to do things a little differently.

But it wasn't talked about before. It wasn't a strategy of ours. I think the fact that -- last night Jake too. He works really quick too. I think guys were just trying to gather their thoughts and make sure they were ready because those are two quality pitchers you have to be in a good space for.

Q. It was more just reading the moment and feeling out the game?

BOB MELVIN: Yeah. I heard nothing about let's make this guy step off and make him uncomfortable. That wasn't part of it at all.

Q. I apologize if you answered this already. We were in the clubhouse. This guarantees you get to play a home game at Petco Park with people there for the first time since 2006. Just the ability to bring postseason baseball back to them this year?

BOB MELVIN: It's a great feeling. It's one of the best feelings about this night. We talked about it in the hitters meeting today too. There's a lot on the line here, and there are a lot of reasons to be motivated and inspired. One of them is bringing this thing back to San Diego and giving them a postseason experience, which they deserve.