NL DIVISION SERIES: PHILLIES VS BRAVES

October 11, 2022

Brian Snitker

Truist Park

Atlanta Braves

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. Will Spencer Strider be on the roster, and are there any maybe surprises on the roster?

BRIAN SNITKER: Yeah. Yeah, he's on it.

Q. When you're choosing how many pitchers to use versus maybe carrying Adrianza, was that any kind of debate?

BRIAN SNITKER: Well, what do you mean?

Q. I know you need another backup infielder, but is there a thought that maybe carrying another pitcher -- I haven't seen the roster, I don't know.

BRIAN SNITKER: No, we feel like -- we have plenty of pitching for five games.

Q. Is Odorizzi on the roster?

BRIAN SNITKER: Uh-huh.

Q. With him, what do you feel he gives you in terms of experience and a guy who has maybe been here before and has a track record?

BRIAN SNITKER: Length. Length. That's why he's on it.

Q. For your Game 2 guy, Kyle, what do you think pitchers around baseball or even on your team can learn from the journey he's taken to get here?

BRIAN SNITKER: Just how it's a process. I mean, you don't just show up here and you don't show up as the finished product. I mean, it's taken him a while. And as I said, we just keep alluding to the fact that he spent the year in Triple-A and made all the starts and got the experience, was really, really good for him.

I think a lot of guys want to -- they all sign and they want to be here because in the industry they see a lot of that. And it just doesn't work that way. In some cases it does. In Kyle's case, it was good for him to spend the whole year in Triple-A last year.

Q. The only one I don't see on here, Tyler Matzek, can you give an update on him?

BRIAN SNITKER: He felt some elbow discomfort after the last outing in Miami. And he's in Texas right now being evaluated.

Q. How different is today's 1:00 start maybe from a get-away day where you kind of show-and-go? And how do you feel your team is able to handle getting this process started so much earlier in the day?

BRIAN SNITKER: We've been working out early. I'm glad we did now. I bumped the workouts early really not even knowing when we would play but figuring we would probably have one of these first two slots. And we even bumped it back a little, an hour earlier, yesterday, just in preparation for they've been getting to bed early and having the evenings. And so this will be better than playing a 7:20 game and a 1:30 game that we normally do on a Saturday/Sunday.

The only bad part is the school traffic getting in here from your homes. But we'll be fine because, like I say, we've been getting up early. It's been kind of -- had a spring training-type clock going the last few days. So I think it shouldn't be that big a difference today.

Q. Does this NLDS Game 1 feel any different compared to last year?

BRIAN SNITKER: I don't remember last year. I'm serious. I didn't remember -- I knew we played Milwaukee but that's all I remember of it.

Q. Are you leaning Charlie for Game 3?

BRIAN SNITKER: We're not leaning any way. We're going to wait and see. There's options there. Charlie will be ready, but we're still in conversations about Strider, how we're going to use him. He's going to throw a light bullpen today. But I think starting the next few days we're not 100 percent sure how we're going to proceed there.

Q. With Strider, based on how everything comes out, sounds like everything will be an option?

BRIAN SNITKER: Pretty much. Everything is good. Right now he's feeling really good. And like I say, he's going to go out, throw a light bullpen today, come -- after the other one. And so then we'll kind of formulate and see how we're going to use him.

Q. I think you just answered that, but if he throws live BP today --

BRIAN SNITKER: Not live BP, just a light side.

Q. But then he's not available out of the bullpen today?

BRIAN SNITKER: We won't use him today because of that.

Q. Any updates with Ozzie and how he's progressing?

BRIAN SNITKER: He's progressing good. Like I say, he's been in a cast for extended periods. We're going to carry him with us on the road and all, so they can continue to treat him up and do all the exercises and everything. It's just about getting hand strength, mobility, and all that right now for him.

Q. You just have a lot of young guys on this roster. Was there any conversation you needed to have with them just to have them mentally prepared for this moment?

BRIAN SNITKER: I don't think so. They're excited about being on the postseason roster, I know that. And what I saw from all those guys coming in here this year, I think they're all -- they're in a good place to handle anything they're going to experience.

Q. Just with Suarez, what have you learned about him and come to know about --

BRIAN SNITKER: I just think we've had a lot of guys that have had a lot of bats off of him. We faced him a lot. If he executes, he's really tough. They've got a really good starting rotation. So hope he makes mistakes.

Q. Same kind of question, with their lineup, what is it that makes that group so deep and dangerous?

BRIAN SNITKER: You look at the top of that lineup, there's a lot of experience there. And it's a good club, good club. And they're back to where they've got everybody healthy. And like everybody, we all have to play around injuries, and they got everybody back. They're a deep, deep team. They're a very experienced and deep team.

Q. When it comes to leadership on the team you've got a couple of senior guys and one of them is Dansby. And the young guys have a nickname for him, the "Sheriff". Have you heard of this nickname, and why do they call him that?

BRIAN SNITKER: That's a new one to me there.

Q. I know Ronald has some family matters to handle yesterday. How is that going? Is he going to be okay for today?

BRIAN SNITKER: He should be, yeah.