NL DIVISION SERIES: PHILLIES VS BRAVES

October 11, 2022

Bryce Harper

Nick Castellanos

Truist Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Postgame 1 Press Conference

Phillies - 7, Braves - 6

Q. Bryce, do you think Nick today deserves a Silver Slugger or a Gold Glove?

BRYCE HARPER: I thought he played great, from at-bat one to the ninth inning there. I thought our whole lineup had a really good plan today against Fried. Timely hitting with two outs also. Just really I think all around I thought everybody did a great job. And what a team win.

Q. Nick, that ball off the bat in the ninth, it's sinking, Rhys said he was kind of praying and first thought it might have dropped it was so close. Walk us through what you saw on that play.

NICK CASTELLANOS: Well, I mean, I saw him swing and I saw him hit it. And it was just going towards me and I ran and caught it as best I could. And it worked out.

Q. That easy?

NICK CASTELLANOS: That's what was going through my head, honestly. It was up there, and do anything I could to not let it hit the ground.

Q. There was a lot of -- nobody really knew how these playoffs would express themselves with you guys playing over the weekend and these guys coming off a layoff. Do you think that's something that could work in your advantage, the fact that you're coming off the series that you did? You had some success early today and they were coming off a five-day layoff.

BRYCE HARPER: That's a really good team over there. That's a team we faced a lot during the regular season, of course. And we know we have to come in here ready to play, no matter if they had days off or if they didn't, or if we had days off or we didn't.

So we just have to have that mindset every day that we walk in and understand that we're here to win games. We don't want to get behind. We want to stay ahead. When you don't lose, you win. That's the mindset.

Q. Nick, after you made your catch, you laid on your back and you looked up at the sky. Looked like you were happy, relieved. What was going through your mind after the catch?

NICK CASTELLANOS: All the above. Just looking, like, thank God I caught that ball. Just they obviously had a big point in the game right there with putting them within one. So to be able to catch that and have two outs and nobody on base I mean was huge.

Q. Bryce, you've got your co-aces coming up with, you need two wins and you've got your two best pitchers. How good a spot are you -- with all due respect to the Braves, how good a spot are you guys in now?

BRYCE HARPER: We're super confident, but that's a great team over there, as you said. They're a team that's confident in what they do. We've got to go out there, play our game, score the runs that we can against them. And hopefully Wheels and Nols can shut the door and let the bullpen do their job as well.

We just gotta stay on them, keep going, understand if we go home 2-0 it's a big advantage for us especially going into the postseason in Philadelphia. Gotta enjoy this one today and get ready for tomorrow and finish the job.

Q. Nick, the season probably hasn't gone exactly how you wanted it to go. How do you feel or how does it make you feel to have like your breakout game today in such a big moment in Game 1 of the NLDS?

NICK CASTELLANOS: Anytime that I do anything to help the team that wins, to be able to now get to where as a team we want to get to, the postseason, we're in a great spot. It's kind of just a fresh start, a clean slate, so to speak. And obviously these games are really intense.

For me, that helps me lock in and kind of slowed things down. It's just a lot of fun. Baseball is really, really fun right now.

Q. I imagine for you it's been the most fun it's been all year, right?

NICK CASTELLANOS: There's no question.

Q. Bryce, I think Rob said all the bunting was on your own. Is that all about the playoffs or is it about the shift, the situation and the playoffs? Take us through that.

BRYCE HARPER: I was trying to bunt for a hit. Saw Riley over and just didn't get it where I wanted to be. Of course you know Fried's really good on the mound with his glove. So you've got to try to get it past him best as possible. And it kind of worked out.

Castie came up and hit the ball off the wall, just big hit after big hit. I think Matty V bunted, too, to get Sos to third or whatever it was or vice versa. We got that run in as well.

Anytime you can take a chance to get a run in, that's what you want to do. So it definitely worked out today.

Q. That first inning was like the ninth in Game 1 against St. Louis; four singles. You guys are a power-hitting team. But this postseason you've kind of manufactured runs and poked them in. Is that kind of what Rob was talking about after the clincher, unselfish at-bats, just taking what's there?

NICK CASTELLANOS: I'd say taking what's there. Kevin Long said before the postseason started to just pass the baton. And sometimes power-hitting teams can get in trouble when they're looking to hit the long ball if the game is not giving them the opportunity to hit the long ball.

And I think that first inning, like in the ninth inning in St. Louis, it's just a really good job of taking what the game gives you. Sometimes the game gives you a walk. Sometimes the game gives you a pitch where you can just get it through the infield. And I think that was what those two innings were.

Q. Nick, obviously took some really good swings today. Had the three hits. Generally how do you feel since you've been back? It's been I guess, what, like two and a half weeks now since you've been back. How does the swing feel? How does the approach feel at the plate?

NICK CASTELLANOS: I have really short-term memory. Today it felt great, and that's the only thing really that I'm focused on and then getting ready to go and make sure it feels great again tomorrow.

Q. You mentioned you're able to kind of slow down. Feel like that's the opposite of how a lot of guys feel in the postseason. It's very high stress environment. Is that just something that comes naturally to you? Is there anything you do in these minutes to kind of slow down?

NICK CASTELLANOS: I don't know. I can't really explain it, right. It's just --

BRYCE HARPER: He played a way bigger game when we were 18 years old with USA Baseball. So...

NICK CASTELLANOS: I can't explain it. It's one of those things that the air is different, the atmosphere is different. And those are all things that I really enjoy.

Q. Seranthony was kind of up and down in September, but today, the last couple he's looked like the dominant Seranthony. What could that mean if indeed he's back to being Seranthony and what did it mean today?

BRYCE HARPER: I think it takes time to get back to where you need to be after something, you're not feeling good or if you're going through a stretch or something like that. And now it's clicking for him right now. That's huge for us. It's huge for our whole bullpen.

Avi has been throwing the crap out of it. He's been throwing the crap out of it. Eflin, I know today was tough. I thought it was a good pitch to Olson, and he just made a really good swing and got barrel.

So I think our bullpen's been really good. Bellatti threw the ball well today. I just think if we can have our starting pitching do what they do and our bullpen do their job, we're going to win baseball games.