NL DIVISION SERIES: PHILLIES VS BRAVES

October 12, 2022

Brian Snitker

Truist Park

Atlanta Braves

Pregame 2 Press Conference

Q. How encouraged were you with what Ozuna did throughout September?

BRIAN SNITKER: It's pretty good. When I go and I look at matchups and everything, I look on the thing and he's hit everybody. I mean, and his experience and all that. And I was trying to give him enough to try to get him going, just because I knew a guy like that can be a big help. So hopefully he does.

Q. What's the latest on Strider?

BRIAN SNITKER: He's fine. I mean, he threw yesterday, his light bullpen. Felt good. So he's kind of right where we want him to be.

Q. Do you know when or how he might be used?

BRIAN SNITKER: No.

Q. The obvious follow-up, you don't know who starting Game 3 right now?

BRIAN SNITKER: Right.

Q. And on Kyle Wright, what have you seen from him in terms of since he went down to the minors and came back, how he's a different guy?

BRIAN SNITKER: Just more mature. I think I've said this a number of times, just the first day I saw him in spring training he was a different guy. I think the greatest thing we could have done last year was leave him in Triple-A.

With the consistency of the work, he figured out who he is. We ask so much of these guys at a young age when we draft them and bring them up and they get here. And I just think those added innings and the consistency helped him a lot.

And I think that obviously the game in the World Series did him a lot of good. He just came to camp with a lot more focus and drive and just more confidence, pretty much.

Q. He speaks a lot about the mental game and how he's matured in that aspect of it. How important has it been to se him grow mentally and how important is confidence as a pitcher?

BRIAN SNITKER: It's confidence as a baseball player. It's not just a pitcher. That's the key to a lot of our players over the last few years, they matured and they have confidence. And they know they belong here and can compete here. That's probably the biggest part of these guys pulling off the layers to become Major Leaguers is that confidence in "I belong here".

Q. Matt Olson obviously went through the lull in September and ends up the final National League Player of the Week. We saw that hit that bomb yesterday. How do you see him handle those frustrations through the last full month?

BRIAN SNITKER: What I saw through him all year and everything, all the new experiences I think that were presented to him from the day he got here. And he just kept working late in the year.

And it happens. You don't know when, but these guys are going to have to fight through adversities and he did. He stayed within himself and continued to work and he wanted to keep playing. When those guys do that, usually if they handle it, there's something really good on the other end of it.

Q. I know the weather is always changing, but is there any conversation with the MLB about like the chance of rain or anything with you guys?

BRIAN SNITKER: There's a chance of rain. (Laughter) I looked on my forecast. I woke up this morning and the sun wasn't shining. I kind of went to the radar.

It's kind of too early really right now to -- we just don't know. I think when it starts raining, if it does. But when you're around here, you could get all that and it never Rains. You don't know.

It's too early right now to plan anything. And I think everybody is just kind of in a wait-and-see mode right now.

Q. I know lefty to righty today. And you've seen Wheeler a ton. Switching Olson and Riley, just the way you structured the lineup today could you walk through --

BRIAN SNITKER: Matt is swinging the bat pretty good and just to kind of break the right-handed run up a little bit. You never know what's going to work. You know what, you make this line up out and you look at the numbers and who matches up good and all that. You run them out there and hopefully it plays.

You just never know. But kind of just break up the right-handers against the right-handed pitching pretty much.

Q. Obviously you don't want to be in an 0-1 hole but how much does the team really love to get up for these moments and get a chance to come back tonight and get a win?

BRIAN SNITKER: We've been through this a lot. We started out the run last year in the same situation. I think these guys have been very good about putting yesterday behind because the only thing we can control is the day. We talk a lot about that.

You come out, you prepare to win the game today because yesterday is gone. Tomorrow is light years away. The only thing we focus on right now is today. This group has been resilient.

Like yesterday, I saw the resiliency and how they put innings behind them. As long as they have an out left, they kind of feel like they have a chance.

Q. Did you get an update from Matzek?

BRIAN SNITKER: Yeah, actually he's going into surgery today. So he's going to have the Tommy John, I think, probably as we speak right now. They evaluated him yesterday. And usually when they do that, if they deem that's what the action is, they'll just keep him right there and do it. I think he's probably going through it right now.

Q. He's been a big part of what you guys have done here. How bad do you feel for a guy like that?

BRIAN SNITKER: Hate it for him. He's struggled with things all year. I don't know, maybe this is the reason. And I think him going ahead and getting it done and starting the process, I think he feels really good about that.

Now he can look forward to -- not look forward to it, but go through his rehab. And on the back end of that he's still a young man, have a really good career as we've seen what he can do.

I hate it for him that he can't experience this again. But talking to him, when he left to go for the examination, he was in a good place, and I think he felt good about his future and going ahead and taking care of this.

Q. Can you kind of educate me a little bit on what you're looking to see from Strider? Is it just that he's recovering okay?

BRIAN SNITKER: He has. I think what we were looking for him was for him to throw, come in the next day, feel okay, and then get back out there, like he did yesterday.

So I think he's passed everything but pitching in a game right now. So we feel good about that. Now it's just the determination of when and how we're going to use him.

Q. Just knowing that Michael Harris has been bouncing around the lineup a lot but still able to be one of those guys, he's also going through a little bit of a lull right now, but what have you seen from him and being able to adjust on the fly?

BRIAN SNITKER: Just consistency. Just not panicking. He's got a lot of confidence in his abilities and rightly so. He should have. And I just kind of see an even keel, no panic in him, continuing to do his work.

And the at-bats are competitive. And he's not getting results he wants all the time. That's baseball. It's just part of what you go through in this game. But the way he's handling everything I think has been very mature and very professional.

Q. I know you're still mapping out games 3 and 4 as far as starting pitchers are concerned, Charlie Morton has been a big part of this staff, the veteran anchor of this staff. This has been kind of an up-and-down season for him. What do you feel, if anything, is an adjustment he can make to get himself back on the track and look more like the Charlie Morton we're accustomed to?

BRIAN SNITKER: Charlie, in there every day, they're always looking at different things, analytically, pitch mix, video. He's another one that's always trying to make himself look better. They continue to work on it every day.

Kranny, the whole thing, they're breaking video down and talking about things. And Charlie's been through all this too.

But he's another one, I don't think, that doesn't feel like he still can't improve. You just bank on Charlie's experience and what he's been through to get him through.

Q. Seems like his numbers on the road aren't as good as they are at home. Any working theories to that or do you think that's something that's pretty random?

BRIAN SNITKER: I just try not to make too much of that. I don't know.