NL DIVISION SERIES: PADRES VS DODGERS

October 12, 2022

Dave Roberts

Dodger Stadium

Los Angeles Dodgers

Postgame 2 Press Conference

Padres - 5, Dodgers - 3

THE MODERATOR: First question for Dave.

Q. I guess let's start with Clayton. What did you think of his start, and how important was it for him to get through five?

DAVE ROBERTS: It was huge to get him through five. Allowed us to stay away from some guys. Now it's a best-of-three series. I just felt that he just didn't -- he wasn't sharp. I thought it was a grind all night for him.

Missing just a little bit with the fastball. The slider, couldn't have feel for it until probably that 4th, 5th inning, and there were some other decent ones before that.

The curveball didn't really have feel for. So he was just out there in compete mode trying to weather the storm and try to get some outs, but for him to put up a couple of zeros in the 4th and 5th inning, so not to completely spell the pen, was big.

Q. Dave, just how much does the complexion of a series change at 1-1, and was tonight one of these games where you guys maybe weren't quite as clean as you want to be, especially this time of year?

DAVE ROBERTS: Well, we weren't clean. Every game, obviously, is big, but I thought we had a great approach versus Yu. We stretched him. I thought we had a good plan.

You just look at the game, and there were a couple of opportunities two innings back-to-back that we had an opportunity situationally to push a run across to tie the game, let alone to potentially take the lead, and we couldn't do that.

It just -- defensively it just wasn't clean either.

Q. Should Max have been able to get to second on that ball that went over Soto's head? Was he -- did he get thrown off --

DAVE ROBERTS: I think the deep got him, Soto deep with the glove, and I think at that point in time he sold it well enough that Max slowed up and ended up at first base.

Q. Dave, many of the hitters from both teams were swinging at the first pitch. Was that very aggressive as you expected from both teams?

DAVE ROBERTS: From them I certainly expected that because Clayton is a strike thrower. Likes to get strike one.

For us we were kind of just hunting a certain zone. I thought that the balls that were in the strike zone to be aggressive at them I thought was a good game plan.

Q. Going with Austin Barnes as opposed to maybe Hader or Miguel Vargas in that situation?

DAVE ROBERTS: Austin, I really like -- Hader is tough on anyone, but I just felt that Austin's short swing, it's a flat path. Hader throws the four-seam right fastball. C.T. has a swing that's more uphill.

Austin has had success against Hader, so he has seen him more than -- as much as anyone has. He took two good swings.

Q. Earlier in the season we talked a lot about Cody, and you said we think you'll hit at some point, but his defense is so good that that keeps him in the lineup every day. Unfortunately, he hasn't hit the way everybody hoped. Is that kind of where we are given that one play defensively, or is there a way he might not start one of these games?

DAVE ROBERTS: He is not going to start against Snell Game 3, but he made a heck of a play in that Graterol inning that kept the game close.

I know he is doing the best he can, and he snuck in a knock tonight. He still is working through some things, but yeah, I mean, at some point we're going to need that offense, certainly.

Q. Who is going to start center field?

DAVE ROBERTS: It will be Trayce Thompson.

Q. Dave, what did you see of that ground ball that Trea couldn't handle there in the 6th inning?

DAVE ROBERTS: I thought he might have been a little too quick. You're not going to double the guy up. So just to get the lead runner was really important, and I just think that the exchange wasn't good.

I didn't look at it again. That's a play that Trea knows that we just need to get that lead runner.

Q. You were noncommittal on a starting pitcher for Game 3. Now that we're through this game?

DAVE ROBERTS: Tony Gonsolin will start.

Q. How do you feel about it?

DAVE ROBERTS: We extended him in the live sim games that we had this past week. We feel good about the length and how he is throwing the baseball.

Q. Is that because of the loss tonight or more because of where the bullpen is at and kind of -- or where the staff is at as a whole?

DAVE ROBERTS: I don't know if it was driven by that. Just kind of thinking about it today, we were talking a little bit about it, trying to focus on today; but we just felt that, regardless of the outcome, we felt good about Tony.

Q. Then just to clarify, so not putting C.T. there in the 8th, it had nothing to do with his health at all?

DAVE ROBERTS: No. C.T. will start Game 3.

Thanks.