NL DIVISION SERIES: PHILLIES VS BRAVES

October 13, 2022

Aaron Nola

Citizen's Bank Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Just knowing who your opponent has been, when you face a division opponent, does it help you any at all in preparing for your start tomorrow?

AARON NOLA: Just have to execute my pitches a lot, obviously. I've seen them a lot. They've seen me a lot. You've heard the guys talk about it when they're up here, we played each other quite a bit.

I know what they've got. I know what I have. It all comes down to executing all my pitches and hopefully I have all of them working.

Q. It's been a long time since there's been a postseason baseball game in Philadelphia. What does it mean to you that you're the guy who gets to start this game?

AARON NOLA: It means a lot. I'm excited to see the atmosphere. Like you said, it's been a while. Actually, it's really good to be home. We've been on the road for a little bit. And I think everybody, the whole team, is excited getting on that baseball field tomorrow and compete against this team in this position.

So it's been fun so far. And we know it's going to be a competitive game. And going to leave it all out on the field.

Q. When you first got here, there was still people left who were around from 2011, players, coaches. Did you ever ask them about postseason baseball in Philadelphia?

AARON NOLA: They said it's something special. They say it's -- I've actually talked to some guys who have played here as an opponent, and they said it's one of the worst places to play, being an opponent, but one of the best atmosphere-wise.

So I think that's what we can't wait for. We know it's going to be electric. And just to finally get back here in the postseason, it's awesome.

Q. What's the first thing you're going to do when you get home after this long road trip?

AARON NOLA: I'm going to do a little workout today. Throw a little bit. Get home, relax a little bit, see my dogs. Watch a little bit of video on these guys for tomorrow, try to get some sleep.

Q. Brandon Marsh said he packed enough to not have to do laundry the whole trip. Did you fare the same?

AARON NOLA: Yeah, I didn't do any laundry the whole trip. I'll probably do some laundry when I get back. That will probably be one of the first things. It's good to be back now and hopefully get settled in for a few days.

Q. For that long road trip, you mentioned you're a close-knit group already. Do you feel like being on the road for so long and having to spend all that extra time together did something for you to help push you to where you are now?

AARON NOLA: I really think so. Jumping around from city to city and won some big games. It was fun. I think it really did bring us closer. And clinching to go to the wild card and to come to the DS brought us closer. We had a good time. We had a really good time with everybody. Just good to be back, though.

Q. Did you have any nerves that first postseason start? And how do you balance soaking in the adrenaline of tomorrow's start?

AARON NOLA: I have butterflies. I still get butterflies, especially the first inning, first pitch of every game. Of course this is my first postseason game. It's cool, I had some adrenaline rolling through my body. And the atmosphere in St. Louis, it was cool. And in that game it felt pretty neat.

But my main focus was to not try to be anybody I'm not and not try to do anything more than what I've done all year, just to be myself and make quality pitches.

Q. And how much have you been able to follow your brother's success so far this season?

AARON NOLA: I follow it. He's done really well. I watched a little bit of the game last night and a couple of the games when they were in New York. It's good to see him. Good to see him succeeding in a Division Series. It's good to see him healthy again. He's doing really well.

Q. Have you guys talked about the possibility of playing in a postseason series against each other?

AARON NOLA: A little bit. Not really, though. That would be pretty cool, pretty cool for my family as well. I don't know when the last time two brothers played in one of those was before. But it's pretty neat.

But I don't want to jump ahead too far. I've got to focus on tomorrow and try to win a game tomorrow. That's the first step.

Q. These first two games, you guys kind of went with small ball in the first game. And last night Zack's cruising and a hit batter and a ground ball finds its way through. Is that kind of emphasizing the importance of every single pitch when two teams are so close in this type of series?

AARON NOLA: Yeah, every pitch is important, every play, at-bat, out, it's all important, no matter what it is.

We had two really good pitchers going up against each other last night. Knew the game might be a low-scoring game. They put it out, unfortunately, for us. But good game, though.

It's going to be a battle every single game with these guys. We know that. So that's our goal is to stay focused every single pitch.