NL DIVISION SERIES: PHILLIES VS BRAVES

October 13, 2022

Rob Thomson

Citizen's Bank Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. They have not named the Game 3 starter yet. What impact does that have if any on you guys?

ROB THOMSON: Not that much. I'm sure it's going to be a right-hander. And we'll probably go with our right-hand lineup.

Q. And you look at -- a lot has been made of Schwarber's and Hoskins' struggles through the postseason. What have you seen from them and can the day off be good for them going forward?

ROB THOMSON: I think days off can help guys in a lot of different ways. I think Hoskins is getting close. He's starting to loft a lot of balls and square up balls. He's just not squaring them up enough. But Schwarb is caught in between a little bit. He's just maybe trying to do a little too much. Maybe a day off helps those guys a lot.

Q. Is there more you can you do than hope just a day off fixes them? Are they in today? Do you do extra hitting or watch more videos for either of them?

ROB THOMSON: I don't question their preparation at all. We're going to be out earlier tomorrow and do our normal day. We'll have the curveball machine early and guys that want to hit off that, they can do that. I'm sure they'll be in the cages and watching video and doing everything they can to prepare for the game.

Q. (Indiscernible) wasn't an issue last night. But the closer situation the other night, you stood behind Zach obviously after that game. Any change in thinking there at all?

ROB THOMSON: I've never really named a closer. So I'm reading a bunch of stuff where Zach's the closer. And he's not the closer. We don't really have one. Just the seventh, eighth, ninth, it's all dependent on where we are in the lineup and whether we deploy Alvarado or Seranthony or Eflin or Bellatti or whomever, that's where we're going to go.

It just so happened that the last couple of times Zach's finished a game; that was kind of his spot. And the other spots in the seventh and eighth came up where we wanted Seranthony and Alvarado on those guys.

Q. Is there any change at the top of the lineup?

ROB THOMSON: No. No chance.

Q. So, Schwarber and Hoskins will be 1-2 tomorrow?

ROB THOMSON: Yes.

Q. What do you remember from being in the opposing dugout from the environment of Citizens Bank Park during the playoffs?

ROB THOMSON: Electric. And it can be intimidating at times. So I'm expecting that type of atmosphere tomorrow. I really am. I think our fan base has been -- they've been off for a few years now on playoff baseball and I think they'll be raring to go tomorrow.

Q. I'm sure you can appreciate the meaning of certain moments for certain people. Is there something almost perfect about the first postseason game in Citizens Bank Park in 11 years being started by Aaron Nola?

ROB THOMSON: Good point. He's been around for a while now and hasn't experienced playoff baseball. And he's a playoff-type pitcher.

And I think he's probably got the most longevity here as far as on our pitching staff. So I think it is fitting that he's the first starter back here. No doubt.

Q. Since we last saw you here, it's been a long, strange trip for you guys.

ROB THOMSON: Long.

Q. Could you talk about the journey you guys embarked on and how pit got you to this point hosting your first season postseason game in over a decade?

ROB THOMSON: Obviously very disappointing in Chicago. We kind of reset in Washington and won three out of four and then finally clinched in Houston. The last two games in Houston, there wasn't much adrenaline in those games. We clinched and we were just trying to keep people healthy, get them their at-bats, get them their innings and make sure everybody is fresh for the St. Louis series.

And then really playing well against St. Louis, a really good club and beating them. And then splitting Atlanta.

It's been a long go. I'm glad to be home. I think all of on your players are really happy to be home and excited for tomorrow night. But it was -- somebody said the other day it's the longest road trip in baseball history. I'm not sure if that's true or not. But it seemed like it to me. But it's really good to be home.

Q. Noah pitching last night, does that affect your Game 4 plans?

ROB THOMSON: Not really. He needed work. There's a bunch of guys that needed work. They haven't pitched in a while. If we decide on Game 4 that Noah is a starter, that one inning won't affect him that much.

Q. You haven't decided or at least --

ROB THOMSON: We haven't decided, to tell you the truth.

Q. What's going to go into that decision?

ROB THOMSON: Depends on tomorrow. Who we need tomorrow. If we get into an extra-inning game tomorrow, then whoever we thought was going to start probably isn't going to start and we use him, he's not going to start, obviously.

Q. When you called Nola a "playoff pitcher," what do you mean specifically by that?

ROB THOMSON: Stuff. Demeanor. Poise. You name all those things, he's got it all. He's even-keeled every day. Doesn't matter whether he's pitching, not pitching, whether he's pitching well, not pitching well, doesn't matter. He goes about his business the same way every day. And with his talent and that type of makeup and all the intangibles he brings, that, to me, makes him a playoff type pitcher, big game pitcher.

Q. Both these teams have plenty of power threats up and down the lineup. But the first two games have been decided by manufacturing runs. With how tight this is, does it feel like one swing could kind of change the series, or is it that just going to playoff baseball?

ROB THOMSON: One swing could change a series, but I think, when you get in the playoffs and you're facing good pitching, it's all the little things you do. You can't rely on banging a bunch of home runs out there. You've got to do a lot of little things, run bases well, get extra bases when you can. Maybe move runners by via the bunt or hit and run or however you need to do it.

But I think those are the things that you need to do in this type of atmosphere, with all this really good pitching that we're going to face.