NL DIVISION SERIES: PHILLIES VS BRAVES

October 14, 2022

J.T. Realmuto

Citizen's Bank Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Pregame 3 Press Conference

Q. What was the clubhouse's reaction to the passing of Corey Phelan yesterday?

J.T. REALMUTO: It was pretty tough, honestly. We got to know Corey and his family pretty well. It's just tragic news. He was such an incredible human being. Brought so much light to our clubhouse the few times we got to see him and speak with him. And our condolences just out for his family. And it's a really tough situation for the Phillies.

Q. Did you get to spend anytime with him when he was up here?

J.T. REALMUTO: Yeah. He came to the clubhouse, I want to say, three times this year. And just got to speak with him and he was always so positive even with everything he was going through. He just brought light to our clubhouse.

We got to pray with him a few times. And his faith was pretty inspiring for a lot of us. He definitely touched a lot of hearts in that clubhouse. And we're going to miss him dearly.

Q. How do you feel about finally being home after a few weeks? And what are you expecting out there today, hope to see out there today?

J.T. REALMUTO: We're definitely excited to be back. It's been a long time on the road. We're just looking forward to this experience, looking forward to the Phillies fans this red October that we've all heard about that we haven't got to experience. It's been a long time coming.

We know the fans are excited. And we're excited to be out there, play some quality baseball, and hopefully get a couple of wins while we're here.

Q. You've faced a lot of good fastballs in this game. Where does Strider's rank and what makes it kind of unique among power fastballs in this game?

J.T. REALMUTO: It's definitely, for starting pitchers, it's up there near the top. It's just, obviously, he has the velo, throwing it at 97 to 100. But it's got good spin rate, good carry. And he's also got a short-arm action.

It's 98 to 100 but it's playing even faster than that. It's hard to imagine. And his fastball plays even better because he does a good job mixing the slider in and he can throw it for strikes. And he'll throw the slider behind in the count. He just mixes so well even with that plus-heater, it makes it tough on hitters.

Q. Nola, in the last two starts, where do these starts rank in terms of you catching him, just total package -- execution, stuff, overall performance? Is he right on top of his game?

J.T. REALMUTO: Yeah, I would say so. I think he's come up the biggest for us when we've needed it. In these last couple of starts we needed the best version of him. That's exactly what he's delivered.

He's had command of all of his pitches, which he normally does, but even more so these last couple of starts. And he's done a good job mixing, keeping hitters off balance. You know Nola, he's going to attack the strike zone. He strikes a lot of guys out, but he doesn't walk anybody.

In games that matter like this, every single baserunner is extremely important, and he makes it hard on the opposing hitters to get on base by throwing strikes and getting ahead in the count.

Like I said, he's been the best version of himself when we've needed it. I expect good things out of him today.

Q. The decision to stay overnight in Atlanta and fly the next day, how did that all come about? Were you guys consulted? Do you think it was ultimately a good thing to get you rest and travel the next day?

J.T. REALMUTO: I think so. Dave held a team meeting while we were in the rain delay in Atlanta that day, and he kind of presented it as a question. Like, what do you guys think? I've spoke with the training staff and strength staff and they think it might be a good idea to stay here tonight because it could be such a late night in Atlanta.

At this time, we didn't know what time the game was going to start. We could have been done playing at midnight for all we knew. They just thought getting our sleep, a normal sleep night that night would be important for us. Pretty much the whole team was on board with it.

He presented it as a question. He gave us the option, this is what we think is best; are you comfortable with it? And everybody was pretty much on board.

Q. What's the first thing when you got home -- it's been a while -- what's the first thing you did?

J.T. REALMUTO: Hugged my kids. They were pretty excited. They were on the road with us a lot. But just sleeping in my bed was incredible. The first thing I did was give them a hug, took a shower and then took a nap. It was nice to get in my own bed for once.

Q. Wanted to ask about a couple of relievers, what you're seeing stuff-wise from Seranthony compared to what you saw from him, even, say, a month ago, and also on Eflin, how he's kind of handling the bullpen and what it's been like for you?

J.T. REALMUTO: Seranthony's stuff is definitely back to what it was earlier in the season. I thought there, coming off the IL, he just kind of lost a little command with his slider. His stuff was really good, he just wasn't commanding the off-speed pitches as well, particularly his slider, and just falling too behind in the count too often.

But the last couple times out he's been able to get ahead of guys, throw the breaking pitch for a strike. When he has two really good fastballs, with his sinker and his four-seam, being able to throw the slider for a strike is really important for him. And that's something he's done for us well lately.

I think Eflin, he's given us exactly what we needed there in the back end of the bullpen. He's going to come in, throw strikes. He's going to make the other team put the ball in play. And he's cool as a cucumber out there. There's no situation that he seems to get too revved up in, so he's definitely done a good job for us back there.