NL DIVISION SERIES: PADRES VS DODGERS

October 14, 2022

Evan Phillips

Petco Park

Los Angeles Dodgers

Pregame 3 Press Conference

Q. Evan, heading into Game 3 with a split series, what's the mindset or is there a specific approach for you guys? How are you feeling heading into these two games here in San Diego?

EVAN PHILLIPS: I think everyone is pretty relaxed. I think I'm just going to echo what I've said the past few days, is we're going to take things one day at a time. There's no pressure in our clubhouse right now. Everyone is pretty free, pretty loose. It just feels like another game.

Q. Chris was just in here, and he said he believes the Padres are playing their best baseball of the season. In that first game when you came in for the sixth inning, could you sense that as well, their at-bats, are they the best that you've experienced this year, after seeing them in September?

EVAN PHILLIPS: Yeah, you could say that, but I think we see everyone's best. Every time you play the Dodgers I think there's always -- it's an elevated game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

I think us seeing the Padres so much this year, we always want to win these big games, so I think it being the playoffs, obviously these games mean just a little bit more.

But I think you see that from everybody across the board. I think the effort level is just increased as a whole across the board.

Q. Just given kind of you guys don't have a lot of defined roles with the way the bullpen is set up right now, going into every game, how much of an idea do you usually have about who you might be facing or when you might be pitching, and how do you just go through the process of preparing for that each night?

EVAN PHILLIPS: Our staff does a great job of communicating what might be expected of us each and every night. So I think on a day-to-day basis they approach us with maybe a stretch of hitters or a line of innings that they're expecting out of us.

They do a great job of letting us know early enough to where we can prepare in the bullpen. Even if they don't, even if for whatever reason they haven't communicated that message, each of us has a good feel for what the starting pitcher is doing and when we need to prepare and how we need to move around and get ready to go in and pitch.

Q. Not every reliever would be able to handle that sort of setup. Why do you think you've been able to adjust to it and succeed with the way it's shaped up here?

EVAN PHILLIPS: I think we've somewhat done it this way all season. Unfortunately we lost Blake early and Daniel Hudson shortly after that. Outside of the ninth inning early in the year, we didn't really have defined roles and it was just, again, going out there and getting the guys out that we were called upon for.

I think the nature of what our bullpen has done this whole season, everyone has somewhat just bought into that idea of when the phone rings and your name is called, you go out there and you get your outs.

Q. Evan, given the circumstances after losing Game 2, how helpful is the game off or the day off yesterday, not only from a bullpen standpoint but just overall team standpoint?

EVAN PHILLIPS: Yeah, you know, the travel was brutal, you could say, coming down from Los Angeles --

Q. Brutal for us, too.

EVAN PHILLIPS: There was some traffic, but besides that, it's just a nice reset button. I think the idea of the off-day is to allow everyone to even the playing field a little bit for both sides.

That being said, we're all going to come out here hopefully fresh and hopefully refreshed and reenergized and ready to win a ballgame.

Q. Everyone kind of talks about the game planning that you guys do as a staff. How different is the game planning dossiers that they give you before a series different from other places you've been?

EVAN PHILLIPS: You know, it's hard for me to really expand on that because in my prior organizations, Baltimore, we didn't really have as many defined roles. It was more so who's available to pitch that night. It's much different with a winning ballclub that's got the idea of winning the World Series.

This is the first time I've really experienced anything like this. But just as a baseball fan and watching games growing up, it felt like there was always that sixth, seventh, eight, ninth inning guy. But I think the Dodgers have kind of invented this new way of approach to a bullpen, you could say.

And I think you've seen it work for us most of the season. It's just a more, I guess, like a focused approach on getting certain hitters out and understanding what pitcher may have an advantage over those guys each and every night.

Q. How much do you guys get used to pitching in leverage, just you having to slow down the moment, sort of anticipating everything that comes with it, especially in this environment?

EVAN PHILLIPS: Yeah, my mindset has been something I've had to develop over the course of my entire pitching career, all the way from high school through college. There have been moments where I would let situations or the score dictate my emotions for that inning, and it was just a very unhealthy process for me.

Allowing myself to hit zero every single time and go out there with just a baseline mentality every single inning no matter what inning it is has really helped with those leverage innings.

Q. Your starting pitcher tonight, Tony Gonsolin, reminds me a little of you in the sense he's been around the game for a while, but this year they've put the pieces together and are having a career season. On the opposite side, Blake Snell is a former Cy Young Award winner, historically has been very good. When it comes to that matchup in the postseason, does recent success and having a great year roll over, or having historically multiyear success, how do you think that plays out?

EVAN PHILLIPS: I think both of them can go hand in hand. What Blake Snell has done across his career is very commendable, and I think the Padres would expect to get some of that here tonight. And same goes for the Dodgers with us with Tony. He's had a career season, like you said, and we expect to get the best out of him, as well.