NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: PHILLIES VS PADRES

October 18, 2022

Bob Melvin

Petco Park

San Diego Padres

Postgame 1 Press Conference

Phillies 2, Padres 0

Q. What made Wheeler so tough on you guys tonight?

BOB MELVIN: Well, really good fastball early. Started mixing up his slider a little bit, and then started using his curveball next time around.

That's probably as good a pitching performance we've seen all year, is my guess. Only walked one, struck out eight. Was ahead in the count. Was pretty good.

Q. What were your thoughts on Darvish?

BOB MELVIN: Yeah, shoot, same thing, kinda. Seven strikeouts, one walk, only gave up three hits, two of them were homers. But those are the type of games that give you a chance to win. We just couldn't do enough offensively.

Q. You guys have prided yourselves on how important it is to bounce back from a loss, and you've been able to do it. How do you put this one behind you?

BOB MELVIN: Yeah, good. Get out there as soon as we can. Offensively we mounted a little something there in the ninth. We always feel good when we have a chance to win in the ninth inning. Didn't happen. But it leaves kind of a bad taste in your mouth so you want to get out there as quickly as you can.

Q. Wheeler was ahead, but also a lot of one-pitch and two-pitch at-bats, and you were swinging early. Was that the plan from the start?

BOB MELVIN: I think a little of both, trying to be aggressive with his fastball. We know he comes in early in the game throwing fastballs. So trying to be aggressive and get a good one to hit. Next couple times around maybe mixes it up some, but we were trying to be aggressive with him because we were hunting fastball early in the game.

Q. I know your options based on performance are limited, but Bell batting there in the ninth, what was that?

BOB MELVIN: What was it? Well, he's the only guy on our team to homer off him. He's faced him the most, so that's why he was hitting.

Q. Obviously this is a best-of-seven series, not a five or even two out of three. A little bit of breathing room for you here going forward. Is that kind of your message to your team?

BOB MELVIN: They don't need a message. They know we need to come out and take at least one of these at home. Tomorrow is a big game for us. I know it's a seven-game series, but when you start out at home, you'd like to try to win that first one. If it doesn't happen, you certainly feel a little more importance on the second game. We need to come out and swing the bats a little better. It doesn't get much easier. Their guy tomorrow is pretty good, too, but we need to be better with our at-bats.