NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: PHILLIES VS PADRES

October 22, 2022

Bob Melvin

Citizens Bank Park

San Diego Padres

Pregame 4 Press Conference

Q. The Philly defense coming into this series was something that people were questioning. They've made three errors, but it hasn't turned into big bonanza type innings for you guys so far. Is that something you need to do more of moving forward when you get those opportunities?

BOB MELVIN: Yeah, I think regardless of how you get there, when you have opportunities, especially in the postseason, to come up with big hits, a lot of times that's how you win games. That's how they beat us yesterday.

We left some guys on there in key situations, especially after maybe some freebies as far as getting on base, and we've got to do a better job of taking advantage of that.

Q. As far as Mike Clevinger goes, he said his knee has felt good this week. Have you seen any pattern of how his knee is feeling between starts and the quality of start that follows that because of the work he's able to get done in between?

BOB MELVIN: Yeah, some. It's been an on and off issue over the course of the season. We've seen some good games and some that haven't gone as planned. He pushes through. He's a gamer. He never complains about it.

Speaking to him, this has been a really good week for him.

Q. There's been a lot of talk about the five in five days, but I imagine that's completely out the window when you're looking at your bullpen usage for today, and it just about winning this one?

BOB MELVIN: Whatever transpires the day before dictates where you're going the next day, especially with five days in a row. We did not use a lot of guys that we typically use in games when we're ahead. You have some rest, Martinez got a second day of rest too.

We'll see how we get to the middle to late innings, but we have to look at this game as a game that we pull out all the stops.

Q. Nola today, that's just a product of him feeling up for it?

BOB MELVIN: Yeah, he feels good. Based on the fact we lost yesterday, it's a little different dynamic going into a game that we're down 2-1 in the series.

Q. I know you're hoping Clevinger goes farther then to create a pseudo bullpen day. During the season you would manage rotational rests like that at different points in time, but with so much at stake and a weekend where so much is at the brink, how do you manage this in terms of decision-making in ways that you probably wouldn't in the regular season?

BOB MELVIN: Every day in the postseason feels like on the brink, to tell you the truth. When you've lost a game the day before, it feels even more so.

But it just depends on how far he's gone. Sean Manaea is a guy we've had a lot of faith in this year. He could show up in this game depending how long Clev goes, but I think it has a lot to do with what we get out of Mike Clevinger to begin the game with, how many innings we get out of him to start.

It's not a scripted deal today. We have an idea how things will go, you know, different scenarios, but it all starts with how Clev performs.

Q. You mentioned Manaea. Since he's sat longer than most of the guys you use. How does he uniquely have to approach this, have himself in position to handle, and mentally as well?

BOB MELVIN: He's throwing bullpens. He threw to some hitters the other day on the off-day at home. The more rest he gets, the better usually his velo is. And as far as dealing with it mentally, I don't think it's a problem for him. He just wants to get in there and help his team win.

So whatever role that's in, he's up for it today.

Q. Soto has had his moments. What do you think the key for him is to kind of maybe get the slug back to what it was in Washington and maybe why it hasn't shown up as often as maybe you would have hoped?

BOB MELVIN: You know, it's not easy to come into a new place and just hit the ground running. He's gotten some really big hits for us here recently. We always have a good feeling when he's up. He has a track record of performing consistently in the postseason, all of the above.

I still think his best work could come here in the postseason for us, and he works hard to maintain his stroke. He's very knowledgeable of what he does obviously at a very young age.

So I don't think there's one particular thing he needs to do. A couple good at-bats, driving in some runs like he has for us in the postseason. I think he's been there when we needed him, and I think he will continue to.

Q. The day after you guys have lost, you've been able to bounce back the next game a lot of times. Who do you attribute that mentality -- the team-wide mentality, but who do you kind of attribute that trait to in this group?

BOB MELVIN: No one guy, just the group. We've been resilient, and we've been tested all year. I've said often that this thing didn't come easy at any point in time in the season. So I think that resiliency has been a big part of who we are this season.

When you have a loss or a tough loss, you're confident going forward, and it's been that way for us all year. So the expectation level is high today to win a ballgame.

As I said, in the postseason it feels like each loss is pretty dramatic, but I think this team has a way of putting that away at night, coming out with confidence and an expectation to win the next day.

Q. Bailey Falter today is a guy who's kind of an unknown. At times your offense has struggled against young, unknown pitchers this year. How do you get ready for someone like this when you really don't know a whole lot about?

BOB MELVIN: Yeah, I've had to answer that one a lot this year, so I'm not really sure. We have a couple guys that have faced him. Josh Bell probably the most. So you in your hitters meeting kind of rely on the guys who have faced him and do a lot of homework as far as pitch complements and how he goes about it.

You watch a lot of video, but until you actually get in the box to realize how kind of it plays. But it's not the first time we've had to go through it. Just another one of those days.

I'm not sure how long he's going to be out there too. There could be a lot of relievers behind him, maybe even a starter behind him. So just try to prepare for him the best we can and each and every pitcher that comes in the game after that.