NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: PHILLIES VS PADRES

October 22, 2022

Zack Wheeler

Citizens Bank Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Pregame 4 Press Conference

Q. Zack, you haven't gotten a chance to pitch in front of this crowd in the postseason yet. How excited are you for that opportunity?

ZACK WHEELER: Very excited. Obviously been pitching on the road, but I'm very excited to pitch here in front of these fans. They're happy, they're hungry, and they're excited. So it's going to be a lot of fun.

Q. Was there any talk about you coming back for Game 4, or was it always Game 5?

ZACK WHEELER: It was always Game 5.

Q. Zack, there are quirks in the schedule during the year where you face the same team twice in a row, but to do it now in the postseason, what's the challenge like, and how much do you vary or change what you did from Game 1?

ZACK WHEELER: We try not to change too much. Obviously may have changed some things, but without going into much detail, it's always tough facing the same good team back to back, especially a good team like this. So, yeah, you may have to change a few things, but nothing crazy.

Q. Is there anything you think you know about pitching in the postseason now that you've had this experience, that maybe you didn't know three starts ago?

ZACK WHEELER: No, not really, to be honest with you. It's just attacking the hitters, doing the same thing that you've always done. It's just on a bigger stage and a lot more people watching.

Q. Your starts over the years against the Padres, you've handled them pretty well. Looking at your other starts, you command glove side fastball better than most. What do you attribute that to?

ZACK WHEELER: Honestly, deGrom. Just playing with him all of those years, watching his bullpens and stuff like that. He's one of the best pitchers, if not the best. You try to take some things from that.

But he threw a couple bullpens in between each start, and one bullpen would literally just be ten or so glove side fastballs, that was it. And then the next day he'd do his normal bullpen, and then he'd start off the next day doing the exact same thing.

I really concentrated on doing that, and ever since, I've been able to command for the most part that side of the plate. And I think my command all around got a lot better because that is hardest pitch to throw is a glove side fastball, pretty consistent.

Yeah, just watching him and trying to learn.

Q. Do you let it enter your mind at this point that you could possibly be on the mound with a chance to get this team into the World Series?

ZACK WHEELER: Yeah. Obviously we've got to get past tonight first, but yeah, I have thought about it a little bit, and that would be pretty cool.

Q. I read up on you. You had two brothers maybe that got hurt and weren't really able to move on in baseball. I was just wondering, when you're at a moment like this, a point in your career like this, a success, do you think about them and maybe not having the opportunity and you want to take full advantage of it and think of them in a sense?

ZACK WHEELER: Yeah, for sure. They both could probably be here right now, but they aren't. It's just some unfortunate things have happened. I'm fortunate to be here and healthy and, yeah, I try to take full advantage of it.

Q. One more thing about the crowd. What's it sound like in the dugout? How loud is it? You've pitched in other loud ballparks. How does it compare to where else you've pitched?

ZACK WHEELER: It's pretty loud. It's pretty consistent. Maybe other ballparks aren't that consistent. But they're pretty consistent here throughout the game.

I don't know. Like I said earlier, they're just hungry, man. They've been waiting for playoff baseball. It's an awesome sports town, and it's a lot of fun to play in front of.

Q. Zack, I wanted to follow up on what you said about deGrom and just those bullpens between starts. Do you still keep in touch with him and just kind of dissect what you've done in your outings, or is there someone else outside this organization that you talk to?

ZACK WHEELER: We chat here and there, but nothing about pitching or anything like that. Maybe when we play each other, we may chat about some type of stuff.

No. I mean, usually it's just in house with me and Caleb, our pitching coach, and maybe some other starters that faced that same team. Other than that, not much.

Q. We're talking to the guys in the clubhouse last night about when somebody makes a mistake, moving on immediately, and you see how people on the team supported Jean Segura. I know sometimes it can be overblown, but has the team really come closer together? And how have you seen that play out on the field and some of the success?

ZACK WHEELER: I think we definitely have become closer. We're already a pretty close group. We do a lot of stuff off the field hanging-out-wise, so I think that helps.

Yeah, whenever somebody has an error or whatever it may be, we pick them right up. Especially as a pitcher, you try to pick them right up, get that guy off the base, whatever it may be, make your pitch to try to help that.

Yeah, we're a pretty close group, a bunch of brothers in there, and we all have a good relationship.