NL WILD CARD SERIES: MARLINS VS PHILLIES

October 3, 2023

Rob Thomson

Citizens Bank Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Postgame Press Conference

Q. Rob, the big strikeout in the seventh inning with Alvarado, why did you like him in that spot? And how important was it for him to kind of have a moment like that early on in the postseason?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, it was a big strikeout. We knew Gurriel was going to pinch-hit for Sanchez, but we like the matchup. The cutter's been fantastic the last three, four outings with Alvarado. We just like the matchup. Wheels was kind of running out of pitches at that point.

Wheels was fantastic all night. This guy's been consistent all year. He's been really good. I thought tonight his stuff was as good or better than any other start all year.

Q. Rob, Skip Schumaker was just in here, and he said he thought the story of the game was Wheeler, just stepping up in a big game tonight. What do you think about his ability to perform on the biggest of stages the last two years?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, he did it last year in the postseason too. Him and Nola, they've been in some pretty big games the last couple of postseasons. He's a guy you can lean on to give you some length and give you a quality outing.

Q. Last time we saw Wheeler give way to Alvarado in the postseason, there's a runner on and things didn't go so well. Did you have any sort of deja vu moment there?

ROB THOMSON: Well, not really, but I might be lying. No, I just thought that -- it was a little bit different the last time. Wheels still had a lot of pitches left. He didn't have many pitches left, and he threw a lot of pitches in that particular inning tonight. So I just thought it was the right move, and it worked out.

Q. Did it break your heart a little bit that you didn't get that ground ball out that would have gotten him through the seventh?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, that would have been big.

Q. And what happened there?

ROB THOMSON: On Bohm?

Q. No, the --

ROB THOMSON: Harp, he just -- he vacated.

Q. He went too far?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, you see that every once in a while, but there's a situation where Harp hasn't had a lot of reps at first base, so those things are going to happen. They happen to experienced first basemen too.

Q. Finally, on Wheeler, his first seven starts are in the postseason for his career, he's fared a lot better than guys in the Hall of Fame. Do you think that people maybe don't appreciate what he's been really since 2018 and especially now that he's done it in at least seven starts in the postseason?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, I hope they appreciate it because I certainly do. I think everybody in this organization appreciates what he's done because it's been phenomenal. Tonight is no exception, so hopefully he keeps it going.

Q. Rob, what was your take on the Rojas at-bat in the third inning, and how key was that as far as turning the momentum in your guys' favor?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, it was huge. He kept fouling off pitches and finally gets a base hit. The other part of it is he gets a great dirt ball read, and Stott had a dirt ball read at second base too, which put him into scoring position.

Johan, he's such an electric player, and he can impact the game in so many ways. His poise level, since he's been up here, has just been unbelievable for a young kid like he is that's never been above Double-A.

Q. What did you make of the night Dusty Wathan had at third base? Was it the right decision to hold Schwarber in the first? Then should he not have put up a stop sign for Harper later in the game?

ROB THOMSON: In the first inning, you have to be careful there because Sanchez can throw. It was a little bit offline. By our reports, he's a more accurate thrower than that throw there. And you've got Harper coming to the plate, so you'd better make sure, with the catch making the first out, you'd better make sure that guy's going to be standing up at the plate.

Q. I want to talk about Harper running through the sign. Because of the player that he is, do you give him that kind of leeway to kind of do that? It was a great play, but you give him that kind of -- because he is a superstar like that?

ROB THOMSON: No. He just -- he's just so aggressive, and he wants to win. He wants to score. It's not like I tell him, hey, if somebody tells you not to run, go ahead and run if you want to. That's not -- we don't do that.

But he's just so instinctive and so aggressive that he -- sometimes he runs through stop signs.

Q. Save Brandon Marsh, who obviously came in late in the game, every single person in the lineup got to get all the bats going, Game 1, Wild Card series. How much does that mean to you in terms of building everyone's confidence and letting them settle into a raucous environment in the postseason?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, I thought it was great. Like you said, everybody in the starting lineup had a base hit, and I was really happy for Pache because he struck out the first time and he gets an RBI base hit. He got a really good jump on the first play of the game and made a really nice catch. So I was happy for him.

I thought we had good at-bats all night long, and we drove Luzardo's pitch count up. I think he had 24 pitches after the first inning, and we drove his pitch count up and got him out in pretty good time.

Yeah, I was happy with the at-bats. I think that, yeah, that will build some confidence going into tomorrow.