NL WILD CARD SERIES: MARLINS VS PHILLIES

October 4, 2023

Bryson Stott

Citizens Bank Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Postgame Press Conference

BPhillies - 7, Marlins - 1

Q. Bryson, the moment you hit that grand slam, what about being able to, at that moment, add to the lead and kind of put distance between yourselves and the Marlins?

BRYSON STOTT: Yeah, especially in the playoffs, you know you need more runs. Just kind of thinking you get the ball in the air for a sac fly at the very least and was able to get a good swing on an inside fastball.

Q. Bryson, over the off-season, you talked about fastballs and the way you handled them the last postseason, to hit a grand slam in that spot on a fastball off a lefty, how does that feel for you just as far as progress and how far you've come?

BRYSON STOTT: For sure. Last year it was a tough go with the fastball. It didn't take much re- watching of film to kind of realize what I needed to do in the off-season and just getting with K. Long and my BP thrower back home, it was throw everything up.

Did a lot of left-handed stuff, which is my top hand, one-arm swings, one-handed tee drills and stuff like that, to really make sure I'm using it since I throw right-handed. That's kind of my dominant and lead arm. So being able to use that is big.

Q. Last year obviously there were some big moments, Rhys' bat spike and Bryce's home run. What's it mean to you that you might have one of those moments this year that people look back on and see on highlight reels for a long time, the grand slam?

BRYSON STOTT: I haven't really thought that far ahead. I didn't even know I even did the bat spike. Stubby told me. I don't usually pimp home runs. I don't think I hit them far enough to do that. So it just kind of got caught up in the moment, I guess.

Q. Bryson, what did you think of Nola tonight? What do you think made him especially dominant?

BRYSON STOTT: You can't say enough good things about 'Noles. Any time he's out there, you know he's going to give us a chance to win the game. The two pitching performances we had from our starters this series was second to none, and they both had it from the very first pitch, and then the bullpen guys came in and threw strikes and got outs when we needed them.

Just playing behind 'Noles and kind of seeing what he's doing and seeing which pitches are working, and you kind of know as a defender who -- like what they're going to hit off a certain pitch and where they might hit it.

He always keeps us in the game, which is good, and we never fall asleep out there. Made all the plays behind him too.

Q. Does it mean more for you guys to watch the way he pitched tonight with what he kind of overcame this season? He was kind of inconsistent at times, but he really has seemed to find a groove here at the end of the season.

BRYSON STOTT: Like I said, it's 'Noles, and you know what you're going to get. I mean, there was a couple starts maybe that he wasn't quite himself, and he knew that and went back to work. Like I said, any time he has the ball, we have all the confidence in the world that he's going to get those outs that we need. He's one of the best in the game, I think.

Q. What was that moment like? What was it like to hear the crowd as the ball came off the bat? What was it like to hear the crowd sing your song afterwards?

BRYSON STOTT: I mean, like I said, I don't really have much memory of the swing and stuff like that. I know I yelled at the dugout and couldn't really hear myself. So I knew the crowd was loud. Any time we get to play here, you know it's going to be loud from the very first pitch.

It's just -- I mean, I wouldn't want to play anywhere else. It's a phenomenal time every time we take the field here in the postseason. Just being able to do this at home was really cool.

Q. You mentioned how looking back at last year's postseason, you maybe look a little bit tired. How much better prepared do you feel for that extra month of games this time around?

BRYSON STOTT: Just kind of going with my trainer at home and kind of just telling them that I think I -- I mean, in the time I didn't feel like I was wearing down, but after the season it was looking back at the two Spring Trainings and then the Minor League season and back in a month to season and then making the roster and playing all those games and then the postseason, it kind of built up. I didn't really realize how fast it was building up. This year I made it a goal of mine to stay in the weight room a lot more than I did last year. Whether that's doing three exercises a day or six, it doesn't matter. Just making sure that I have my legs underneath me for however long we play.

Q. Just to get this series out of the way as quickly as you did and in the convincing fashion that you guys did it, how sweet was this for you guys to be able to get it done and the manner in which you got it done?

BRYSON STOTT: Like I said, the two guys that got the ball in Game 1 and 2 were pretty lights out from the very first pitch. I mean, any playoff series you want to win as fast as you can and save some arms for the next series. Then we came out swinging the bats pretty well and the at-bats were pretty good for the most part. So it was a good series.