NL DIVISION SERIES: DIAMONDBACKS VS DODGERS

October 7, 2023

Torey Lovullo

Dodger Stadium

Arizona Diamondbacks

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. How is Tommy Pham toe doing and do you see him getting back in the field soon?

TOREY LOVULLO: He's doing fine. We've been monitoring it now for the past two weeks. It was a real thing. It was very uncomfortable for him.

But he did not want to come out of the lineup. Down the stretch he showed a lot of toughness, and he said, I might even DH, and I'll give you everything down the line, but I don't want to come out of this lineup because I'm going to make an impact somehow some way.

But I think he's coming out the other end, and he's got a ton of treatment. And he's in a good spot right now.

Q. Is it more of a preference of Gurriel over Pham (indiscernible)?

TOREY LOVULLO: I know you're probably wondering how it led to Rivera being on the bench. I know you'd seen the lineup a little differently. I just think out of fairness to Tommy and what I've asked him to do, to stick him out there right now might have not been the best thing for him or the team.

But if I need to I can put him out there. I just want him to get a few more practice reps.

Q. You made one change to the roster, adding Kyle. Is that just to kind of neutralize some of the Dodger left-handers?

TOREY LOVULLO: Yes, we know the Dodgers well. We understand the reason why; they're stacking their lefties. What it looks like, the first line of substitutions. The second line of substitutions.

I just felt like when I was talking to the front office about some versatility, to have that extra lefty would give me a little bit of an advantage with some of the moves.

But, look, they're a good team. You've got to be loaded up with your best players. We felt like this lineup, best players and pitchers, with this lineup and this team we felt like it landed on Kyle.

Q. How do you balance your family personal stuff during a series like this? Do you get to see them and actually do your job?

TOREY LOVULLO: I appreciate you giving me a chance to talk about my family. I was born and raised not 15 minutes from here. It's been a little bit of a challenge. I asked, because of being here and it being so busy, to just give me a little bit of an opportunity to have our meetings, meet with the staff, get ready and gear up for what's a really important series.

But tomorrow we're going to have probably a nice family dinner somewhere along the path. My mom is setting it up right now.

But they'll all be here, rooting for the Diamondbacks, obviously. But it's sometimes a little awkward for me with how engaged they are in my career, but at the end of the day they love me and support me and that means a lot to me.

Q. Secondly, how do you change-up in this series, how do you play the Dodgers especially here so you have better results?

TOREY LOVULLO: First of all, they're a great team. How much can you change? How much can you do? You just gotta be on point with the things you do well and the things you know you have to do well to beat them.

We want to put it on us. I don't want to force us to look at the opposition and concentrate on what's going on so much in the opposing dugout.

We've got to play our game, the D-Back way and attack. Whatever we're doing, we have to stay on the attack, because if you don't, they sniff blood, and when they sniff blood they get very good. They're good, period but they get even better.

We've got to be at our competitive best just by being ourselves. And I don't want to put too much more into it. We respect our opponent. We're in a good spot. We're a different team than we were when we came in here at the end of the season. And we're looking forward to a really good series.

Q. You got me all excited. I thought you went with the same lineup three days in a row before I realized you flipped Ketel and Corbin. Your thoughts on that?

TOREY LOVULLO: Barry sent me a text. He said this should be the lineup. He really did send me a text two months ago.

Q. What happened?

TOREY LOVULLO: We got hot. Just like me, I've got a sweatshirt on. I had to get branded, so I'm getting hot. I apologize.

Q. Curious about the man who came in here about this time yesterday and embraced you. What can you tell us about the relationship you and Mookie Betts formed in Boston and how close you've remained since?

TOREY LOVULLO: I love Mookie Betts. I love him like my own child. And we, I think, have a very unique bond that we both understand. I cheer for him and pull for him professionally and personally.

We stay in contact throughout the course of the year, mostly via text, and I pridefully watch him in his success. And there's just a mutual level of respect and admiration.

And once we get between the white lines, though, it's on. It's all about competition and I get the front row seat to watch him compete, and I love that.

But my relationship and my friendship means more to me than people might even have a clue about. For him to walk in here yesterday, that's the norm for he and I.

I watched him grow up. I think he said something along the lines he raised me. I watched him grow up. We had a lot of good conversation along the way about what it took to be a Major League player, what it took to be a consistent Major League player.

And I think, at the time when he was 21, 22 years old, had his sights on being a Hall of Fame player. That's what he used to talk to me about. And he's on his way.

Q. The plan for Game 3, throw Pfaadt out there, or does that depend on --

TOREY LOVULLO: We'll hold off on that. I think that's the natural spot for him. That's the thing we're looking at. And we'll get that going as soon as possible. It will be Merrill and Gallen today and Game 2.

Q. Merrill Kelly obviously, his demeanor is a lot different when he steps on to the mound. Could you describe how locked in he is, and today's the day to really show what he's got?

TOREY LOVULLO: I know he loves to step on the stage. He loves a big game. I remember talking to him pre-WBC, Japanese start, he said this is something he's been looking forward to and looking at this opportunity to have his entire life.

So I think he's able to slow things down. I think he's able to create an awareness as to what's going on and get excited and feel it.

That's something I talk about with these players. We're all human. We all have this emotion. If you try to bury it say and it's not there and it doesn't exist, you're lying to yourself.

Just embrace what you're feeling. But when it's time, take a deep breath, step on the mound and know your preparation has led you to be X, and hopefully tonight great.

I always think every time he takes the mound he's going to be great because I know what he believes in. But he's ready for this opportunity. And I don't care what's happened in the past. Everybody's 0-0, and it's Game 1 and he's ready for a challenge.

Q. We just had Peralta in here a few moments ago. What are the emotions of seeing a player like that, and how do you want the fans at Chase Field to receive him?

TOREY LOVULLO: Whatever they feel would be best. I don't want anybody to get booed unless it's something that they want to do. But David's not the type of guy who deserves to get booed in Arizona.

Personally, David was a player that I gravitated to, appreciated his effort, his honesty, his ability to connect emotionally with me, the players around him, the staff. And then he connected with the community in an unbelievable way. I know he was a fan favorite because of whatever, the freight train and all that stuff. He's emotional.

But the things he did inside of our baseball community and inside of the Phoenix community are amazing. So they should love him up.

And same thing, a lot like Mookie Betts, I enjoy watching David compete and go out there. Of course, we don't want them to do well. We try to figure out how to get them out at all times. But when I'm seeing them from afar and they're having success and they're helping the team win, I get pretty excited for them.

Q. Going back to Tommy Pham, do you think the turf toe has had an impact on offensive ability, maybe some of the struggles he's had here over the last couple of weeks?

TOREY LOVULLO: You'll have to ask him specifically if that's the case. I've had some conversations with him about that, and I know that at its worst point, he was really grinding.

I want to go back to maybe, was it New York Mets or Yankees, I can't remember what it was, where I did talk to him about that. And he said, I'm fine, don't worry about me, I'll get my hits and I'll do what I have to do. Which to me was, shut the F up and don't ask me that question again. And I did.

So I just followed it through the medical team and the medical team kept assuring me that he's fine.

But I think when you're talking about your right foot, getting your right foot engaged in your swing and keeping a good base -- and hitting is all legs for me anyway, I think you've got to be in a good spot. I think it was hurting him for him early on but he's in a much better spot now.

Q. We got to speak with Mike and Derrick quite a bit yesterday about him getting the extension. Wanted to get your feedback on the extension and what it means to you to see that happen for Mike.

TOREY LOVULLO: Man, I think it's a statement by this organization about the things they recognize that Mike Hazen and his group do right every single day. I believe in continuity. I believe in connection. And that tells me that even though we've had some really tough times here, that they believe in the process and trusted what was going on from the dugout level and slightly above to the front office.

I think everybody likes stability. There's no doubt about it. I think it made a statement to the players that we're here and nobody's going anywhere. And we're going to continue to fight the same fight every single day.

But Ken and Derrick are unbelievable. I know how Mike feels about them. And it's a very strong, healthy relationship. And I know as I see things through the course of my days, especially now when there are some changes and you hear about relationships between front offices and managers, I can't even imagine that because I know how healthy and strong the relationships are from Ken all the way down through me. We're grateful for that.

Q. What were the last few boxes that were checked with Gabby and making sure he was good to go?

TOREY LOVULLO: He didn't start having headaches. There was nothing as far as dizziness or blurred vision. And that was never the case. He didn't ever have a headache, he just felt a little dizzy. That's what he was talking to me about on the field. And once that dizziness subsided, we asked him to catch a couple of balls and he felt good.

So I think that's the extent of what he felt. Now, once he got in the dugout, I think he was starting to complain about some nausea, that's when our medical team, the team doctors on the road with us, said we've got to get him out of the lineup. He hasn't had any of that since Milwaukee, and he's just been improving ever since.

Q. How big of a sigh of relief is that for you guys to be able to count on Gabby now?

TOREY LOVULLO: A major sigh of relief. We all know what our team's record is when he is in the lineup versus out of it. There's stability there with receiving and game calling. It's an offensive-minded catcher that can separate it and go back behind the plate and do his job there and get dirty and throw runners out.

So, yeah, we believe in our understudies, but he's an impact player that we dearly needed for this series.