NL DIVISION SERIES: PHILLIES VS BRAVES

October 7, 2023

Rob Thomson

Truist Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Postgame 1 Press Conference

Q. Rob, how close to the script did you stick?

ROB THOMSON: Really didn't have a script, but you know, just going to read the situation, and how Ranger was. I thought Ranger was really good. Just thought right there on Ozuna that we'd stopped the momentum, and we ended up walking Ozuna and getting the strikeout on Harris. And Hof's been doing that for us all year, coming out in third innings and getting out of it. So I just thought that was the time.

Q. Can you address the two moments that seemed to put out the fire where Seranthony had two strikeouts to end his inning and Trea Turner turned that double play?

ROB THOMSON: That Seranthony inning gives up a couple of solid base hits, but then he settled in, strikes out Acuña and strikes out Riley at the end the inning. That was huge. And the dive play by Trea in the 8th, I guess, to turn double play was unbelievable. JT had a good throw and caught stealing. I thought we played pretty well defensively.

Q. Rob, this time of year, what sort of advantage does it give you guys to have that many high leverage relievers that you feel comfortable going to in big spots?

ROB THOMSON: It's big, especially with the off days. As I said before, we at least had the opportunity to be able to do something like that. But Ranger was really good, but I thought our relievers were really good, and whenever they got into trouble, they worked themselves out of it. So all in all, great job by our pitching staff.

Q. What made Hoffman the guy in that spot? Was it a difficult decision at all to remove Suárez given how he looked the first three innings?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, you hate to take a guy out. He's pitching well. He knows he's pitching well, but just because of the off days, it was Hoffman after Suárez no matter what, just depending on -- just wanted to make sure we got the right spot for him.

Q. Your lineup is known for slug, but just the element of the game, the threat of stealing or being able to just what that does for your lineup, your team?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, we can do a lot of different things to score runs, and we've done it all year where we've scored by using our speed and some small ball. We've also won games by slugging. And Atlanta can do the same thing. Trust me. So it's good combination to have.

Q. Was it with Strider something that you thought you could capitalize on, no pregame planning for him?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah. It was just his times to the plate matched up with Murphy and Murphy can throw, but matched up with his times to second base. We just had some good opportunities there.

Q. What can you say about Bryce Harper, the night he had against Strider on a night where he was really coaxing some ugly swings up there. He gets on base four times, has that home run?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah. This is his time of year. This is where he kind of shines. He's not going to do it every game, but he's come up with some big games for us and made a nice play there in the ninth inning as well at first base. So he doesn't get overwhelmed by the situation. That's for sure.

Q. A lot was made of Trea in Spring Training, then during the regular season and the resurgence, but it seemed like tonight was kind of the quintessential Trea Turner showing all the things he can do.

$300 million is a lot of money and that looked like a $300 million player out there today?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, he did. He's dynamic. And he's another one that the moment is not too big for him, and he kind of rises to the moment for the most part. We didn't see that early in the year, but the latter part of the year and so far in the playoffs, that's the guy that we were thinking we were going to get.

Q. Ranger looked disappointed when you were coming to the mound. Did that catch him off guard and did you have to have a conversation with him after the game and how is he dealing with that?

ROB THOMSON: We were contemplating whether to explain it to him before the game. We decided not to, but I explained it to him afterwards, and he understood. But he's a competitor, and he wants to stay in, and he knew how well he was pitching. So I get it. I'm okay him being disappointed.

Q. Taking one year knowing you have Wheeler and Nola potentially going in three of the next four games if it goes the distance, just how important beyond obviously wanting to win Game 1 was getting off to this sort of start?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah. It's always important to win Game 1, but I think Game 2 is pretty important, too. It's kind of a swing game. And you can't let up at all against this ball club because they're good, and they can attack, and they can do a lot of good things. So we gotta stay nose to the grind stone.

Q. You mentioned contemplating telling him before the game. Can you just expand on that a little bit? It's obviously an interesting kind of psychological dynamic. What did you guys kick around and what led to finally --

ROB THOMSON: Well, there's one thought is that you tell him to empty the tank early. Don't worry about going deep. Is that the best message to send him or is it, hey, you know, just go and pitch your game. Don't worry about it and just pitch your game. So I decided not to tell him and let him pitch his game, and he pitched well. And then he's disappointed to come out.

I get it. If that didn't work out, it would be scrutinized. But it is what it is, and you gotta make the best decision in your mind that you need to make.

Q. Two things. Number one, I mean you've got Wheeler and Nola going next. You must feel pretty good about that, number one. No. 2, this team, you know, you're a wildcard team. You beat a historically good offense in their park. What is it about this team that just sort of like ignores all the stuff and sort of perseveres and does what it can do?

ROB THOMSON: First question, yes. I'm happy that Wheeler and Nola are going the next two games. But again, you can't take anyone for granted. I mean, those guys gotta pitch, and we gotta play. The second part of it is this team to a man has this innate toughness to them and really resilient, and they just keep fighting. And as a group, they do the same thing. So it's a great combination of talent and make up that we have on this club.