NL DIVISION SERIES: PHILLIES VS BRAVES

October 9, 2023

Rob Thomson

Truist Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Pregame 2 Press Conference

Q. You've been talking about how pivotal Game 2 is. I think you called it a swing game. And we know that Game 1 was a biggee, but describe again the importance of this one tonight?

ROB THOMSON: And they're all big. Don't get me wrong. Game 1 is a big game. But I think Game 2, if you're up one, you can really sort of take control of the series to a certain degree.

And if you're down one, you know, it's pretty important that you win so that you get back into the series. So this is a big game tonight.

Q. Rob, at what point did you and your staff and maybe even front office decide Jeff Hoffman is a guy that we can use with two outs in the fourth inning and it's dirty in the playoffs?

ROB THOMSON: You mean last night in particular or two nights ago?

Q. That sort of situation. Was it mid September?

ROB THOMSON: No. I can't give you an exact date. But we sort of saw it develop over the course of the season where we started using him in situations with runners on base, and he just kept getting out of it.

And some guys can do that, and some guys have trouble with it. And he seems to be able to get that job done. So we've kind of leaned on him a little bit to do that. So that was the spot for him the other night.

Q. And how big was that?

ROB THOMSON: Huge, huge just to get out of that. And Ranger was pitching great. Don't get me wrong. But I didn't want the momentum to change at that moment. I thought that was a big part of the game, and Hoffy got it done.

Q. A couple changes to the lineup, Pache in for the match up, I'm assuming, and a couple of guys moved around. Just your thought process behind that?

ROB THOMSON: Just to keep two righties between all of our two left-handed hitters. So they Fried on the mound and two lefties in the bullpen who are really good on left-handed hitters. So you got two between Schwarber and Harper and you got two between Harper and Stott and you got two between Stott and Schwarber.

Q. The Braves obviously haven't announced their Game 3 starter, but do you guys have any inkling maybe as to who it would be and how do you prepare with that uncertainty?

ROB THOMSON: It's probably going to be either Smith Shawver or Elder. So you kind of prepare for both of them and just be ready to go.

Q. Obviously, it worked, but Ranger seemed a little frustrated or caught off guard when he came out. Did you have to kind of talk to him after the game and explain?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah. So I talked to him in the dugout after he came out, and then I talked to him again as we came through the line where everybody congratulates each other. And I think after awhile, he understood what was going on.

Q. Was there any thought to kind of tipping him off about that before the game?

ROB THOMSON: Well, we had discussed, Caleb and I, whether we'd talk to him before the game and tell him just to empty the tank early because we've got all this time and we've got all these relievers, or just to let him go out and be Ranger Suárez and just pitch your game as if he's going to get 100 pitches. And we decided not to say anything to him.

He was probably the only guy on the team that didn't know that there was a chance he was coming out early, but I think it maybe helped him that we didn't tell him.

Q. Is Ranger available out of the bullpen tonight?

ROB THOMSON: Oh, no. No. Not tonight.

Q. Will you go a little longer with Wheeler, unlike with Ranger today?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, I think so. This is our horse, really, for one thing. And it's a little bit different situation in that in the first game, you had two games in four days, and now we have potentially three games in four days. So I'd like to get some length out of him tonight.

Q. Your views on Max Fried. He hasn't pitched in a number of days or weeks and he comes to you with a blister. Your overview on him as a pitcher and what will you expect from him?

ROB THOMSON: Max Fried is top of the rotation guy. He's got great stuff. And we're assuming that the blister is gone. I think you have to assume that. But the fastball is real. The curveball, he can throw strikes. He attacks people. Really good move. He's an athlete. He's an impressive guy.