NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: DIAMONDBACKS VS PHILLIES

October 19, 2023

Rob Thomson

Chase Field

Philadelphia Phillies

Postgame 3 Press Conference

Diamondbacks 2, Phillies 1

THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up for questions for Rob.

Q. Rob, what made Pfaadt so effective tonight? Did you think it was more about him, or was it more about the way the guys were approaching him or what did you think?

ROB THOMSON: He did a nice job. He threw strikes, mixed his pitches well, kept us off balance. It's a guy we haven't seen before, so it's a little bit different. But I thought he did a good job, and I think our hitters will be ready to go tomorrow.

Q. Why did you go to Kerkering in the seventh when the other two guys seemed available?

ROB THOMSON: Well, he has pitched pretty well for us, and the moment is not too big for him. We knew that in that part of the lineup, there's probably going to be some left-handed pinch hitting coming, a chance to anyway. He's really good on left-handers. Pavin Smith got the ball that fell in front of Castellanos, which wasn't really hit all that hard.

But he just didn't execute a couple of pitches on the right-hand hitters.

Q. Where does he stand in your view right now? Will you put him in that situation again?

ROB THOMSON: Yes.

Q. What did you see from Kimbrel in the ninth, and how difficult is it after walking the lead-off batter there?

ROB THOMSON: That's the key, right? He just couldn't find the zone consistently, and sometimes that happens to Kim. But he'll be available tomorrow, and he'll be ready to go.

Q. What is your plan now for tomorrow both in terms of who starts and --

ROB THOMSON: Sanchez will start.

Q. How do you piece it together after?

ROB THOMSON: We'll figure it out.

Q. You guys haven't struck out like this in a while. Was it Pfaadt, or was it lack of focus, or was it just one of those days?

ROB THOMSON: Not lack of focus, I can tell you that. These guys were locked in today coming into the ballpark, and all the work was really good. I think Pfaadt pitched very well. And we saw a couple of guys we haven't seen so far in the playoffs with Ginkel and Sewald and Thompson.

Just have to dust yourself off and come back tomorrow, and that's what this team does.

Q. I was going to ask about Brandon Pfaadt. What did you see from Pfaadt, but I think you addressed it. If you have anything more, I would love to hear it.

ROB THOMSON: He was good.

Q. Rob, why Sanchez?

ROB THOMSON: He has been throwing the ball very well, and I know there's a lot of right hands in that lineup. But I have a lot of confidence in him. I don't know how far we're going to be able to go with him, but he's been pitching very well and throwing strikes, and I have a lot of confidence in him.

Q. Do you feel like you guys missed an opportunity today to really put control on the series?

ROB THOMSON: It was a great ball game. It could have gone either way, you know. What are you going to do? I'm not going to think about it that way. I'm going to think about coming in here tomorrow and getting ready and getting ready to compete.

Q. By just a little bit, Ranger had a career high in playoff outing experience. And, again, your starting pitchers I think are like a 1.70 with 60 strike-outs and four walks. I can't imagine you thought you would be sitting here nine games into the postseason with your starters having performed that well.

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, they've been fantastic. Walk rate, strikeout rate, the soft contact rate, all of it has been really, really good. Hats off to them, and I think Sanch will come out here tomorrow and give us a good outing as well.