NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: DIAMONDBACKS VS PHILLIES

October 20, 2023

Rob Thomson

Chase Field

Philadelphia Phillies

Pregame 4 Press Conference

Q. Rob, yesterday I didn't get a chance to ask you how you came to the decision to start Cristopher over Taijuan and what do you expect from him later in the game as things play itself out.

ROB THOMSON: Well, Sanchez pitched very well for us ever he since he has come up and very consistent.

He got an inning in New York at the end of the year. We had a two-inning sim game, both him and Taijuan, on the off day between series, and he threw the ball extremely well. Found the strike zone. Changeup was good. Changeup was excellent. Velocity was good.

I just think he's pitching very well, and if he throws strikes and he has his changeup going, it's a good matchup.

Q. What do you expect to get out of Walker today, too?

ROB THOMSON: Well, Walk is in the mix, but it doesn't necessarily mean he's going to pitch.

Q. I don't think you guys hit either day -- the off day or yesterday. When you have a game like that yesterday, do you ever second-guess yourself or talk to Kevin and say, maybe we should have hit, or you don't question the process?

ROB THOMSON: No, no, because we normally don't hit, like, 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock games. And last year when we came out here in June, we didn't hit at all, and we won three out of four and swung the bats very well. It was because of the time change, West Coast type stuff.

We're hitting today because it's a 5 o'clock game, which is really 8 o'clock for us. Day games we typically don't hit.

Q. With the rules now in extra innings, back to the old rules, does it affect the way you handle the bullpen using maybe a guy for two innings versus one, especially with these bullpen games where you could be in the bullpen early?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, no doubt. That's why Taijuan is so valuable because he can give you a little bit of length. It's been 20 days since he started a game, but at least he can give you a little bit of length. So if you get into that extra inning type game or really, really early in the game where you need to eat up some innings, that's where he comes -- that's the value in him.

And also with a guy like Michael Lorenzen, same thing. At least we have some length in case that scenario comes up.

Q. Was there any scenario in which Taijuan Walker would have started today, or was it always Cristopher?

ROB THOMSON: In my mind, right after the sim game, I was kind of leaning on Sanchy. And then I didn't announce anything because of the fact I didn't know what was going to happen in the first three games.

So that's why I announced it last night. If we had to use Sanchy for whatever reason, then obviously Taijuan would have gotten the start.

Q. Do you have any kind of conversation with Orion after a game like last night, especially it being the first time he has kind of had a rough outing?

ROB THOMSON: Oh, yeah. I don't see any effect on him at all. I know that not only myself, but a whole bunch of guys were making sure that he was okay. I think he is. I don't think he's affected one bit.

Q. What's made Jeff Hoffman so able to come into those dirty innings and escape it kind of unscathed this season?

ROB THOMSON: Well, I think the stuff is one. The development of the split on left-handed hitters is the other part to the equation. Plus, he is throwing strikes. When we first got him, he was a little bit scattered. But he settled in, throwing strikes, really good fastball, slider on right-handers, split on left-handers.

He has really been good and a little heartbeat, again, and that's why he can handle the situations.

Q. A couple of things. How good did you feel for Jeff Hoffman doing what he did in that moment yesterday? And the other thing is you've been around elite relievers. Have you seen a guy with this mentality this young?

ROB THOMSON: With?

Q. With Orion.

ROB THOMSON: First of all, yeah, I felt great for Hoffy, because he's been doing that for us most of the year, since he has been up anyway. That was a big spot. We needed a swing and miss, and I think he got Moreno. I can't remember who the first hitter was, but he got a swing and miss, and then he got a huge ground ball. That was big for us.

Orion is kind of a different cat. Unfazed by anything so far. Very calm. You put the stuff with that, and it's kind of exciting to see.

Q. It might have got lost a little bit yesterday because of the result, but you made a lot of good plays in the infield. How have you seen the Phillies' defense evolve over the last few years and the way it is now, how much more comfort does that give you when the ball is in play.

ROB THOMSON: A lot of comfort. I was mentioning I think yesterday -- I'm not sure which group of people I was talking to -- but the job that our front office has done in the last couple of years to get a more athletic club on the field with J.T. behind the plate, and now you have Stott at second. I know Trea has had a little bit of a down year defensively at short, but on a good year, he is an athlete. Now you have Rojas in center field and Marsh in left field.

Two years ago it wasn't even the same structure. It was just we were just so much more athletic now. We cover a lot more space. So you're getting to balls, guys aren't getting extra bases.

Pitch counts, because of that, you can attack hitters better, so pitch counts stay lower. They've just done a great job to create this athletic group of people to defend.

Q. In almost every series, teams have used openers during the postseason. As a manager, are you sort of resigned to the idea that there's going to be games where you are going to have to put it together and that's just how baseball is played now?

ROB THOMSON: Oh, sure, yeah. For us this isn't really an opener for us. Sanchy is one of our starters. It's just a matter of how many pitches we're going to put on him and how effective he is because he hasn't had a start in 26 days.

But on the other side, yeah, so we're getting kind of used to seeing openers. You just have to deal with it.

Q. Whether it's an opener or a starter or not in a game like this where maybe not one of your big three has gone, does the bullpen come in kind of on high alert, more energy, or anything like that that they know every one of them may get called on?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, I think so. Especially they know that Sanchy probably doesn't have 100 pitches in him, so they'll be out there a little bit earlier than they normally are and be ready to go.

Q. I see you have some wristbands or something like that. Any good luck charms or anything that anybody has given you that you are wearing for somebody?

ROB THOMSON: No. One is for childhood cancer, and the other one is for a Minor League player that passed away last year.

Q. You're a little early on my schedule, so I wanted to ask you about the batting practice decision. Any second guess on that? And maybe it's because I'm old, but it seems dark in there. Is that an adjustment, or you guys have played here before?

ROB THOMSON: We played here before, and we've hit here before. We typically don't hit on day games. We just hit in the cages, and we've had a lot of success with it.

The last time we were here in June because of the West Coast and the different time zones, we didn't hit for four days while we were here, and we won three out of four. We then went to Oakland, and we didn't hit there and swept them.

It was just something that myself and the trainers and strength and conditioning people have talked about and wanted to try to see if we can conserve some energy.

But now we have a 5 o'clock game tonight, which is really 8 o'clock for us, so we're kind of back on our normal schedule.