NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: DIAMONDBACKS VS PHILLIES

October 23, 2023

Torey Lovullo

Citizens Bank Park

Arizona Diamondbacks

Postgame 6 Press Conference

Diamondbacks 5, Phillies 1

THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with Torey Lovullo.

Q. Your direct quote from earlier today, "I got a lot of information that says Tommy Pham should have a good day today." How did you know?

TOREY LOVULLO: Well, first of all, I know he's got a warrior mentality. He didn't like watching a game the other day from the other side. I know that he feels like he got benched, but I just was giving him a little bit of a blow.

I know that a lot of the information that I had in front of me in -- very targeted information said that it was a really good matchup for him and Nola. So it ended up working out well, right? He gets a really good swing off on a breaking ball and gives us a 1-0 lead. It was a great moment for him and a great moment for this team.

Q. What kind of difference do you think it made especially in this stadium jumping out to a lead for the first time in a series?

TOREY LOVULLO: Well, the obvious one is the crowd. It was considerably more quiet for those middle innings when I think things can get really ramped up here. But once they get somebody on base or they score a run, it picks up again.

But we kept tacking on a run. I think that's a very powerful statement when you just add another point here and there, and I just feel like those early runs let us exhale a little bit. It's an elimination game for us. We know what's at stake.

We knew what we had to do, and we were in the middle of doing it. I think we just started to relax a little bit, and we just continued to capitalize throughout the course of the day.

It was a much cleaner game. It was very close to a Diamondback-type of a baseball game. There are some things we have to clean up, and we will. But I was very pleased overall with the effort. I think the crowd was out of it, and we just started to make those statements, and I was very happy about it.

Q. What can you share about the conversation with Merrill after the fifth?

TOREY LOVULLO: Well, you know, it's what I expect from Merrill. He is an unbelievable competitor, never wants to be taken out of a game until his tank is absolutely empty. He was making statements to me that told me that he was capable of going back out there, but I've got to be the parent in the room and make a tough decision and hand it over to the bullpen that's been very, very efficient.

He had done his job. It was 65 pitches through three. That was a concern. It was 48 after two. That was a concern. So I was managing his workload. I was watching his stuff. In my opinion it was just time to come out of the game.

What I can share about it is he was pounding the table to go back out there and was shocked that I was going to remove him from the game. But we had another brief conversation, and I explained to him why I was doing it, and he began to slowly understand.

But there is so much stimulus, so much activity, and so many thoughts that he's having that -- and I've never been a pitcher, so I don't know exactly what it is. But I've been around enough to know that really outstanding pitchers never want to come out of the game, and that's what he was trying to do. He was trying to make that statement.

Q. Alek Thomas had a big day at the plate getting on three times, but he also, I think, had six put-outs and turned a lot of balls in the gap -- you know, cut them off and kept them as singles, and he's been doing this all series. What is having that kind of defense at center field done for your ability to stay in games?

TOREY LOVULLO: Well, we believe in pitching and defense. It's who we are at our core, and I think it's helped us hang in and win a lot of baseball games. We have a lot of grit. We grind out our wins. We don't power through 10-1 wins very often.

So the fact that he can run balls down adds a lot of confidence. It gives our pitchers a lot of confidence to make pitches knowing he is going to cover that space out there.

He's still growing and learning as a player, so defensively I think he's pretty close to who he's going to be for the majority of his career, and he's made some unbelievable plays that have saved us out there.

I thought he covered a lot of ground and a lot of space out there, and it gives us a lot of comfort in knowing that he can make those plays.

Q. One more on Alek. In terms of the at-bats he's had, we've seen the power develop more this year. How significant in a Game 6 was it to see him have at-bats that display maturity to you?

TOREY LOVULLO: Well, first of all, I think he's surveying the strike zone, understanding what's in his area that he's looking to fire at, and to me, that's just a very mature at-bat.

We've been talking about towards the back half of our season as a team, we want to have a more mature approach and a more mature at-bat, meaning get the pitch I'm looking for, fire on it, and not miss it. And Alek is in a really good spot.

So it means that things are balanced. His head is on the baseball. His hands are loaded up. Those are the positions that every hitter works really hard to get into on a consistent basis. And I think he's been making really good swing decisions.

He's been a little bit of a catalyst for us, for sure. Base hits, stolen base, just going up and doing the job that he needs to do and scoring some big runs for us. He was a big part of our offense today.

Q. I'm curious about the mood of the players right after the win. You guys are known for enjoying your victories before you put them away. What was the mood like tonight? Do you that that's affected at all knowing what you have in front of you tomorrow?

TOREY LOVULLO: I think we enjoyed it. I think there were a lot of F-yeahs as we were shaking hands, and I think everybody was excited. I like that.

We deserve this moment. We're going to play Game 7, and for me Game 7, it's like all hands on deck, anything is possible. Game 7s are Game 7s for a reason.

We earned the right to play in that game, and I'm proud of the guys for that. So I want them to enjoy it. They're excited, but at some point tonight, we're going to probably turn the page and set our sights on their starting pitcher, set our sights on what our job is, and make sure we get a good night's rest.

I'm really proud of the boys, but I want them to celebrate. They're in a very good mood in that clubhouse tonight.

Q. Tell me a bit more about the Kelly-Schwarber matchup. First and second inning he walked. The last time he faced him, he struck him out. How did you see him navigate trouble and eventually be able to attack later on?

TOREY LOVULLO: I think Merrill was starting to spin the baseball. He was landing pitches in some key spots that we've been trying to land them in against that particular hitter.

So it's not rocket science. You can go back and look at it, but for me it's probably changing sight lines in and out and then spinning the baseball. And I think Merrill started to get locked in in those middle innings.

I'm going to say, innings 4 and 5, those were very, very good innings for him by landing a secondary pitch that was not a cutter or changeup.