NL WILD CARD SERIES: BRAVES VS PADRES

October 2, 2024

Ramón Laureano

Petco Park

Atlanta Braves

Pregame Press Conference

Q. How much of an influence does Brian Snitker have? You look at what you did, what Whit Merrifield did, what Gio did in coming to a clubhouse; it's not easy. How much of an influence did he have on the comfort you guys found there?

RAMÓN LAUREANO: Nothing really talking with me or anything, but just his actions. Trusting me, putting me in situations the team needed in a big spot, this and that. And also accepting the role that I came. And hoping for, hopefully, some consistent time playing, but I had to earn it. I understood that. I still understand that.

But at the same time his presence, his actions matter more than anything else.

Q. What do you like about this team in regards to its chances to come back and win when facing elimination? What have you seen that gives you confidence that they can do it?

RAMÓN LAUREANO: Pitching, comes down to pitching. Obviously we know the past couple days how it's been. But I think we come pretty positive because we've got our key bullpen guys ready to go, and Max Fried, a big game guy.

And tomorrow we've got Reynaldo. You never know Game 3 in these series. You never know. So we feel pretty positive about it.

Q. What did you know about Max Fried before you got here, and what have you learned about him since?

RAMÓN LAUREANO: Obviously I knew who Max Fried was since he got to the league. But I've never faced him. But great guy. Just very mellow, chill guy. And big gamer. So I will always give him the ball in these type of situations.

Q. You were looking for some consistency when you got here. How proud are you of yourself just personally in this year to do what you've done with the playing time you've been given?

RAMÓN LAUREANO: Yeah, proud, positive. I learned a lot about myself. And at the same time I have a better idea how to continue to be more consistent. I think pitching has changed a little in the past -- it's been changing every year, really -- but the past like three years it's been changing.

That's what I see a lot of platoons, a lot of match-ups in the game, all that stuff. Just learning how to hone in on guys and sight your eyes here and there depending on who you're facing.

But having that idea of here, it's more of -- this is the best hitting team I've ever been, like me personally because I've been with two other teams that are not as good as this.

It's just great hitters. It's more good conversations. You trust more the information. And that's why you need in the clubhouse. And I never had that.

Q. You've always said the vibe is the same, win or loss. But coming in when you know the stakes, is there more of a sense of urgency or does it feel the same in there?

RAMÓN LAUREANO: We've been in this situation the whole month, I guess. So it's kind of been -- or this whole second half pretty much, right? So we feel it's just another day, really, literally another day.

Guys are playing, chilling, talking crap and stuff. And, yeah, just waiting for the game.

Q. Being in that situation, what have you learned from that over the last month of having to be in these do-or-die, must-win, season's-on-the-line games?

RAMÓN LAUREANO: The key in these situations is always to know -- we don't need to talk about what's happening because we already know we're living it.

It's just like if you guys have any experience, you know, it's a little sad or whatever, terrible experience, but you're, like, you don't talk about it. You know it's happening. It's just going to bring more stress talking about it. On other teams, they talk a lot about it. On this team, we don't. That's why we have a history in the past that they have overcome those situations.