NL DIVISION SERIES: PADRES VS DODGERS

October 6, 2024

Mike Shildt

Dodger Stadium

San Diego Padres

Postgame 2 Press Conference

Padres - 10, Dodgers - 2

Q. Can we start with Darvish, the way he handled the lineup and making sure that there was nobody on base for Ohtani was really important?

MIKE SHILDT: Yeah, he was fantastic. Threw the ball exceptionally well. All parts of the lineup including Ohtani. And give him a ton of credit for keeping the focus and concentration to be able to go grab that seventh inning. It was obviously pretty important.

Q. What did you make of the commotion on the field today?

MIKE SHILDT: That's a pretty broad question, man. The series started with a comment about a fight and punching and we're going to beat them to the punch and all that. Somebody brought it up to me. I don't read a lot of this stuff, no offense, but we've been punching on the field all year.

A hostile environment. What I got out of it was a bunch of dudes that showed up in front of a big, hostile crowd with stuff being thrown at them and said, "We're going to talk with our play; we're not going to back down; we're going to elevate our game; we're going to be together; and we're going to take care of business."

Q. Do you have an update on Bogaerts? What is he dealing with?

MIKE SHILDT: He was cramped up. So we'll see. We'll know more tomorrow.

Q. Leg, calf, quad, what was it?

MIKE SHILDT: It was a hamstring.

Q. When Betts hit the ball into left field, did you think that was a home run? And how important was that catch in terms of changing the momentum of the game?

MIKE SHILDT: It was big. We get off with a 1-0 lead. Tati puts another good swing on a baseball. Did that several times tonight. He's been doing it. Go back out and Mookie puts a swing and Pro got him.

It was a big play. Kept the momentum on our side. And we just took it from there.

Q. When you talk about composure and your team being able to, despite the success and everything going on, keep themselves composed, how much pride does that give you where it seemed like from the broadcast Manny brought everybody together, had a conversation, that you guys can deal with that in-house without you having to step up and say something in the game?

MIKE SHILDT: No, I went out on the field to make sure my players were safe and make sure there were some precautions taken. Dan and the umpires crew, I thought did a really good job in a tough situation. They kept the composure.

Find balance between figuring out getting them off the field. We're trying to get Yu out there for the seventh, guys wanting to play, making sure they're safe.

I thought the crew did a really good job. So hats off to Dan and that group.

We talked a little bit on the field. And then to Manny credit, his leadership, he gets everybody. He's able to share how we want to compete in the dugout with our group. It was impressive. And it brings us even closer. A lot of love on this team.

Q. From the team standpoint with your outfield, specifically with Fernando and Jackson and Jurickson and what they can do both offensively and defensively, how big of an advantage is that for you, especially going into a postseason where you never know where you're going to need them, whether it's offense or defense?

MIKE SHILDT: No, it's good. We want to win on every side of the ball. You mentioned Pro, Rob and Mookie, Tati made a nice play on Hernandez's ball. Arraez with a little pick.

But specifically the outfielders, when guys can beat you in every different area of the game, that's how this game's played. That's how we like to play.

So Pro, Jackson, big day for him. Pro's bunt I thought was exceptional to kind of get us going again, to open it up. And Tati being Tati. They're ballers.

Q. When the thing happened in the top of the seventh, did you ever think about maybe you need to change Darvish or you wanted him to finish that inning?

MIKE SHILDT: I wanted him to finish the inning. He was throwing the ball exceptionally well. Everything was working. He was magnificent again. I probably didn't articulate that well enough earlier.

But now we're in, talked to Ruben about it. It's a long delay. I don't know how long. But it was multiple delays. We've got things coming to Pro, we've got things coming at Tati.

So it was a long -- first at-bat, he walks Will. And so we got Jason going in case. But settled down, made his pitches and got his guys.

Q. Darvish was warming up through that whole thing, too, and as he's adding up the pitches, it's sort of like, I'm looking out there, don't throw too many, don't throw too many. It's kind of like you're wasting it at that point. Like you said, then he walks the first guy. It was obviously a disruption for him as well as he was pitching, right?

MIKE SHILDT: Yeah, clearly a disruption. As far as how much Darvish threw, this guy's an experienced guy, so I think he knows how to self-regulate what he needed to get ready for the inning to start again.

Q. On the Ohtani at-bat where he threw, like, just a mixture of like 80-mile-an-hour and 70-mile-an-hour curveballs to your point from yesterday, finding a way to get him out, not throwing fastballs down the middle. And the final one was the hardest pitch he threw and he just chinked it back to the mound. I thought that was incredible pitching for him.

MIKE SHILDT: Pitching is a disruption of hitter's balance and timing. That's why I'm comfortable about our guys. We have a lot of talented arms.

Yu is really good at that. The back and forth is the timing. The in and out is the balance. And he was able to do that masterfully tonight against the whole lineup.

Q. Did you think the whole thing kind of started with Tatis getting hit there and then Manny and Flaherty going at each other for a while and then kind of devolved into that seventh-inning thing?

MIKE SHILDT: I don't know how it got there. Listen, there's competition between the lines that's going to take place that, again, we don't really look to start anything. We're not going to take it. That's going to happen in high-leverage situations.

How that happens is no excuse for what happens in the stands and things being thrown at and the safety of our players. There's no escalation to that.

We know, both sides know this is a competitive series. We're going to compete hard. They're going to compete hard. Things are going to happen. We can leave that on the field.

But as far as anything happening in a stadium like that towards our players, that's just not acceptable.

And I know we're about to go back to San Diego with a very, very loud, raucous, aggressive, hungry crowd that's going to be super excited and going to be getting after it. But I know also that we'll stay classy, San Diego.