Q. What was the thought process of Ben Rortvedt starting and having Will come off the bench tonight?
DAVE ROBERTS: I think the thought was similar to Game 1, given Will hasn't had much of a workup coming back from the IL. So catching the five innings, whatever it was, to then build up tonight, to then feel like he's in a better spot -- we got three at-bats under our belt, which is also a positive -- came out of it feeling good, which is encouraging. And then if we continue to trend, then having him start Game 3, if it still looks good.
Q. It comes out today no surprise third straight year you led the Major Leagues on days on the injured list. I guess what does it say about this team that you're able to survive all these injuries and get to this point? And now what's the feeling when, especially on your staff, so many of these guys are healthy and you feel like you probably (indiscernible)?
DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, we've had certainly our fair share of injuries. I think a couple things. I think it certainly speaks to the way the front office can kind of add depth and navigate the waiver wire on the development side. We've had some young guys cut their teeth that probably weren't ready but had to rise to opportunities.
As far as the guys that were around, the core group of guys that were healthy, just to remain steadfast and keep going.
Early on, the starting pitching was very patchworky. And then later on the pen and fortunately the positional player group, for the most part, has been intact, which has been great. But guys have stepped up. And for us to keep going says a lot about the organization.
Q. What makes Teoscar Hernández such a good RBI man, particularly in the postseason?
DAVE ROBERTS: I think his ability to use the whole field. I think he just locks in a little bit more in run-scoring situations. That's probably the two biggest things.
You're going to have to hit some velocity. You're going to have to stay away from spin. And to do that you've got to be able to use the whole field. A lot of RBI guys have to be able to do that or do that.
And I think, again, his focus is just more heightened in those spots and also in the postseason.
Q. Why was that lacking for such a large chunk of the regular season there?
DAVE ROBERTS: I think there's some part of it where I think some of the injury part of it. He injured his groin, I think, in Kansas City. And coming back from that, might not have been 100 percent coming back.
And I think that's part of it, a lot of it, but I also think that the focus is more heightened. It just is.
Q. We saw you deploy Glasnow for multiple innings in Game 1. Could we see that out of Emmet Sheehan or Clayton Kershaw as well?
DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, I think so. Certainly Glas is off the table for tonight. But Clayton or Emmet certainly viable options, yes.
Q. You've played in some hostile environments, New York, Boston, and you've managed in some as well. What's your advice to Blake about pitching in an atmosphere like this and in a game like this?
DAVE ROBERTS: You know, he's pitched in a lot of big spots and environments, hostile environments. So for that, for me, I've got no advice for him. He's really focused on just doing his job. Like most greats, when they get to performing or competing, all that noise drowns out. It really does.
Q. You guys have faced Luzardo a couple times in the regular season, and he's had deeper outings. What's made him effective against your lineup? And do you expect he might have the chance to go deep in the game or maybe the Phillies go with a quicker hook?
DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, he's good. He's good. It's velocity. There's a change-up, a really good change-up that he's been successful with us. He pitches backwards at times, with J.T. behind the plate. There's a sweeper/slider, that he tries to get for chase.
But a three-pitch guy. I'm sure Rob has a lot of trust in him. We're expecting him to go long and our lineup kind of reflects that.
But I expect us to take good at-bats. Really good pitcher, but I feel we've got a good game plan tonight. I think we've got to make sure we do a good job of trying to keep him in the strike zone. If we do that, it should be a good night.
Q. Following up on Will real quick, was there any residual effect coming out of the game the other night with how his hand was feeling, or did he feel how you guys wanted him to?
DAVE ROBERTS: He felt how we had hoped. There was a little bit of soreness, but just overall good soreness with his entire body.
Q. With the lineup, we asked you a lot down the stretch about flipping a switch and when that would happen. Was there ever a point where you were worried that wasn't going to happen? Or did you look at the makeup and the veteran nature of your lineup and kind of trust they could get to the place they needed to be once you guys got to this part of the year?
DAVE ROBERTS: I was certainly counting on the veteran players, that they would stay the course, because our offense has been good for quite some time now. My only concern was letting some of the pitching woes affect them. And that wasn't the case with those guys.
That's telling of their character, which I really appreciate. But as far as how the at-bats we've taken, that's been a solid five weeks, I think, that we've had some really quality team at-bats.
Q. With your starters pitching in the bullpen, too, could you see using Ohtani at some point, even like a Game 4 or even a guy like Snell maybe in a later round out of the bullpen?
DAVE ROBERTS: That's hard to project. I think anything is on the table depending on series circumstance. But right now I don't think that's not on our radar. So I think, I'm sure, that there's some unforeseeable things that sort of always arise. So I'm not going to take anything off the table.
Q. When we talk about there being heightened focus during the playoffs, it's usually in the context of the players. Is the same true for you as a manager, some of the in-game decisions you're making?
DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, absolutely. I think it starts with me. Just decision making, making sure I'm in tune with the players, how they are emotionally.
I think, for me, that's a lot of managing in the postseason, just really having an understanding where their heartbeat is at, how you expect them to respond to certain situations, being prepared for certain situations and then making decisions with that information. But, yeah, it has to be. It is.
Q. Max Muncy out of the lineup again today. How much of that is left on left? Is there any lingering effects with the physical things he had going on?
DAVE ROBERTS: Physical things, he's in a good spot now, which is great. I think right now for these first two games, in particular, having guys that have a lot of success against left, I really like the bullet, the silver bullet to deploy at any given point in the game, which we did in Game 1 versus Robertson.
I also feel that Miggy Ro has been taken really good at-bats, has had a great season. I love him versus left. And Kiké is October Kiké.
So I think right now just the net sum, it just gives us the best chance to win tonight. I felt the same way in Game 1. And we'll see how tonight goes, but I've had conversations with Max every day, and he's completely on board.
Q. Play the what-if game with Ohtani, if this thing goes the distance, is he your Game 5 starter?
DAVE ROBERTS: If it goes the distance, he would be, yes.
Q. Is Yamamoto ready to go for Game 3? And as far as tonight goes, the dynamic between Snell and that lineup, he's had success. What's he got to fight against? Does he have to pitch to strengths? How does that work in a game like this?
DAVE ROBERTS: I think -- yeah, he's had success, those guys have had success against us -- as far as Luzardo. I think it's just more of the strengths part of it, but it's also kind of not being, I mentioned it the other day, not being predictable. With the postseason, there's just a lot more scouting. So your errors are more highlighted.
I do think that kind of mixing and matching speeds, locations is really important. And the thing that's really good about Blake is he has four different pitches. So he has a lot of weapons to get the right-handed hitters out, the left-hand hitters out.
I like where Blake is at. I like how he's throwing the baseball. And I feel good about our club tonight.
Q. Is Yamamoto starting Game 3?
DAVE ROBERTS: Yamamoto is starting Game 3, yes.
Q. The guys are swinging the bats better going into this October. Is there anything, game-planning-wise or approach-wise, or have you figured out something offensively for you guys, this postseason, last postseason, that conduces to better offense, more consistent offense than maybe the two postseasons preceding it?
DAVE ROBERTS: I think that there's a little bit of coming and playing for something -- a postseason berth, a division, playing until the end, important games -- I think that's kept our focus offensively. Not having five days off, playing real baseball games has kept our focus.
And then the last part, probably the most important part is that the guys are just bearing down and have beared down with their bats -- winning pitches, taking walks, hitting to all fields. Those are things that play in the postseason.
We've done that for quite some time. I think it's just sort of bleeding into right now.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports