Dodgers - 10, Reds - 5
Q. When Francona was in here he spoke highly of you and your ability to mix speeds on the change-up and how that set up the fastball. He said sometimes you'd throw three, four, five change-ups in a row. Was that the game plan or did that develop when you saw you were successful you were being with that?
BLAKE SNELL: Just seeing how aggressive they were to the fastball and just adjusted. Felt like that was what was best.
Q. You talked about coming here and wanting to have success in the postseason and get deeper into postseason starts. What did it mean to be able to get through seven tonight and set up the team in that way?
BLAKE SNELL: No, it felt good to go deep in the ball game. Just gotta control that last inning. But outside of that, I felt really in control, could read swings and just kind of navigate through the lineup the way I wanted to.
Q. Are you already mentally getting prepared for Philadelphia?
BLAKE SNELL: Not right now, but I'm going to break down the start, see what I liked, what I didn't like, how do I get better and go from there.
Q. Dave talked a lot about how the depth of the starting pitching is really important, and as far as you guys can go the farther you get in the game the better it's going to be for everybody. What do you think it counts in terms of importance that you were able to get so deep in terms of setting up the staff for the rest of this series and hopefully for longer?
BLAKE SNELL: It's very important. I think the farther we go, the deeper that the starters go in the game, one, it means we're pitching good; but, two, it means you're giving the bullpen a break and breather. And they get to be 100 percent every time they come out. So it just makes for a different game that favors us.
Q. To start with the one, two, three in the top of the first, and then to have Shohei lead off with that bomb, does that give you -- does it give the whole team a boost right there and let you go out there and be a little bit more aggressive?
BLAKE SNELL: Yeah, it definitely sets the tone. From there, the mindset is attack and put up a zero the next inning and get the guys back in the dugout so they can hit and get them going in a rhythm.
Q. Not having the time off between, like, just going straight into this series, how much of an advantage does that give hitters?
BLAKE SNELL: I don't know. I'm not a hitter. I haven't asked them either. I think it's probably they just keep hitting and keep going. Maybe it is an advantage.
I've seen where like teams stall out in the DS, but I don't know. It's a good question.
Q. In 2020, you guys played in the San Diego bubble and the Texas bubble. How does it feel like to play a playoff game in a series in a home ballpark that was as roaring as this one was today?
BLAKE SNELL: It's awesome. There's nothing better than pitching a postseason game in front of your home crowd. To be able to enjoy that and pitch, it meant a lot.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports