Q. I know we've talked at length about Yoshinobu and what he's been able to do and achieve this season. But what did you learn from him from the postseason last year, how he entered into this regular season and what prepares him for this game and really big moments hopefully this postseason?
DAVE ROBERTS: I think what I learned is he prepares very well, very intentional with his preparation. I learned that the moment isn't too big for him, any moment. I learned that he has the ability to make pitches when he needs to. He always seems like the best option.
And I think that if you're talking about a player from last year to this year, I'd probably say he's number one on the growth chart, considering coming over here and trying to get his feet wet, trying to learn the culture, the game, the hitters, create a routine for himself, to then be a really big-game pitcher.
Q. What did the eighth inning of the game do to rethink your bullpen?
DAVE ROBERTS: Looking back at it, I think that Alex is a guy I'm always going to trust. I think that he's earned that. And just wasn't particularly sharp last night.
I just think it was one of the few times we've seen Edgardo lose command. And the game sped up, in my opinion.
And I think Jack, coming into that spot right there, was a tough spot. But I liked how he continued to settle in and make pitches against Stephenson and punch him, and gets a pop-up from Ke'Bryan.
I thought it was a good lesson for them, more so for Henriquez and Jack, but I'm still evaluating. And we learn from things. So I'm kind of there. I'm not really saying much, but you learn a lot from that inning.
Q. The daily what-if game, what would it take to see Shohei come out of the bullpen tonight?
DAVE ROBERTS: I don't see that happening. I don't see that happening.
Q. The decision to go with Miggy Ro at second over Tommy Edman, who homered last night, is it because of the ankle or do you think Lodolo might come in later and Miggy will face him?
DAVE ROBERTS: It was more of the ankle, just kind of Tommy has been trying to battle to stay upright. So with Littell, I think he's a neutral guy. They certainly have Lodolo in the pen, and Martinez will be deployed, I'm sure, who is a reverse guy. So I don't think there's much cost. And also I feel the defense is enhanced without Miguel.
Q. Shohei had three homers all of last postseason and has two last night. Is it possible that in terms of meeting the moment he learned something last year that kind of unlocked for him already in this postseason?
DAVE ROBERTS: I think so. I think that superstars always want to perform on the biggest stage, but you have to let the game come to you. And I think that last year, certainly early on, I felt that there was a little bit more chase in there and appreciating the fact that teams aren't going to let him beat them. And when you can hone in your chase, to get into a count, which he did yesterday, to then get a pitch to hit, that's a result.
I think he's had a great September as far as the chase, which has sort of prepared him for the postseason.
Q. With the bullpen, are you still kind of figuring out who you can trust in leverage spots at this point, given that it's the postseason and a different situation than the regular season?
DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah. I think -- you like them all, you trust them all, to various degrees. And I think in the postseason, you have to go with ultimately who you feel best in that one spot.
And so it's ever-evolving, and I'm not going to be a "It can't be blind to performance and heartbeat and how guys respond to certain situations."
It's sort of a daily kind of conversation with the pitching coaches, the front office and just kind of -- and most importantly, what I see.
Q. How aggressive do you think you might be with managing the pen tonight if you see an opportunity to close this one out?
DAVE ROBERTS: I would say I more put this game on Yoshinobu, appreciating that he's, for me, our best pitcher available today. Then you've got to layer in on the stress of innings, the pitch count and the swings they're taking and how his stuff looks to then, is there a better option.
I would say that I probably wouldn't be too aggressive. And I don't really know which direction I'm going to go as far as who I deploy.
Q. You had Emmet up for a lot of that eighth inning and didn't use him. Is that just trying to figure out like if he can't get up in that sort of spot? Do you trust him coming into a dirty inning? How much are you still trying to figure out what he can do as a reliever for you?
DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, that was the situation where I think Jack had one more hitter. And Emmet was going to come into the game. Clearly, I felt if we needed him, he was going to pitch. So fortunately he didn't have to come into the game, which I think is a benefit for tonight.
Q. For a guy like him, tonight and going forward in this postseason, is he a guy you feel comfortable going back to back or using like a usual reliever?
DAVE ROBERTS: I've had conversation with Emmet and this is the postseason. So, I say yes. Whatever is called for him, he's ready and willing to do whatever is called for him.
Q. For Tommy, would he be available tomorrow if it would come down to a Game 3? And would he be available in any capacity for tonight's game?
DAVE ROBERTS: He's available off the bench, certainly, tonight. And if there is a Game 3, yeah, he'll play.
Q. We've lost recently Boch, Mel, Snitker isn't coming back -- Wash, Buddy Black was hired/fired during the middle of the season. It's kind of left you as the highest-ranking manager in the National League at this point.
DAVE ROBERTS: Me and Cashee.
Q. And Counsell. What do you think about that, that as the whole time you've grown through and what you've been through, and these guys, a lot of them you played for and they were mentors of you?
DAVE ROBERTS: They were all, in different forms, mentors. And I've taken a piece of each one of those guys. I really have.
And I'm very grateful for that. I think I've grown. I think I'm continuing to grow, want to grow, get better.
They're great baseball men. They love the game of baseball, and they've impacted the game in a positive way.
I sort of feel that responsibility again to kind of keep what they started and guys before them started, to keep this thing going and making it about the players and the fans and do things the right way. But, yeah, all great baseball men.
Q. Do you look at this as kind of a normal evolution?
DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, I think so. It's sort of all kind of coming at a changing of the guard, where guys have been around for a long time and you're getting some new blood, some new younger managers. It's kind of the circle of life, I guess. How about that one? (Laughter).
Q. If your bullpen guys, your regular guys, show you a little bit more what they showed yesterday, they don't have it that night or they're not commanding the zone, would you consider with, whether it's Sheehan or Wrobleski or Roki throwing six outs, nine outs, to finish off a game for you?
DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah, yes, I would.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports