NL WILD CARD SERIES: PHILLIES VS CARDINALS

October 8, 2022

Rob Thomson

Busch Stadium

Philadelphia Phillies

Postgame Press Conference

Cardinals, 0 - Phillies, 2

Q. Rob, in the last six days, what has Aaron Nola proven with those two starts?

ROB THOMSON: That he's a big-game pitcher, that September doesn't matter anymore, that he's worth every penny. I mean, he's really -- he's really something. He really is. He's cool as a cucumber, and just gives us great starts. He's so consistent. I just can't say enough about him.

Q. How did your pitching staff as a whole pull off what you just did these two nights, not just in rotation, but your bullpen?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, between Wheeler and Nola and the bullpen, we just did a great job against a great club. I told the players in there, I said you just beat a really, really good club, and you should be happy about that. But we played the game the right way. We had good pitching. We have really good defense. We had a lot of unselfish at-bats, you know, guys giving themselves up, bunting runners over from second to third with nobody out to try and score extra runs. It was a complete team effort. And I'm really proud of them.

Q. And what made you want to go with Seranthony in that spot, and how amazed are you at how he responded in that situation with those two hitters at the plate?

ROB THOMSON: I like the power against those three guys, against those three right-handers, and Pujols hits a ball down the line first bat, first hitter. He faces Pujols, hits the ball down the line, and he went in, and got two punch-outs against two really good hitters, and I'm happy for him because I know that he's been in a little bit of a downswing here the last little bit, but hopefully that makes him feel really good, gives him a lot of confidence moving forward.

Q. Harper has talked a lot about not missing his pitches, and then tonight he took the first pitch he saw out for a home run. How big was that for him?

ROB THOMSON: Huge, I think huge. And, you know, if he gets hot, we're going to be really dangerous. So that's what we're waiting for is for him to go on one of those streaks where he's hitting everything, and whether it gets there or not, I don't know, but if he gets there, yeah, it's going to be -- it's going to be special.

Q. And what can you say more broadly about how Bohmer played this series? He's made a couple of really nice defensive plays.

ROB THOMSON: Yeah. He's a guy that has improved more within a year than I've ever had in my career. He really has, not only offensively, but defensively, maturity wise. I give a lot of credit to him, but give a lot of credit to Bobby Dickerson, Kevin Long for the work they do with him on a daily basis. They keep him upbeat. They keep him confident. They tell him the truth when he's not doing well, and he responds, and a credit to all of them.

Q. It's kind of an unprecedented format, so nobody really knows how it's going to express itself, but I mean, how big do you think it is to take care of this in two games, give yourself an extra off day, not run out the bullpen?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah. It's huge. It really is. And not having to pitch Ranger tomorrow really helps. Not that we don't have other arms available, but, yeah, and giving our position players an extra day is huge, too. So, yeah, I think that's -- plus my ticker is going to be a lot better with not having to play tomorrow.

Q. So how did you sleep on these last couple nights?

A. I slept good. It was good.

Q. To have a home game for the city of Philadelphia and for the organization itself, how big is that?

ROB THOMSON: It's huge. It really is. They've been waiting a long time. And eventually we're coming home, and we got those passionate fans that are going to be there on our side, and so there's a lot of people involved. The organization, the city, and our players, you know. A lot of these guys haven't been in this situation. And that's what I'm really proud about is that there's so many guys that have never played in the playoffs, and they played really well. You know, it's like the moment didn't get the best of them, and I'm happy about that.

Q. Rob, when you took over and this team was seven games below 500, did you see the makings of a team that could get this far and win games like this, and if so, why?

ROB THOMSON: I think we saw it in Spring Training because we had a really good mix of veteran players, a few of them that have been in the playoffs and been in this spot and the mix of the veterans with the youth, the young guys, the Bohms, the Stotts, and we really played well in Spring Training, and we just got off to a rough start. Eventually we just started playing the way we thought we'd play, and we just kept playing that way. So that's how I see it.

Q. Just what are some of your early thoughts on facing the Braves, a team that you're obviously very familiar with?

ROB THOMSON: They're really good. They hit a lot of home runs. They score runs. They got good starting pitching, and they got a good bullpen, and they're well-rounded. They play very good defense. They're well-rounded, just a lot like this team. Cardinals are a good ball club. Atlanta is a good ball club, and they're the defending world champions. Until you beat them, they're the world champions, so we got to get in there and play good baseball and play the way we played here in St. Louis.

Q. Suárez, Wheeler, Nola in the NLDS?

ROB THOMSON: We haven't talked about it yet. We're just trying to get through this now, and there's a bunch of champagne being poured on everybody right now. So we haven't had a time to have a meeting, but eventually we'll get there. But Suárez is lined up as the next starter, but that's not set in stone.

Q. And I know we've talked a lot about Eflin and his emergence, but he's pitching back to back days here, something he's only done once. And this is about as high stress as it'll ever get for him?

ROB THOMSON: Maybe not.

Q. So far. How impressed were you with how he handled a very difficult situation in the ninth?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah. There's no heartbeat there. It just doesn't flutter. It just stays right there. And I trust him almost in any situation, obviously.

Q. Rob, given the way yesterday ended with that ninth inning rally, six runs, did you think it was important, in reference to Harper's home run, getting an early lead, to keep your momentum going and to possibly keep them down?

ROB THOMSON: Yes, I did. I thought that -- I was hoping it was more than one or two, but I was hoping to get an early lead and see how they reacted to it. But they kept having good at-bats. But we responded, too, with our pitching and our defense, but they had good at-bats. They didn't panic. I didn't sense that.

Q. And Harper's been like telling people before games we are not going to lose this game. Have you heard him do that?

ROB THOMSON: Yes.

Q. What does he do just walk around tapping people on the shoulder and shouting it?

ROB THOMSON: Just we're not going to lose this game.

Q. Did he tell you?

ROB THOMSON: No.

Q. How do you read into that beyond confidence?

ROB THOMSON: I think that's what it is. And it's just a message out there. We're not going to lose. We're going to do whatever we can to win this game. And I think that's a good message. I really do. And it showed with the unselfishness during the series, with our position players and our pitchers. Every pitcher today came in, they said whether they pitched yesterday or not, I'm good to go, and I'm good to go tomorrow if we have to play tomorrow. It's a great group. Really is.

Q. Rob, I know before you guys started the celebration, you said how many left. How special is that moment and how important is that mentality for you guys moving forward?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah. I think you set the tone. We got 11 games to win. Gotta take one at a time. Can't get too far ahead of yourself, but the goal is at the end of the year that you win a World Series, and that's what everybody's goal is. Right? So, you know, I wanted J.T. to send the message we got 11 games to win.

Q. Why do you kind of go to him for that message?

ROB THOMSON: I'm an old catcher.

Q. Was it setup previously? Did you do that in Houston?

ROB THOMSON: No.

Q. No, you said 13?

ROB THOMSON: I said 13.

Q. And you went to JT today. It sounds like he knew it was coming?

ROB THOMSON: He did.

Q. So you had a little setup?

ROB THOMSON: I had a little setup.

Q. When did you tell him?

ROB THOMSON: In the dugout after the game. I said I'm going to ask you the question.

Q. I'm going to tee you up?

ROB THOMSON: Yep. You let everybody know we got 11 more to win.