NL DIVISION SERIES: PADRES VS DODGERS

October 14, 2022

Bob Melvin

Petco Park

San Diego Padres

Pregame 3 Press Conference

Q. It's finally here, postseason baseball in San Diego. The fans have been an important part of this team all season long. If you don't mind talking about how they've been a positive influence on some of these close games late. And also is there anything to worry about in terms of being overamped to finally play in front of the home crowd?

BOB MELVIN: I don't worry about that. But they have been. They've been such an influence. It's like a 10th man type of thing where inspiring throughout the games, especially late. You see some of the results late in games here; they're a big part of that.

Can't say enough about their impact. They're here every night, Monday night, 35-, 40,000 people. It's been consistent all year. They've been as consistent as any part of our dynamic this year.

Q. As far as your bench goes, you haven't used them a whole lot here in the postseason. You did a great job of using them all season long. I know postseason is a different beast, but still you may need those guys. How do you keep them sharp and ready to go?

BOB MELVIN: It's hard to do. There's maybe one move off the bench, maybe a defensive move. Hasn't really showed up a whole lot, Bell or Drury, Sugar coming in maybe defensively, pinch run. Alfaro has had such an impact on this team all year, but with Nola behind there and the scheduling of this, who's pitching for us, it's hard to use him.

But they have to stay ready because something could transpire over the course of a game where they're needed, and it's probably going to be in a prominent role if it gets to that.

Do the best they can in the cage, simulating game speed, velo, stuff like that, always trying to stay ready. It's not an easy job.

Q. Just the position Joe will be in tomorrow night. Win or lose tonight, the hometown guy is in the spot that could clinch moving on or he's saving the season at that point. What about Joe being in that position in either of those scenarios?

BOB MELVIN: It feels like it's kind of meant to be, right? I mean, from getting the opening day assignment or the opening night assignment this year, the way he pitched, the reception he got coming off the field. It seems like he was the guy when the season started and has even put himself into it more so.

It's really cool to watch when you have a hometown guy that embraces and is embraced as he is by the city and his teammates and everybody in the clubhouse. It almost seems like it's kind of meant for him to be for him to pitch one of these games.

Q. You talked about the fans here at the park, but as you maybe got up early today and got a cup of coffee or drove in for the game, what could you tell about how the city was embracing the game?

BOB MELVIN: Well, depending on what time you get here, and I get here awfully early so I don't see a ton of it, but you could just kind of feel the vibe here before every game, it's such great proximity to kind of the fabric of San Diego that you would think today is just going to be off the charts. It's almost like a football game where tailgating and all going on.

I think most of these places are going to be packed well before the game starts, and just showing up as a fan for a game like this is going to be exciting two hours before the game.

We'll feel it, but my guess is there's going to be some -- the crowd is going to probably get here a little earlier today.

Q. I don't mean this to come off rudely because A's fans are awesome, but what's this year been like compared to last year in terms of being in a ballpark atmosphere and environment?

BOB MELVIN: Yeah, A's fans are fantastic. Maybe it's not every night, but when there's a playoff game or there's a big game, they're pretty spirited there.

The difference here is it's every night. There are a lot of things to like about coming here to a game here. Everything that goes on around the ballpark, that doesn't happen in Oakland, either.

It's kind of the gold standard as far as just every-night passion. It's been great to be a part of.

Q. With Blake's success against the Dodgers, both with Tampa and here, is there anything about the way he pitches, I know his stuff is pretty elite, but that you can hone in on that might be a part of that?

BOB MELVIN: Look, when he's throwing the ball over the plate and he's throwing hard and his slider is working, I think it's that way against any team. He's a tough guy to hit. There have been times where maybe his command is off a little bit. He's very mechanical in how he does things. Rhythm is a big part of what he does. Sometimes he gets out of that and the ball doesn't go where he wants it to. But when he's got it working as far as that goes, I think it's basically the same for every team.

He's pitched some great games against these guys, like you said, in the World Series. That should create some confidence.

But he just kind of insulates in how he feels and the mechanics and kind of the flow of what he's doing. It's a little different than maybe some other starters.