MLB WORLD SERIES: PHILLIES VS ASTROS

October 28, 2022

Rob Thomson

Minute Maid Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Postgame 1 Press Conference

Philadelphia Phillies - 6, Houston Astros - 5

THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with Rob.

Q. What went into the decision to use Ranger Suárez out of the bullpen today and will he be available to possibly start Game 3?

ROB THOMSON: Possibly. So what went into it was we, today's a side day, really, for Game 3, so we thought, okay, we've got that one pocket, Álvarez to Tucker, that's a pretty big pocket and thought, well, we'll put him on that if that situation comes um. If not, that's fine. And it came up.

Now, he went, you know, he got one out, sat down, went back out. So that's a little more taxing. So we'll have to check with him tomorrow, see how he's doing, see if he's going to be available for Game 3.

Q. Can I ask you what your first managerial World Series experience was like? What was it like for you?

ROB THOMSON: Well, we won, so it was great. But, no, it was great. It was exciting and it was a great game. I thought J.T. had big at-bats, our bullpen was fantastic, and all in all it was a great game, a great come from behind victory, and it just showed the resilience of the club again and how tough they are and they just never quit.

Q. Can you talk about what the mood is. You guys have come back before, so you know 5-0 leads are not impossible to overcome. It is a bit unusual in the World Series, though, obviously. What were your thoughts when it just wasn't working early on it seemed?

ROB THOMSON: You know, I think once we scored the three you were kind of feeling it. Like, okay, we got back in this thing, now the momentum's changed. And that's really why I went to Alvarado in the 5th inning, which I haven't done all year, because I thought that the momentum changed there was so important to keep that momentum, get through those guys, and we'll figure out the rest later.

And he was fantastic and he'll be more than available tomorrow.

Q. Did you expect to have to work this hard for your first World Series win? There were a lot of things you had to do. And can you just sort of go through your thought process, Nola in the 3rd inning, the 4th inning, the 5th inning and sort of stacking up, assuming everything worked out, can you take us through that sort of process?

ROB THOMSON: Well, first of all, I get a lot of help on the bench. I talk to a lot of the coaches about a lot of the situations. And I'm not really doing the work. The players are doing the work. I'm just sort of making the final decision on who goes where.

But Nola looked like he had a little trouble working out of the stretch today. He's got to work on that. But when he was in the windup he was pretty good, actually. So he got 80-some pitches after 4, so we went out, sent him out for Peña, and then we were going to stick Alvarado on Álvarez, and that's where we went from there, and then we just kind of pocketed everything after that.

Q. It was quite a day for J.T. He had a two-run double. It looked like maybe he needed some concussion protocol, and then he hits --

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, that hit him pretty good.

Q. And then he hits a dinger. I mean, can you imagine what he must be going through and feeling right now?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, I'm sure he's feeling ecstatic right now. I thought he caught a great game, he called a great game, he did great job with our bullpen, and he had a couple of big hits. He's playing really well right now.

Q. What were you thinking when you seen Castellanos make a game-saving catch there?

ROB THOMSON: Atlanta. Yeah, just reminded me of Atlanta, you know? It makes you feel good because that was a pretty good result in that game too.

So, yeah, it was, I thought we played really well defensively. Bohm made a couple of really good plays. Castellanos made a play. Yeah, it was all around we, I thought we really played well. Again, we played with poise and confidence and very relaxed.

Q. Did you notice the way the guys attacked Verlander the first time through? And did anything really change the second time?

ROB THOMSON: I think the second time you just, you've seen it once. So there's some familiarity there. So I think that's what they, that's why we had some success off him the second time. But I thought the at-bats were really good. We got his pitch count up pretty good. I thought his stuff was good. But we did, we had some good at-bats.

Q. You guys go down 5-nothing and then the bullpen's able to hold that throughout the whole game. Just how big was that for them tonight just to maintain that and allow you guys to come back in extra innings?

ROB THOMSON: Huge. And that's been going on for awhile now because our bullpen has been -- there's been times during the year where the bullpen collectively has struggled because of overwork at times and things like that. But for the most part we've had so much confidence in our bullpen. It's given us a chance to finish games when we've got a lead. And I think it gives our offense the mindset that just hold it and we'll come back at some point. I think that's been going on for a long time. That's a pretty good thing going on.

Q. You saw David Robertson for a long time in New York. And I know pitcher's stuff changes over the years. But when you put him out there in that spot, did that seem familiar at all to you? Like getting out of a jam that he creates.

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, it did. That's who he is too. Sometimes it's not going to be one, two, three. But he's mentally tough. He's going to keep grinding and keep pitching. He's not going to be afraid of the moment, that's for sure.

Q. There was a point early in the game in the dugout where you were caught on camera like going up and down the bench encouraging your hitters. And it was like you waved a magic wand because they suddenly started getting hits. Do you remember that? Is that something you often do? We normally just see you siting on the perch there.

ROB THOMSON: No, I think we all do it collectively as a coaching staff. I don't remember doing that, but I think that's kind of a normal thing.