NL DIVISION SERIES: CUBS VS BREWERS

October 4, 2025

Sal Frelick

Joey Ortiz

American Family Field

Milwaukee Brewers

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. Joey, I'm wondering if you could tell us a little bit about what starting a new season does for you and how you were feeling at the plate at the end of the regular season.

JOEY ORTIZ: Yeah, you kind of start O for O, and I feel like every day in the postseason or every at-bat you kind of take it as a new one. It's like the regular season, but yeah, it's exciting finally getting ready to play here, and yeah, we're ready to go.

Q. For Sal, the same question, but more on a health aspect. How did you feel with the knee and other things going on toward the end of that regular season?

SAL FRELICK: Yeah, felt fine. Something I dealt with the whole year a little bit. But it's minor. It was a minor thing. Kind of acts up here and there, but I think that week of rest helped out, so we were able to get that bye, and it feels good.

Q. For either one of you, what did you guys get out of this week and having five days in between and hopefully being ready to go physically and mentally?

SAL FRELICK: Yeah, it was good. I thought Murph and the rest of the staff did a good job planning out our days, making sure they were competitive, but at the same time making sure that guys that needed a day or two to get some rest did.

Thought it was a good week overall getting some key parts back and making sure we were staying focused.

Q. Joey, y'all had a pretty good winning streak up until the last week of the regular season in games in which Quinn Priester has pitched. Just wondering what kind of confidence ya'll have when he makes the mound these days, and how much fun is he to play behind with the pace he uses when he's pitching?

JOEY ORTIZ: Yeah, he threw well all season, especially for an infielder. He's got the sinker and pitches like that, ground balls a lot, so he keeps us locked in. Like you said, the pace is going to keep all the guys on defense ready to go and ready to make a play for him.

I think it's the same with every one of our pitchers actually. I think they attack the zone and do everything they can and keeps the defense locked in and ready to go.

Q. In years past we sat up here talking to guys, your predecessors, about how sick they were of hearing about 1982 and writing their own script. How tired are you guys of hearing about playoffs past and trying to focus on what you guys are trying to do now?

SAL FRELICK: Yeah, I feel like at least everyone in the clubhouse, I don't think we hear too much about it. I'm sure on social media and stuff like that or whatever, the media might say stuff, but we really haven't heard anything about past playoffs in the clubhouse.

Guys are pretty focused, so we're not really looking around to the external noise. For the most part, I haven't heard much.

Q. You guys faced Matthew Boyd a few times this year, but specifically I think it was a July start here where you guys took a bunch of walks, hit him around pretty good. What did you learn or what can you take from that game that you can carry over to this, or is it everything out the window?

SAL FRELICK: I mean, both I guess, right. Especially when you're playing a team in your division where you see these guys multiple times, you've seen Boyd a few times. First time we faced him this year is different than the second time we faced him this year.

They're making adjustments based on past starts and scouting reports and whatnot. You obviously build a scouting report just as they're doing against us, but we'll watch the game from inning one and see how it progresses. And could be abandoning ship based on what he's throwing or sticking to it, so we'll see.

Q. For either of you, a scout told me this week that what he likes about your team is you have a clear identity. I'm wondering, I think Sal, you've talked about that before, playing with an identity. How would you describe the identity of this club?

JOEY ORTIZ: I think we play hard, play through nine. We're ready to fight, doesn't matter what the score is. I think until the last out, we're going to be going hard and getting after it. At least that's how I see it, that we're going to be fine until the end.

Q. We hear oftentimes in this game about guys sticking to their strengths. I'm curious, though, in the postseason specifically where opponents are going to be game planning more and scouting even more, do you have an extra awareness on what your weaknesses are, and in light of they might try to attack that even more?

SAL FRELICK: I mean, yeah, I think -- as hitters, you get that every game. From opening day to the end of the season, there's weeks of pitchers only throwing you high fastballs; then you finally lay off that, and then the next week they're throwing you off speed down. And then you have to lay off that. Like it just this chess match throughout the whole year.

The pitchers are going to exploit that, anytime you show that little bit of weakness at the plate. I don't think it's something that they're going to be able to game plan for or we're going to be able to game plan for.

It's just, you go out there, you compete, and if you have to change the game plan, you've got to change it based on how guys are pitching you.

But I don't think -- it's the playoffs, and I don't think it's going to be too drastic.

Q. Sal, this will be your third postseason. Is there anything specific you can take from your experience in the postseason last two years that you think can help you just having more experience heading into this one?

SAL FRELICK: Yeah, I mean, obviously I think the nerves in general. Having had two postseasons under my belt, just kind of understanding the atmosphere, the speed of the game, kind of all the emotion that goes into it.

I think it's good, and Joey, as well, having played in a postseason. I think most of the guys, too, even the young guys on our team that have had that opportunity just to get a taste of it, what it feels like, should be good.