NL DIVISION SERIES: DODGERS VS PHILLIES

October 5, 2025

Rob Thomson

Citizens Bank Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Did Harrison get his imaging back yet? Can you tell us anything more on him and his status?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, no major tear or strain. He's going to come in this afternoon and get some treatment, and we'll know more tomorrow.

Q. He sounded really confident, I guess, last night that he would be able to come back.

ROB THOMSON: We'll know more tomorrow, but I think after the game they stretched him out. They got him moving around a little bit, and I think he felt a lot better after that. We'll know whether he's available to start or at least to pinch-hit. We'll know more tomorrow.

Q. As you went back and maybe rethought or rewatched the game, was there anything you wanted to redo, like in the middle innings there with the pitching? Or do you feel -- when you think about it again, could Suarez had been a guy there in the middle to start the seventh inning with Ohtani due up third there?

ROB THOMSON: No, I think we played it exactly the way I wanted to play it. We talked about that situation going into the game, and D-Rob, in our mind was, in my mind, was the guy to go to there and stay with him, even though he hadn't done an up/down all year.

He's an experienced guy. Felt like he should be able to get through it. A long at-bat to Pages and unfortunately the hit batsman. So that put us behind the 8-ball a little bit.

Like I said, Strahm, for the most part, did his job. He got the strikeout and the pop-up and made a mistake, just didn't hit his spot. That's going to happen every once in a while.

Q. When you rewatched some of the at-bats, did it strike you how -- you guys saw pitches in the zone last night and really stayed mostly disciplined to kind of the game plan you wanted but still didn't see results.

ROB THOMSON: I thought, especially in the bottom of the order, I thought we really had pretty good at-bats all night long. The guys at the top, they pitched them tough, a lot of breaking balls. Ohtani was really tough on them. But I thought the guys at the bottom did a nice job.

Q. We talked so much over the last few years about the advantage that you guys enjoy at home. We saw you guys winning a record number of home games there this year at Citizens Bank Park and, of course, in the playoffs. But you've lost four of your last five games in the playoffs. I wonder if you sense anything different in the room in terms of how guys handle playing at home in the postseason? Do they put a little extra pressure on themselves? Is there anything different from kind of '22 and the early part of the postseason in '23 when home field was so dominant for you?

ROB THOMSON: I don't think so. I don't feel that. Our crowds have been outstanding. It was really loud and boisterous and rabid last night, just like our normal playoff fans are.

But I don't sense any extra pressure. I feel like they're loose. I feel like -- we made a lot of good plays on defense last night. We pitched well. We just didn't get the big hit when we needed it. We had some chances.

It's the way it is. I think it's just the ebbs and flows of the game, and we've got to come out here tomorrow night and play well.

Q. You had Ranger available out of the bullpen last night. Do you anticipate in Game 2 that he'll also be somebody out of the bullpen?

ROB THOMSON: I think so. I think we'll probably have everybody available, really, other than Sanchy. And then we'll figure out Game 3 if we use everybody. But I would think, if we were going to use some sort of -- I'm talking about Ranger and Nola being available -- probably only use one of those guys, unless we absolutely had to, just so that the other guy can start Game 3.

Q. Would Ranger maybe be more employed for a leverage situation, or do you think it would be similar?

ROB THOMSON: Possibly, yeah. Possibly.

Q. To follow up on Scott's question, how surprising is it to you that with how good you guys have been at home that you've lost four out of your last five postseason games at CBP?

ROB THOMSON: I mean, it's just the way it is. Maybe a little bit surprising. I know not everybody likes the term, but it is baseball. And sometimes you lose some games at home. You've got to play well, and you've got to pitch and play defense. You've got to swing the bats, play small ball at times.

I think it's just the way it is and it doesn't mean we're not going to come in here tomorrow night and play well. I know that we play better at home. I feel like we're more comfortable at home, that's for sure. They'll come out here and they'll be ready to go tomorrow night.

Q. What did you like about how you guys pitched, I guess Ohtani specifically, but Ohtani and Betts at the top there in Game 1?

ROB THOMSON: I thought we did a really nice job on those two guys, especially -- and really Hernandez, too, other than the home run. So I think it was kind of both lineups were kind of the same -- the guys at the top really pitched well and pitched tough, and the guys at the bottom did some damage.

As long as we keep doing that, if we can keep pitching the way we're pitching against those guys at the top, I think we'll be in pretty good shape.

Q. Do you think that Luzardo, he's an emotional guy. We've seen it in different ways this year. Why do you think he can channel that in the proper way, the emotions of a really important Game 2 for you?

ROB THOMSON: I think he's grown, he's learned over the course of the year how to slow it down, especially in this environment. I'm super confident that he's going to be ready to go and he'll be able to handle the task and handle the emotional part of the game.

Q. I know you were trailing at the time, but Kerkering, does he maybe go in bigger spots now?

ROB THOMSON: Now it's three or four outings in a row now where he's been really good and pounding the zone. He looks very confident right now. The breaking ball, he's landing in the right spot. That's really good to see.