MLB WORLD SERIES: DODGERS VS BLUE JAYS

October 28, 2025

Isiah Kiner-Falefa

Dodger Stadium

Toronto Blue Jays

Pregame 4 Press Conference

Q. I'm sure you guys showed up a little later to the park, but just what does a day like this pregame look like for you guys, given all the baseball last night?

ISIAH KINER-FALEFA: I think you just treat it like a day game, 1 o'clock Sunday day game in the regular season, get in the work, just get the bodies going. But a tough game overall last night, but got to flush it and find a way to get the bodies going for today and, yeah, just treat it like a Sunday 1 o'clock game.

Q. You guys have had a pretty loose clubhouse all year before games. What is the vibe in there with the team?

ISIAH KINER-FALEFA: Same vibe. Guys are playing cards, messing around already. They do a good job of keeping everything loose and, yeah, nothing really changes.

Q. You're one of several key players who have come over to this team in the middle of the season and have been counted on for some big moments in the postseason. What's your perspective on just the mentality of getting acclimated to a new group, new city, new teammates, and then getting ready to play on the game's biggest stage?

ISIAH KINER-FALEFA: Yeah, I think the clubhouse is definitely awesome. So being able to step into that the guys make it easy. It also helps that I was originally signed here before I got traded. So that helps a lot. But the guys do an amazing job of helping us stay loose. And, yeah, it's a great clubhouse, it's easy to play for the city, it's easy to play for Schneids, but we just got to do everything we can to try to win the game tonight.

Q. What are some of the lessons learned so far in this series that will really help you not only in this series, but in the long run?

ISIAH KINER-FALEFA: Just the magnitude of every out. I think the magnitude of every out, base running mistakes, swinging at bad pitches. Everything matters in this type of series. I feel like in the World Series, everything is magnified, so just making sure that everybody stays within ourselves. But every out is huge.

Q. Given your mop-up mound experience, did you start to wonder if there was a chance you were going to wind up pitching last night?

ISIAH KINER-FALEFA: Honestly, it was -- give props to Yamamoto for getting out there last night. I think we were looking at Klein in the third inning, and we were like, all right, let's keep this guy in, because I'm pretty sure that was their last arm, and once we saw Yamamoto get up there, I actually was, like, looking around, who was going to go up for us, and I saw Bieber, Bieber go up there in our bullpen and, honestly, a lot of respect for Bieber for going up there and a lot of respect for Yamamoto for seeing him in their bullpen as well.

Q. Did you start thinking that after Bieber, you might --

ISIAH KINER-FALEFA: I was thinking before him that someone was going to go out. I thought someone was going to go out on their side first, and then I seen Yamamoto, so I was like, all right, definitely not me. But there was a point where I was, like, we might see two position players in the World Series going back and forth.

Q. You guys got through the game last night with two catchers. The Dodgers made Will wear it for 18 innings. As somebody who is moved around the field a lot, can you compare the physical toll for playing catcher for that long compared to anything else?

ISIAH KINER-FALEFA: When I caught, I felt it after the 7th inning, so for Will to be back there all 18, I mean, that was very impressive. That's why he's one of the top catchers in the league. He proves it day-in and day-out. So a lot of props to him, and Kirky has done a great job, and Heineman came in for, I think, seven innings. I thought he was in there for three, but I actually looked and it was seven. I thought I played nine innings, and then they said I played 12. So it was -- yeah, it was an impressive game from the backstops for -- to be able to catch that long.

Q. Kind of piggybacking off that, you guys have gotten so used to these shift changes. I think you had three leadoff hitters, and they each got three at-bats last night, which no one expected, of course. But to what extent is that helpful in October, especially in your position knowing Bo probably can't play nine innings a night, just being ready for any situation and knowing that there's a very likely chance you're going to be called upon?

ISIAH KINER-FALEFA: Yeah, obviously you would want Bo out there as much as you can. But I feel like our role players know when our opportunity usually would come, and we were ready for the opportunity last night. It just so happened that we ended up playing longer than the starters. But we know when our names would be called in certain situations, and everybody does a great job of preparing for that role. Last night we came in and we weren't really able to get the job done, but everybody knows their role, and we just try to pass the baton.

Q. You've mentioned base running a couple times. You had that play at third. In a game like that, how much does the desire to kind of push and put an end to it play into aggressiveness and what's the balance between sort of pushing too far and then having the right level of aggressiveness?

ISIAH KINER-FALEFA: That one's a game of inches right there. I felt like that was a turning point of the game, in my personal opinion. I felt like it was the right play to go. In hindsight, I probably should have just kept running, because if Freddie catches the ball he tags me out in a double play anyway. Tommy made an incredible play, and by him making that throw I felt like the momentum shifted. But I don't think anybody, I don't think I did anything wrong on that play. I thought I made the right read. In the World Series, you got to win the game. So I was out there playing to win, and just so happened that Tommy made an incredible play, and I feel like that shifted the momentum in their favor. But to make the second out and not the first or third, I thought it was the right read, and I'll make that every, you know, I'll go every time. It just so happened to not work out, and Tommy made a huge play and I feel like it was a big momentum shifter.

Q. When you mentioned seeing Bieber and the respect you have for him when he goes out to the bullpen there. Is there a part of you and your teammates thinking, we can't let our starter tomorrow end up in this game, because then we're really chasing it tomorrow. How does that impact how you're playing maybe in the moment?

ISIAH KINER-FALEFA: I feel like our mentality as a team's always been next man up. So the next guy would have been ready. If Bieber was to pitch yesterday, someone would have stepped up today. So I don't think anybody questioned anything of that nature, just because of the way our team responds as a whole. You could have seen C Bass start the game or I don't know who else, but I'm sure someone would have stepped up. And that's kind of been the motto all year is next man up. Even with George, we don't know what's happening yet, but whatever goes on it's always been next man up.

Q. There was a group of players that started the game and a group of players that ended the game. And a lot of those guys on many occasions this year came through with big base hits. Did you feel like there was an extra sense of disappointment among that group, and did you find yourself at night thinking, if this little thing would have went right, or this little thing, we would have won this game?

ISIAH KINER-FALEFA: Yeah, I think that's the thing, the special thing about this group is, when we switch the lineup or we flip the lineup, we expect to get the job done. We weren't able to get the job done last night. Yeah, going to bed last night I definitely thought that the play Tommy made was huge. So that one kind of bugged me a little bit. But you got to flush it and there's a new game today. But I thought that was a huge play by Tommy.

Q. You mentioned not knowing yet about George. Just what was that like seeing him leave the game, and describe a little bit the impact you've seen him have this postseason.

ISIAH KINER-FALEFA: Yeah, I mean, George has been incredible in his career in the postseason. Probably a postseason Hall of Famer. So for him to go down that hurt, just because we have known the type of moments that he's capable of, so that definitely hurt. But Ty France steps in, and he's an All Star. So as much as it hurts, we got a lot of depth and we're going to rely on that this whole series. So, you know, as much as we would love to have George, we trust the next guy up.