NL WILDCARD GAME: PHILLIES VS BRAVES

September 29, 2026

Ozzie Albies

Truist Park

Atlanta Braves

Pregame Press Conference

Q. I know you're besties with Ronny; can you talk about what sort of season he's had to go through and how primed he is to perform in the playoffs?

OZZIE ALBIES: Yeah, when he got hurt, it's obviously not fun at all for him and for the team also. I want to see him -- we all want to see him healthy. When he's healthy, he's at his best.

To go through what he did was obviously tough, and I'm happy that he stayed positive and bounced back to what he needed to do to be ready for him to be here today. It means a lot. Definitely from now on, all I tell him all the time is take care of himself, do what he got to do to be ready, and that's what he's been doing, and it shows.

He's been playing really good baseball.

Q. Over the last few years you've had the pleasure of seeing Chris Sale on your side. How excited are you to see him pitch in the postseason?

OZZIE ALBIES: Yeah, definitely special. Chris Sale, every time we're playing behind him it's special and it's fun. He attacks the hitters, and every time he strikes somebody out, it's like something that's like something fundamental. It's like history again.

He's obviously our ace, and he's going to be fired up tonight.

Q. You've been here for a long time. You've been here through ups and downs and you've pretty much seen everything there is to see so far. What made this particular run different from other runs so far?

OZZIE ALBIES: Every run is different and special. For us to go through and face the Phillies again, we're definitely going to be hyped. We're looking forward to playing as hard as we can to win tonight and the upcoming games against them because it's super important.

At this point, winning is everything. Definitely it's different, new year, new players, new everything. But it's going to be a fun one.

Q. Tyler Mahle got here and I think a lot of folks didn't know anything about him. What were your impressions of him before he got here and then once he got here how he operated and how he approached each game?

OZZIE ALBIES: Yeah, definitely faced him before when we played against him, we always said he's a good pitcher. Obviously he is. He got here and just attacked hitters, gave us a lot of games with W's, and he pitched his butt off.

Great to have him here on the team. And he's a nice guy. He's a great player and teammate. So definitely fun to have him on the team, and what he has done for us is huge.

Q. You've been through a lot of postseason and had a lot of success here as well, including the 2021 World Series, so you know what it takes to win it all. Coming off the year you guys had a year ago and coming into Spring Training, could you talk a little bit about the mindset of getting back on track and getting back to the winning that you knew you were capable of doing?

OZZIE ALBIES: Yeah, definitely coming from last year, obviously we didn't want to be in that position. So happy that we are here today. We worked hard since day one of Spring Training and during the season to be here, so really special for us to be competing in the playoffs again. Definitely pushing to be a fun one like 2021. We're going to do everything we can to win it.

Q. You play with Ha-Seong Kim today and you and him play very much differently. How could you describe your chemistry with him? Actually he had a really hard time this year. What did you see from him this year?

OZZIE ALBIES: Yeah, we talked about everything. This game you go up and down sometimes. There's things you can work on and talk to be better.

We always talk about what can we do or even if it's in the cage of doing work together, what I see, what he sees to be better.

I know he went through not a time that he wanted to go through, but he definitely started turning things around and playing better. I always tell him, just keep your head up and be positive; things will turn. That's what he's doing right now.

Q. I think Matt said yesterday it's fitting that it's the Phillies, kind of a team you have a familiarity with. Is it hard not to approach things differently or think about that when it's a team you have so much history with in the postseason and also just battling for the NL East every year.

OZZIE ALBIES: It's definitely a team that we are familiar with, obviously, and it's great when you're battling to win games. Like I said, it's going to be a fun matchup, definitely. Everybody is going to be on their A game. Facing the Phillies like we did in the past, we've just got to go play hard and outplay them. That's all we've got to do.

Q. You guys are playing the series at home; if you could just talk about the advantage that is and obviously having the home crowd here?

OZZIE ALBIES: Yeah, definitely the home crowd helps us a lot. I want to say thank you to all the fans that comes and support us every day and out. It makes the game better for sure. I know Braves Country always supports us, and definitely playing at home is going to be much more fun.

Q. Drake Baldwin has resided really well at the top of the lineup batting second. What have you seen from him that's had him perform the way he has this year, not endure a sophomore slump?

OZZIE ALBIES: Yeah, Drake is definitely a special player. Like you always say, he doesn't think much. He goes and plays the game and competes. We've seen it the whole year.

He had a little bit of a slow start when he came back from his injury, but after that he just took off. That was special to see.

Playing with him on the team is very, very special. He just takes care of what he needs to take care of, either with his catching or hitting the baseball. Definitely a special player, and I wish him always good luck because he's a great human being also.