NL WILDCARD GAME: PHILLIES VS BRAVES

September 30, 2026

Dylan Lee

Truist Park

Atlanta Braves

Pregame Press Conference

Q. First off, you played a pivotal role in 2021 when you first started one of the World Series games. As you see openers and stuff like that start to become more common, what do you think is the benefit to starting with an opener?

DYLAN LEE: I think you just know that every out is important. Any out that you can help out with, get them past the first three guys, and then give it to the starter of that day. We're just there to get a couple outs, make sure they don't see them three times through and make sure there's no big damage that happens.

I think it's smart, especially in the postseason, to make them think about somebody else opening. And if they do well, two or three innings, kind of like what you saw with Luzardo yesterday, ended up getting six, you didn't know what you were going to get out of him. I think it was a good move.

Q. You've been part of this bullpen which has been one of the strengths for this club this year. Can you talk about the quality of this group and what you guys have been able to provide to this club and how it makes you uniquely qualified to run a, quote-unquote, bullpen game?

DYLAN LEE: Yeah, I don't think we ran a bullpen game this whole season. I think the first one was in Miami and it was more of like a buildup to the postseason. It just shows how good our starters have been. And our bullpen, like you said, has been kind of the strength of the year.

I think that we've just been doing what we've done all year, and I don't think anybody is putting too much weight on themselves. When Fuentes had a rough one -- we've all had rough ones. He obviously doesn't want to give up Sale's runs. I think that our bullpen is built for this.

Q. Whether it's in the context of a bullpen game or coming in after a starter, this is a staff that has guys who can pitch one inning up to three innings. Talk about having that versatility within the bullpen?

DYLAN LEE: We have multiple guys that can go multiple innings, one-plus or two, three innings. We have Ray Kerr, Suter, Fuentes, Dodd. Pretty much everybody in our bullpen can go one-plus or two innings, so it's definitely good to have that versatility.

Q. Give us some insight into Iggy, how much he's meant to this team, and what he's like down there in the bullpen and what kind of guy he is.

DYLAN LEE: Iggy's like -- Abuelo, we just call him. He's down there on the bag hanging out. We know around the sixth or seventh inning he's going to start moving around. I think it's good to see that he doesn't take too much pressure on himself early so he doesn't say that he has a lot of pressure on himself.

I just like the way that he approaches every day. I've known him since he got traded over here in '22, and I was his catch partner, and being able to see him work and the way he attacks every day, he's the most consistent guy.

Q. Mauricio Dubón, when did you notice this guy is a little different and what has he meant to the chemistry of this team?

DYLAN LEE: I think it was during Spring Training we knew he was a little different. We knew he was versatile, he could go at any position. He could probably pitch if you told him to pitch, or catch. He's the type of guy that will play until he's, I don't know, broken. Even when he is broken he's still going to try to play. That's the type of player he is.