NL WILDCARD GAME: PHILLIES VS BRAVES

September 30, 2026

Don Mattingly

Truist Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Pregame Press Conference

Q. You guys just flipped Bryson to the 5 hole, Bohm to the cleanup spot. What was the thought behind that?

DON MATTINGLY: It was the same thought as last night. Just I didn't see it until like five minutes ago. Just a clerical error. We sent it out wrong.

Q. Could Zack Wheeler be available in the bullpen today?

DON MATTINGLY: I don't expect him to be in the bullpen today, no.

Q. Duran seemed a little unusual postgame yesterday about his availability. Do you expect him to be --

DON MATTINGLY: Well, it's like every other day. We'll see how he throws the ball. He's been honest with us all year long. If he feels good or not or he's good to go, then we go with that.

Q. You guys are seeing Mahle for the fifth time this season. What do you think is different about him maybe from what you saw him with the Giants until now?

DON MATTINGLY: Seems kind of the same. We haven't solved that riddle really well yet, but we'll see today. But he's pitched good against us.

Q. I know you weren't around in past years, but we've seen Sanchez on the mound in similar games to this before. How confident do you feel about him and his demeanor for a game like this?

DON MATTINGLY: Feel good. Obviously every time Sanchy takes the ball we feel good. Last time out was really good. The time before I thought was good. He had a little stretch in there where his stuff didn't seem to be the same. Just a little bit off where he had trouble with the changeup. And the last couple have been a lot better.

Q. You've had to juggle a lot of things this year, especially the bullpen, but also you're moving position players around. Bryce is going back to right field, then he played first base yesterday. When the DH came to the National League, it was supposed to get easier. It couldn't have been very easy for you this year, especially as an interim manager who wasn't the manager during Spring Training. Can you just address the challenges of this season and how unique they've been in your post-playing career?

DON MATTINGLY: They haven't been that bad. Honestly, we talked about before the Arraez trade -- haven't seen it as much, I don't know if you're around a lot, but Bryce was the key to that trade, or that move. Because we wouldn't have made it if Bryce wasn't willing to go to right field. He expressed his willingness to go to the outfield. That opened up a deal like that.

Then moving Stott was easy. He'd been on that side of the diamond, played short, played third. He's got great instincts, got a really good arm. So that was easy. Bohmer moving over, I've seen him enough at first, I felt like he was really good at first. I felt like our defense almost got a little better, to be quite honest with you.

You didn't want to say that at the time because you're moving people in different positions, and I think the narrative a little bit is like, we're throwing people all over the diamond. But in my mind, these guys are all baseball players. The moves were pretty simple. We actually put guys still in spots that they've been there before.

Q. Will Painter sit out in the bullpen again today?

DON MATTINGLY: For sure.

Q. If you guys do win today and there's a Game 3, are you still planning --

DON MATTINGLY: When we win today.

Q. Are you still planning that Nola would be the Game 3 starter?

DON MATTINGLY: Yeah, he threw his pen the other day. He's built up for it. He'd be a total emergency today if we got to something like that. But yeah, we expect him to take the ball tomorrow.

Q. We had the postseason debut of ABS yesterday. I'm wondering, have you seen it evolve this year. And if you are subscribed to the idea of keeping one in your pocket for key late-game situations, does that become more important in the postseason?

DON MATTINGLY: It's hard to say when they're the most important. You just don't know. That one in the fifth that you get either a strike, that could have walked a guy or gets you ahead in the count, or the one as a hitter that gets you back in the count or whatever, you just don't know when that leverage is.

Having one in your pocket is kind of -- it's nice to know you have it. But to say I'm just going to hold one just because, when that leverage could show up earlier in the game.

Q. McFarlane, he's a rookie that earned a lot of trust for you down the stretch. Yesterday was his first playoff game. How do you feel about his chances of being able to bounce back after yesterday, and what are the challenges of a rookie being in that spot and kind of needing to be able to bounce back?

DON MATTINGLY: Yeah, you can't buy him experience, and that can only happen if he's out there. He's bounced back pretty good this year. He's really good about taking care of himself and not over-throwing in between. But he's just like Jo; he goes and throws the ball today and is like -- he can't lift his arm for some reason and he can't go, then he won't go. But expect him -- we'll hear after catch, but I'd kind of expect him to be able to go.

Q. Alec Bohm has been one of the better hitters on this team. Came up with another big one yesterday. What do you think has allowed him to claw his way back from that tough start to the season?

DON MATTINGLY: I think just time. I think Alec is doing what he kind of always does. The year before it was the same type of thing. Seems like with Alec everybody is always looking for more, for more, and he always ends up driving in around 90 runs, gets key hits. When he's hitting the ball on the ground and turning in a double play, nobody likes it.

But overall I think he's kind of doing what he always does. Early in the year he was struggling, didn't get it going. But over time he's just kind of got back to being himself.

Q. You talked about McFarlane and being a rookie, but you have a lot of veterans in this lineup. In your experience, how much does that matter for these types of situations when your backs are against the wall having a veteran core like you do?

DON MATTINGLY: Well, I think you'd feel better about a veteran crew than you would having a bunch of young players, but sometimes young players are just dumb enough to know what they don't know.

But it's nice to have -- it's like anything else; experience. You've been there, you've been through it before. It makes it a little easier. It doesn't make it any less stressful. You still feel anxiety over this game and anxiousness. Two of our last three have been must-wins, so here we go.

Q. I know you really don't like hypotheticals, but if you had to use Nola today, is Wheeler on short rest tomorrow a possibility?

DON MATTINGLY: I would think so. I would think so. And even tomorrow anyway, if Noles starts it, he starts it, whatever.

Q. Did Arraez do anything today, swing a bat?

DON MATTINGLY: No, we've got to cross the bridges first. The only thing with trying to hit, first you've got to be able to push off that ankle. It's his back leg. It's hard to hit. You can't use it to the full extent. So once we get to where he can put weight on that, push off of it, then he can start swinging the bat. He swings the bat now, it might be just pushing him back further.