NL DIVISION SERIES: BRAVES VS DODGERS

October 4, 2026

Walt Weiss

Dodger Stadium

Atlanta Braves

Pregame 2 Press Conference

Q. Walt, did you have a conversation with Sale this morning, or was your mind already made up?

WALT WEISS: We had a conversation this morning. Look, at the end of the day, we want full-strength Chris Sale. I know him at 80 percent is really good, but that's what it came down to. We've given him extra rest all year, and it's served him very well. It allowed him to do what he did the other night, I think all the extra rest he'd gotten.

He'd be on normal rest from his last start, but he had the outing in between. Not sure you're getting the best version of him pitching today. We're certain we will pitching Game 3.

Q. He wouldn't have pitched on Thursday -- let me say this. When you put him in the game Thursday, did you know there's a possibility he may not be available today? Also, how many other options did you really have to go to than Sale at that point?

WALT WEISS: It doesn't matter to me. We needed to win that series, and that was our best chance to do it. So I have zero regrets about pitching Chris Sale in that last game. Yeah, for a number of reasons, we needed to win that series.

I brought him in to face Harper, I believe, in the eighth. My thinking was I needed to keep him in the game because, if it happened to go sideways -- and we played the Phillies a ton obviously. They're very dangerous, especially when the lineup turns over. We saw the day before. So if it starts to go sideways and Sale is now out of the game, we're in a tough situation. So he was going to stay in and finish that game, and I'm glad he did.

Q. Just to clarify, Walt, is Chris hurt?

WALT WEISS: No.

Q. Is he sore?

WALT WEISS: No.

Q. So he is going to start Game 3?

WALT WEISS: He'll start Game 3.

Q. How is Tyler doing? We saw him out there throwing the bullpen.

WALT WEISS: Tyler is doing well. He's recovered well. He had the abdominal thing right as he was starting his last game. The fact of the matter is he got through that game in good shape -- still felt it after the game, but he's responded well to treatment. I think he's going to be just fine.

Q. Just to go back to Chris, did he want to throw today?

WALT WEISS: Chris always wants to throw. Sometimes you have to take it out of their hands because he'd pitch every day if we asked him to. Yeah, we know our club very well. We know Chris Sale very well. That's a decision we made to pitch him in Game 3.

Q. And going with Ray today after what he did in Game 3, how much confidence do you have in him?

WALT WEISS: Look, Ray did a great job obviously. It will be much like the last time. I'll watch the game and see how he's doing, how he's throwing, how things are going, and go from there. I'm not sure how long he's going to go, but yeah, the game will dictate that.

Q. We've been accustomed to seeing Drake Baldwin at DH, Sean Murphy at catcher. Saw it yesterday. Today, switched it up. Just curious, what was the thought process in switching it up?

WALT WEISS: Typically we catch Murph against the lefties and DH Drake. That's what we did most of the year. There's a chance I'd hit for Murph in a situation. I could do that without losing our DH. That was the thought behind that.

Q. Kerr went 47 pitches the other night. Do you have to go in here maybe having someone throw earlier than the other day?

WALT WEISS: It's possible. I'm going into the game thinking that could be the scenario. 47 pitches, two days off. Again, if he's rolling, that will dictate what I do. But I go in thinking he may not go as far as he did the last time, but he could.

I'm just going to watch and see what happens.