NL DIVISION SERIES: BRAVES VS DODGERS

October 6, 2026

Rowdy Tellez

Truist Park

Atlanta Braves

Pregame 3 Press Conference

Q. You've been involved in playing in postseasons. What can that do when you win a game like that on the road just coming home in terms of does it always feel like that team has the momentum?

ROWDY TELLEZ: Yeah, you win a big game against a team that's supposed to be the favorite, and I think we put together a really good series overall those two games out there.

Looking to build the momentum coming to our ace and being at home. So I think this should be a good match-up, and we're going to do everything we can to stand behind Saler.

Q. First two games, Braves managed to bullpen their way through. How much of a boost -- you've got Sale today and maybe Tyler Mahle tomorrow?

ROWDY TELLEZ: Those are our 1-2. Anytime you can get to the 1-2 and have a chance to win both games it's going to be huge. Our bullpen has been electric. Obviously Ray went from stocking shelves to punching out Ohtani.

So I think our bullpen has been lights out, and I think that's huge for us going down the stretch and we're able to save our arms.

Q. Could you talk a little bit about your season, finding this opportunity with the Braves and then the road leading you to these games right here in October?

ROWDY TELLEZ: Yeah, I mean, didn't have anything going until the last day of Spring Training. Signed with the Braves and spent the majority of the time in Gwinnett just a little bit up here.

And coming to now, they kind of told me just to be ready for the postseason. So I stayed back and stayed at camp there in Gwinnett. When my time was called, I was able to be here and help out the team and try to make the guys laugh and grab sunflower seeds when people need them.

Q. That being said, the other night was an example of how you can play a key role. You come up in a key moment like that. You go into tonight, Murph's DHing, but Walt said the other day, the reason he's DHing is because just in case he can pull that lever at that point in time. Just how much does that make you feel an integral part of the team?

ROWDY TELLEZ: I kind of knew my role coming into this, what they expected of me, what they wanted from me. So I think the idea was to be a pinch-hit guy. I'm comfortable with it. It doesn't bother me.

I didn't see a lot of live pitching. And being able to go into a big situation, put together good at-bats, hit the ball hard, work a walk, I think that was pretty good. So I'm just excited to help the team win, but I'm staying ready for every chance they need me.

Q. I'm sure you've seen Chris Sale from afar a number of years now, probably faced him a couple times in the show. What have you noticed about being up close, what makes him different as far as being a competitor?

ROWDY TELLEZ: I think his ability to flip the switch. He's pretty calm, mild mannered throughout the day. You hear a song come on and it's, like, all right, it's time to go.

But to be that consistent for that long and be the same guy day in and day out, I think that's pretty special. Once he gets on the mound, he's going to give you everything you've got. And that gets the guys going, too, knowing that whatever he's going to do we're going to try to match his energy and bring whatever we can.

Q. You were talking about Ray Kerr and the path he's been on. And of course you've been talking about being steady and being prepared. What's it like to go from not having played in the Major Leagues to getting dropped into this big-time postseason situation?

ROWDY TELLEZ: I've played long enough. I've been fortunate to play for a while in the Big Leagues and understand my role and what I've done throughout my career.

Now as I get older you start to refine it and knowing what I need to do for the team and what they asked of me. I think now it makes it just a little bit more simple to be prepared for that situation, knowing who I'm going to face, hone in on those guys, and just being ready.

But I think more so how I've prepared and how long I've played has given me some sort of advantage.

Q. How do you stay prepared? What is the process? And how challenging is it to stay engaged when you're not sure exactly when you're going to come into a ball game?

ROWDY TELLEZ: I think for me it's just knowing who's coming up in the bullpen, what the situation is, where we are in the lineup.

Like I said, I've been able to pinch-hit before, and I don't feel like it's an ambush. I feel comfortable with it. I'm confident with it. I always view it as a win-win, no matter the situation.

It's a really hard thing to do. So I think for me it's just making sure I don't add too much pressure to myself and being present in the moment.

Q. You're in the clubhouse every day with these guys and they stay loose, it appears, always having fun during the game. What is it about this group that makes them so close and just so together throughout the whole entire season?

ROWDY TELLEZ: I was only here for a little bit prior to the postseason. But I think one thing they do well is they move as one. They're like one unit. A lot of these guys have been together for a long time. A lot of these guys have come up together.

So I think everybody kind of sees each other on the same level; there's nobody that is somebody you can't talk to or standoffish, everybody goes back and forth in the clubhouse, and that's always fun.

Q. On that topic, I know you and Mauricio Dubón played against each other in high school. Now you're sharing the clubhouse in the postseason. How cool is it to share that moment with him?

ROWDY TELLEZ: It's been pretty cool. He was a foreign exchange student. We played high school ball with each other, against each other. It's been really cool to kind of play pretty much our whole careers against each other, too. Now to be on the same team again, 12, 13 years later, it's pretty special. His English has gotten better so I can talk to him.

Q. Based on the other managers you've worked with, how is Walt different, and what do you respect the most about him in the short time you've been hanging with him?

ROWDY TELLEZ: I know he can tackle people pretty good.

But I think for me, communication. I think that's what separates some managers from others is his ability to communicate what he expects from us, what he wants from us.

When my time comes up, when another guy's time, what they need to do, I think his ability to make sure that everybody understands what they're doing what they need to do is pretty good. But I think communication is a big one.

Q. When you pinch-hit or before you do it, do you use Trajekt at all in the cages?

ROWDY TELLEZ: It's not on the road. But sometimes, yeah. If they have the pitcher on there, I'll stand in. I did it a lot with Texas last year, Seattle. When I would pinch-hit, I would definitely stand in and see what the guys had. But I think that's an advantage, when I first got into the Big Leagues, we had nothing like that.

Q. Pinch-hitting road and home could be very significantly different experiences, I would think.

ROWDY TELLEZ: It could be. A lot of time it's watching video and understanding history with that pitcher or what he's been doing to guys similar to my ability in the past and the past two, three weeks, whatever he's done.