NL WILDCARD GAME: PHILLIES VS BRAVES

September 29, 2026

Don Mattingly

Truist Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Pregame Press Conference

Q. Don, might be a simple question or a hard question, but these short three-game series, how important is Game 1, to come out here and take the first one?

DON MATTINGLY: Yeah, I'd kind of say every series, even like a seven, you feel like you want to get off on a good foot. Obviously the three is even shorter, so I think that first game is, like any other one, important.

At the end of the day, I don't think it decides the series, but it also gets you off and puts pressure on everybody else.

Q. What did you like about Derek Hill to have him, A, in the lineup, and B, hitting as high as he is today?

DON MATTINGLY: I feel like out of our guys, he's probably the best guy to protect back there. He's kind of had some decent at-bats off Chris. No one has great at-bats. It's tough with him. But just felt like that was the spot for him today.

Q. I know you said yesterday you didn't really know what to expect, but do you have any more of an expectation or clarity on how long Luzardo can go today?

DON MATTINGLY: Not really. More read and react today. We'll just see what it looks like. It'll kind of be in medical's hands a little bit from the standpoint of what they think is healthy for him or good for him long-term.

We're not going to put him in danger, but I know he feels good. We're confident that he's healthy. It's just a matter of how long -- if he's throwing the ball good, for how long he can go.

Q. Kind of building off that, obviously velocity is an easy one, but what else are you going to be watching for closely with a guy like that who might constantly say, yeah, I'm good to go?

DON MATTINGLY: He'll definitely say I'm good to go. There's a lot of things. You kind of follow the biomechs during the course of a game, if the arm is dropping or if things are getting out of whack. More than anything, the pitching guys have a better view of that, to see, hey, he looks totally normal, he's not off anywhere, in any big way, that he's doing something totally different.

So we'll listen to those guys, but also we're going to listen to obviously Zeus, how he feels. But you're right, at this time of year, guys will say they'll take the ball until their arm would fall off.

Q. How hard is it with Painter if you end up using him today to know how early you need to get him warmed up when he's not used to pitching in that role?

DON MATTINGLY: Yeah, a little tough because we haven't ever had to have that situation where the phone rings and he gets going. You would try to give him a clean inning in some way, shape, or form. So if we had to clean something up, try to clean it up with somebody, and then get it to him clean so he has time to get ready.

He's had a couple outings. He had a migraine early that he came into a game after maybe two or one, and then we opened for him a couple of times. So he has had that, without being able to go out and play long toss and do all the stuff that starters do.

So he's had a little bit of experience, but you try to give him plenty of time.

Q. In a short series like this one, how do you balance the aggression with your bullpen and having a guy like Duran who has been used in two-inning situations this year?

DON MATTINGLY: Has been used. Yeah, we're going to be aggressive. We'll be aggressive if we have to be, for sure.

I think Jo will be ready for multiples. I think any of our guys will be ready for multiples out there. Similar to the game the other day, honestly, you're going to try to put your best guys out there and live and die with them.

Q. You explained a lot of the roster decisions yesterday. I guess the one thing we didn't talk about, a guy like Raley is off, you have Tanner Banks on. What were you looking for or prioritizing in the last bullpen spot or two in case you would need somebody in that role?

DON MATTINGLY: I think the biggest thing, the biggest flip between Brooks and Tanner was that Tanner has been kind of built to 45, 50 pitches, and if we got in that kind of game, we know a guy is out there that's got three innings in him. So it's tougher like that.

And Brooks is more of a one-inning guy and wasn't quite as durable as Banksy. That's kind of where it went to that last spot.

Q. When you have a guy like Sale that you've seen so much of, is there anything that hitters can do to prepare? You can't just go out there and practice your free throws necessarily. What can a hitter do to get better against Chris Sale?

DON MATTINGLY: Well, guys like this are always a handful. It doesn't ever get easier with him. The more you see him, maybe you've also had some back and forth with pitches and counts and how he pitches you, so you have a little better feel for that. But that doesn't really make it any easier.

I think with guys like Chris, you have to be able to give and take. You try to take something from him. Maybe it's a pitch, maybe it's a side, maybe it's whatever, height maybe you're looking at.

But you just don't take the whole plate and say I'm going to handle everything. It's kind of hard nowadays with anybody like that with the stuff that guys have.

The more you see him, I don't know if it helps you or helps him one way or the other. But it's nice that you at least have seen the angle. You've seen the movement. You have some sort of ground zero.

Q. You've preached patience with Trea all year. You moved him up to the leadoff spot during the last week of the year. What gives you the confidence that Trea can be Trea in the postseason?

DON MATTINGLY: Well, if he's not, then it's like any of our guys, we're counting on them to be their best self. Trea has swung the bat good, he's very in there. You look for everybody to get hot at this time.

He's one of our best players, so we just count on him.

Q. You and Walt were playing contemporaries in the American League a few years ago. What memories do you have of him either playing or just personally of playing at the same time?

DON MATTINGLY: Just remember him probably more when -- I think it was Oakland. I don't know if he went anywhere else after that. I think I was at the tail end when Walt was coming. But yeah, Walt has always been a tough player. A lot of respect for Walt the way he does it. When he was in Colorado -- yeah, no huge memories.

I remember those Oakland clubs for sure, though, but always looked at Walt as that guy who knew how to play, tough. Yeah, a lot of respect.

Q. Bowlan for a big chunk of the season was one of your go-to guys late in games. He struggled down the stretch and then got hurt. He hasn't pitched since he got hurt. How comfortable would you be putting him in a big spot if this situation called for it, and how do you view him right now?

DON MATTINGLY: Yeah, it would be nice to get him back out on the mound, too, before we got to this. But it's kind of like everything else. He was one of our best guys, he throws the ball good. I feel like he's healthy. We're going to use him, try and put him in the best spot and trust him.

Q. You were a part of a pretty entertaining postseason run last year. Did you learn anything new about playoff baseball when you were with the Blue Jays?

DON MATTINGLY: I don't know about new. Been involved with, shoot, eight to ten playoff runs with different teams.

That club last year just showed up and played. And that's the one thing I felt like is really important this time of year. Because we can go out and lose today, you've got to show up tomorrow ready to play. I think teams that just show up and play, you know they're going to be prepared. They're going to be ready.

As much as anything, I think the clubs that just show up and play.

Q. Obviously Luis is not on the Wild Card roster, but is there any update on him today, and is the Division Series a possibility if you guys get there?

DON MATTINGLY: Well, we hope that it's a possibility. Obviously he tried some stuff yesterday and just wasn't able to do anything. He feels like he's better. He feels better but not to the point of being able to compete at the major league level.

We're hoping, obviously, number one, to advance, which gives him a few more days and him to be a part of it.