Rob Thomson reflects on Phillies losing series to Braves
Hear from the Phillies manager after a 6-2 loss to the Braves on Sunday afternoon.
Rob Thomson reflects on Phillies losing series to Braves originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Video Transcript
Tough start for Aaron.
What do you think went down today?
Any- anything different from his last time?
it's fastball command is what it comes down to.
curveball's good, changeup's good.
he just is missing in the heart of the plate a little bit too much.
You know, the, the 3-1 to Olsen in the first inning was up and in, really.
It was He just ambushed him.
yeah, to me, it's just fastball command.
The other thing you had, I mean, one game is a momentum, but after what you guys did last night, did it feel a little deflating to just go down to six that fast?
Well, you know, you gotta battle.
I mean, you're gonna have games like that, but, you know, we, we did feel good coming into today.
you're facing Sale, so you know you gotta keep the, the runs against limited.
you know, and they just jumped on us.
And Sale was good.
What made him so good?
he, he mixed.
I mean, the fastball, he, he changed velocities on his fastball.
He, slider was effective.
Started mixing his changeup after a couple innings.
yeah, he was, he was really good.
It was Chris Sale.
What have you made that your, your right-handed hitters struggled against, against lefties?
Yeah.
Yeah, we gotta fix that, for sure.
Chris was telling me we're 0 and 10 against left-handed starters in our openers.
That's, you know, it's, it's telling us, we gotta fix that somehow.
Going in the off day, do you think, do you think you need to think about bigger changes, whether it's personnel, lineup, anything?
Well, I'm sure we'll talk about it on the plane, but, you know, maybe it is lineup.
I, I don't know.
You know, we, we just gotta discuss this and try to figure out.
We're gonna get three right-handers against San Francisco, so we got some time.
Is, is there something about, and I know it's not, like, like one size fits all, but is there something about the approach the righties are taking against lefties, the right-handed hitters against lefties that's- Yeah, I think, again, getting back to a little bit too pull-oriented at time, at times.
Especially Sale.
Like I said before the game, I think you're, if you're a right-handed hitter, your target should be over the second baseman's head, 'cause that's where the ball's coming from, from, in that angle.
so yeah, it's easier said than done.
Coaching-wise, I mean, are you still have faith in what Kevin Long and the hitting coach- Oh, yes is doing with the hitters?
Absolutely.
Why is that?
'Cause they're good coaches.
I mean, Kevin's one of the best in the game.
there's a couple of Hall of Famers out there that will tell you that.
So, yeah, I, I'm all on board with them.
Talks about long innings in, in the, you know, pregame.
Yeah.
You had three 20-plus pitch innings.
Yeah.
Just how taxed is your bullpen right now?
Well, you know, luckily we've got the off day tomorrow, and, and Hoffman did a great job, to save an inning and two thirds or an inning and a third.
I think we're okay.
but, you know, and I think that Luzardo's gonna come around.
I think that Sanchez's gonna pitch deep into games.
Now we got Wheeler back.
We're building his innings.
you know, and Noah's better than, than what he's been in the last couple outings.
So, I think that that'll all work itself out.
I really do.
