The Dodgers dominated the Braves in NLDS Game 3, on Sunday, with a 13-6 victory. The team is just one win away from clinching a berth to the NLCS that fact has them feeling very positive and upbeat.
Here are some post-game quotes to hold you over until Monday's NLDS Game 4:
Don Mattingly talked about how important Chris Capuano was to the victory on Sunday, "Obviously, Cappie (Capuano) is really good for us, right on time. A lot of stuff happened early. By the time we got to him it felt like it was a long game already at that point. I think, what is it? It's the 4‑2, and then by the time we get to him, it's like we just need to settle the game down. He gave us those three innings there to kind of get us to the back end of the bullpen. So he kind of basically just put the game in order"
There was a lot of focus on Hyun-Jin Ryu, with many speculating over whether or not he is battling an injury. Mattingly and Ryu both refuted these claims. "If there had been anything physically wrong, we wouldn't have let him pitch today," Mattingly said.
Ryu was a bit more blunt, "There was absolutely no injury whatsoever." He was asked again and made sure to put the question to rest, "I know myself better than anyone else if I'm not hurt. Doesn't matter what people say. I'm not hurt."
Ryu blamed his poor performance on not being prepared to pitch on the biggest stage of his career, "there was anxiety and I was a little bit nervous taking the mound" and it affected his performance, "in the earlier part of the game when I had the count going my way, I think I should have honed in and focused a little more. I think that's the mistakes that I made."
He said that NLDS Game 3 was even bigger than pitching in the Olympics, "Yeah, I felt a little more anxious than compared to those games. Today was a little bit more intense."
Carl Crawford also got a lot of attention because of his huge homer and a catch that sent him diving not the stands. "That's definitely a big one (home run) for me to take the lead right there and get the team some momentum going into the rest of the game," he said of his three-run home run in the second inning.
Whether or not he injured his back falling into the stands was a concern for a few, but he made light of any possible injuries by saying, "I'm on all kinds of medication right now, so I won't feel it until tomorrow. I'll have an answer for you by tomorrow."
It sounds serious, but he was laughing and got the whole interview room chuckling as well.
Don Mattingly had heaps of praise for Hanley Ramirez, but he has been that way all year, "Hanley, I've been talking about him all year long just how good I feel like he is."
But down the stretch of the regular season, Ramirez wanted to play everyday, while Mattingly wanted to rest him before playoffs," I just kept telling him, I want the whole world to see you. I want the whole world to see how good you are. And that's been, I want him to show everybody how good he is. And it's been good so far."
Even Braves manager Freddi Gonzalez commented on the threat Ramirez has in the lineup, " later on in the game we hit Ellis, walked the other Ellis, and here comes Hanley again. It's a club that you can't make mistakes or you can't have base runners, because they've got some guys in the middle of the lineup that can really, really hurt you."
Dodger catcher A.J. Ellis also commented on Ramirez hitting 7-13 so far in the postseason, with a humorous jab, "I don't know how he got out six times."
After Crawford got a laugh for his statement about any injuries, Ramirez snuck in a joke too when asked what parts of his body are hurting, "That's a secret," he said laughing.
Overall the club is feeling great, physically and mentally, and they deserve to be after Sunday's 13-6 victory. They are just one game away from the NLCS, and can clinch on Monday in Game 4, at home, against Atlanta.
