Dodgers Interview: Tommy Edman Talks Bouncing Back after Big Defeat
TORONTO — The Dodgers gathered at Rogers Centre on Saturday looking to steady the series and their offense. Tommy Edman kept it simple in his pregame session. His answers sounded like a checklist for Game 2: trust the plan, keep the heartbeat steady, and cash in when traffic builds. He acknowledged the challenge on the mound and the reality of October at-bats. He also said he’s good to go physically, with second base his home for now.
“We know we’re going up against a great pitcher,” Edman said. “He has a couple really good pitches, good execution. So we’ve got to be really disciplined with our game plan.” He added that the group has already talked it through. “I felt like yesterday we had a pretty good approach against their starter, and hopefully we can do the same today.”
The second baseman was asked about the rare feeling of trailing a series. Edman didn’t overcomplicate it. “Obviously we were surprised with how many runs they scored yesterday with how good our pitching staff has been, but it’s really tough to go through a whole postseason without having a game or two like that,” he said. “We’ve been there. Last year we had that series against the Padres where we were facing a couple elimination games, and we have pretty much the same group back that faced that situation last year.”
Health questions popped up next, and Edman didn’t hesitate. “Ankle’s feeling really good,” he said. “I haven’t really talked that through with Doc. I think the plan is just second base for now.” As for any offseason decisions, he kept it in the future tense. “We’ll probably evaluate that after the season’s over. Playing the rest of the games of the World Series will be totally fine. It’s actually improved a good amount throughout the postseason.”
The postseason fastball question came up too. “You’re playing against the best teams, you’re going to be facing the best pitchers as well,” Edman said. “Maybe a little bit of adrenaline too. All the pitchers have a mile or two higher than they would in the regular season.” That doesn’t change his mindset. “I think that’s when you get in trouble. You start guessing. So it’s being more locked in with the pitches that you’re trying to hit.”
Edman also explained why he hit right-handed against Trey Yesavage. “He’s done a lot better against lefties than righties throughout this year,” he said. “A big part of it is because of his arm angle, his unique arm angle. Looking at those two factors, it made more sense to hit right-handed.”
As for turning traffic into runs, the message was about staying consistent when the inning ripens. “Going back to the last series, I felt like we had a ton of traffic and didn’t score as many runs as we necessarily could have,” Edman said. “It’s maintaining that consistency of at-bats, even with runners in scoring position. We’ve done a great job getting innings started and then just haven’t cashed in. Keep the same approach instead of trying to do a little extra when guys get to second and third.”
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