The Atlanta Braves face the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the NLDS Monday (4:30 p.m., FS1) at SunTrust Park. Braves manager Brian Snitker addressed some of the team's lineup changes and expectations for today's game in a pregame press conference. Here are his responses (transcript by ASAP Sports):
Q. Snit, you moved (Ender) Inciarte to the two holes and with (Ozzie) Albies there, how important is it to put speed at the top of the lineup?
Snitker: Well, I think it's — it's big. Oz has been swinging the bat pretty good, I think, and against a left-hander today, I wanted to get — him up there and get him hitting off the lefty pretty much. And it's good because, you know, with Ender, you've got speed there, too. (Johan) Camargo, the first two games kind of — it just wasn't working, and I think he's more comfortable really back down where he's at.
Q. During that last couple at-bats with (Arodys Vizcaino) Viz last night, how was that situation seeing it from a manager's perspective, how those guys have to work out getting through a situation where they got crossed up?
Snitker: Yeah. Would have been nice to have one left. But I think all of them that were used — and it's the first time that it's really happened all year. But I think all the ones that we used with some of the guys we had out there were all very beneficial and timely. You know, I think — because I talked to Chuck (pitching coach Chuck Hernandez) at one point, I was like, you know, we're kind of running out, but there were situations where I felt like we needed to be out there. And it got a little crazy there in the end with Viz (Arodys Vizcaino) and Zuke (Kurt Suzuki).
Q. Obviously you have a game tonight, but have you had a chance to think about Game 5, maybe holding a starter back or have you thought about who would start a potential 5?
Snitker: Yeah. You know, like you said, we got — it's all hands on deck again today. And if we ran through all the starters today or something happened, we got locked up in extra innings, you know, really the guys that — first couple of guys that pitched yesterday could come back and then do the same thing pretty much in Game 5, if need be.
Q. Going back to the mound visits, do you think that rule is a good rule, and do you think it should be changed for the playoffs?
Snitker: Well, I think the reason they have it is because of the playoffs, because there were so many last year. You know, this is the first game all year that it's affected us, and I think probably it affected us more yesterday because of the youth that we had coming out of the pen. And there were situations that we needed to go out there. I don't know that it needs to be changed. It was just the situation yesterday that did call for us going out.
Q. Brian, you're starting Mike (Foltynewicz) today, and you just said that you might bring back some of the guys who started last night in a Game 5. Where is Julio Teheran in all of this?
Snitker: You know, he's always been kind of our length guy. If something happens — like today, if something happens early in this game, and Heaven forbid something happens to Folty, but the reason he was here is for length, extra innings, things like that pretty much. I mean, we may have to go to him today sooner than normal in these situations. But that's just kind of where he was. We had mulled over him making a start, and liked the matchups better with the other guys pretty much.
