Evan Phillips discussed the execution of a pitch that was hit in the Los Angeles Dodgers' loss to the New York Yankees during a press conference on July 19, 2026, while also reflecting on his return from a long-term injury.
Phillips explained that he tried to throw a pitch away but it drifted back toward the middle of the plate where the hitter could handle it. "I think I just went to a pitch where I had less room for error," he said. He added that the pitch would "just creep back in the middle of the plate somewhere. He can handle it, you put a good swing on it."
Phillips acknowledged that not pitching in major league games for over a year is a factor in his early performance after returning. He noted that his rehab stint could not simulate the major league environment, stating, "you just can't simulate, you know, the major league environment in a major league competition." He also said he tried to adjust his mindset during the final few games of his rehab stint before returning, explaining he needs to move past a passive approach of simply trying to get back into the count. "There's other things I can do, other ways I can get him out instead of just, you know, having the passive mindset," he said.
Phillips described watching his bullpen teammates deliver one by one during the game as something that fires up the team, mentioning that a teammate named Alex was told to be ready early and ended up dominating in the seventh inning. He also credited Brock for keeping the bullpen fresh heading into the series in Philadelphia, saying, "Brock did a hell of a job, um, kept everybody fresh for the series in Philly."
Looking ahead, Phillips said the team's approach is to treat each game individually rather than dwell on series results going into the second half. "What we do well here as a team is treat games individually and just go out there and try to perform well as a group each and every game," he said.