|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NL DIVISION SERIES: GIANTS v NATIONALSOctober 6, 2014Matt WilliamsSAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: Game Three Nationals – 4 Q. I guess you knew the dire situation you guys were in today. What did you make of Doug's performance and the ability to win a game? MATT WILLIAMS: Well, everybody was well aware of where we were at. You know, it doesn't change for tomorrow. Same situation. But Doug pitched great. He was in command all day with everything. You know, he just continues to compete for us, and we were able to manufacture something there. Both sides of the diamond, the offense, wasn't there today, but we were able to get a couple guys on and lay down a bunt and that was the difference. Q. If that throw goes to first base, putting things in motion there, is Fister out? MATT WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think we'll hit Zimm there. We've got to try to score a run there, and Madison's tough. If you get an opportunity, you have to try. So, yeah, I think Doug's out of the game, we'll probably hit Zimm there and take our chances. Q. If you could walk us through the reasoning for bunting with Ramos, and with two strikes, why keep it on? What was the reasoning behind the entire play? MATT WILLIAMS: Just we've got to get a guy to third base with less than two out. He took the first two. Bumgarner made nice pitches on him on the first two, but he was able to get it down. We practice that every day in our BP rounds, and you never know when you're going to have to do it. So he did a nice job of getting it down. Q. But I don't think Ramos had a sacrifice for three years. When you gave him the sign, did he give you a double‑take at all? MATT WILLIAMS: No, Bobby walked down and talked to him. Yeah, it's a dire situation, we've got to try to score a run. So it's important for us to be able to execute there, and he did. He laid it down nicely. Q. What did you think of the job Bryce Harper did on offense, and particularly on defense, two run‑saving plays? MATT WILLIAMS: It's a difficult outfield to play. Sunny field in left on a day game like this, so it's not easy; wind‑‑ it wasn't really windy early on, but the wind picked up and he made a couple really nice plays. Of course the homer that added another run for us. But first and foremost, he was great defensively. Went up against the wall and made that play with a couple guys on; that could change the game for us. Q. Given how well you know Drew Storen, how important was it for him to get out of the ninth today, given how tough it was yesterday? MATT WILLIAMS: Yeah, it's important for him. You know, made a good pitch on Blanco, and then the slider to Pence is probably a little bit up. But he did a nice job of staying on it and hitting it. And then he worked out of it. So that's important for him, important for us, of course, to win the game. Got an another one tomorrow. See what we can do there. Q. Momentum swings quickly in a five‑game series. After this win, where do you think you're at? A win tomorrow and you're well ahead here. Can you talk about where you find yourself? MATT WILLIAMS: We find ourselves in the same position we were today. If we lose tomorrow, then it's all over. So you know, we're in the same spot. You know, we've got an opportunity to win that game tomorrow. So we have to do things correctly like we did today. We have to play good defense. We have got to execute, if necessary. We know we have to score some runs if we're going to have a chance to do that. That's our objective and that's our mind‑set. Q. Starting with Span and throughout the lineup, did you see more at‑bats that looked like the at‑bats you've had all year? MATT WILLIAMS: Yeah, better today. Jayson hit a ball with guys on first and second that can easily go through. Panik made a nice play ranging to his left. Spanny stayed on the ball. Sometimes it's important to see that left‑on‑left matchup if you're pulling off or if you're not seeing it well, you tend to stay back a little bit more and that can get him going. Bryce had a great at‑bat the first time up and hit Bumgarner and deflected, otherwise that may be a base hit. The lefties stayed on him good today and we were able to get a couple. We feel good about that. Q. Why is Gio Gonzalez a good man for you tomorrow and what does he give you? MATT WILLIAMS: Well, over the last six weeks, he's given us really good pitching performances. His numbers the last month of the season, especially, last four starts, were fantastic. So it may change their lineup a little bit. It may not be so lefty‑heavy with Gio going tomorrow. So we'll see how that plays. But, you know, he's been really good. He's been going deep in games for us and using all of his pitches for strikes when he wants to. So hope for more of the same tomorrow. Q.  Early on looked like Fister had trouble with his fastball and command was a little off but then he settled in. Is that part of having ten days off between starts, is that a factor? MATT WILLIAMS: I don't know, I thought he was throwing it where he wanted to throw it. I don't think he was missing‑‑ if he was missing, it was just by a little bit. I thought he had good command all day. The fact that he was able to get deep in the game is kind of indicative of him having his command. Yeah, he was fine. I didn't see anything other than him being perfectly comfortable out there from the first inning on. Q. In the ninth, Soriano and Thornton warming up, when would you have envisioned bringing them? MATT WILLIAMS: I don't know. They are hot and ready if needed. So I'm not going to speculate at what point we would bring them in. But we needed them up and ready and hot; got guys on second and third and nobody out, it's important for us to shut that game down. We have to win that game. So that's why they were up. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|