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AL DIVISION SERIES: RANGERS VS BLUE JAYS

October 9, 2015

Jeff Banister

Toronto, Ontario - Postgame two

Rangers - 6 Blue Jays - 4

Q. Couple things. No. 1, what did you think of your -- obvious question, what did you think of your bullpen overall? And number two, how do you think Keone handled himself in that one situation?
JEFF BANISTER: Well, in the case of Keone, look, this is, as you watched the game today, the intensity of these games and the magnitude of these games, there's competitors that run at a high level and things happen. I really felt like Keone, after the leadership of the group of players on the field walked over and calmed Keone down and got him refocused, he was completely in control of himself. I thought he did a great job of refocusing and getting himself back in charge of what he needed to do. As far as our bullpen is concerned, what a phenomenal job that they did today and the zeros that they put up, and Diekman coming back with the two innings, Tolleson with the two innings, Dyson and then Ohlendorf. We warmed up Ohlendorf, I think for the fourth time to come in the game to be able to get the save there. Phenomenal job by them, can't say enough.

Q. Jeff, first of all, was Beltre available today as a pinch hitter today?
JEFF BANISTER: You know what, he was moving around, had a bat in his hand and he was itching. I do know that. Look, I never put anything past Beltre, what he's capable doing.

Q. And then at any point with Alberto?
JEFF BANISTER: No, no, I didn't.

Q. If you can remember back to the 8th inning a couple of weeks ago, they didn't walk Napoli in the same situation that you walked Edwin. A, were you surprised they didn't walk Napoli, and B, your reason for doing what you did in the bottom?
JEFF BANISTER: Well, I've got a standard thought process on those type of questions. I really don't get involved -- it's tough enough managing one club. We're going to do what we think is appropriate and right in those situations, and look, I've seen Encarnacion has been able to do against us from time to time and I really was not going to let him beat us in that situation. Felt like the next matchup was better for us. That's how we played it. Felt like sending Nap to the plate at that time was our best play.

Q. Some of your players seem frustrated with the strike calls and the balls called, particularly in the extra innings. I was wondering what you thought of the umpiring today?
JEFF BANISTER: Some of our players?

Q. Particularly Sanchez in extra innings had what looked like a ball --
JEFF BANISTER: Sanchez is not on my team.

Q. I know, but it was a strike against your team.
JEFF BANISTER: I don't remember our guys really acting out at the plate as far as that is concerned. And look, this is -- what I love about this game is all the elements and how you have to meet certain demands of the game. It's all part of it. Our guys understand the one-on-one battles that they have, the one on one confrontations between the hitter and the pitcher and they don't always go your way, you just stay in the moment, you stay in the at-bat and you move on. If they don't go your way, whether it's a pitch that's called a ball or a strike, you continue to compete. That's the thing that we challenge our guys to do, is to stay in the moment, stay focused and don't get caught up into anything. Look, I don't -- I don't answer questions on the strike zone. I think that really when it comes down to umpiring, these are the best umpires, really, across Major League Baseball, and they go out there every single day to do their best.

Q. I'm sure you have a lot of faith in Hanser Alberto but after losing Adrian yesterday, you're probably a little bit shaken, you probably never could imagine that Hanser could come back the next day with a game-winning hit in extra innings. How special is it for you to see him succeed in that situation?
JOHN GIBBONS: Well, it's extremely special for him. Really, for a guy that has sat at the end of the beverage for us, an extra player. He had been up one time before when Adrian had gone down, he played some shortstop for us, second base, some third base and had gone back down to continue to play and we felt like it was time to get him back up, to get him acclimated into the major league end of it. And really, that's our ballclub, it really is. You look up and down the lineup and you track us throughout the year. It's not surprising that somebody at the end of that beverage or end of that lineup contributes to what we've got going on because that's how we play the game. And really, we ask our guys to stay focused, into the game, ready, so when we ask them to go play the game of baseball, that they are ready. It's a testament to these guys to how they pay attention and they're on top of what we ask them to do and they go out and compete. Bottom line. You look at our game today and when you think about the contributors in our game today, really, we're talking about everybody other than kind of that core group of players and that's who we are, that's how we play the game of baseball.

Q. What did you think of Cole Hamels and the way he pitched? And number two, what did you think of Odor's baserunning today?
JEFF BANISTER: As far as Odor is concerned, there are times that players just will themselves to score. Yeah, it got a little there at second base. I mean, trying to draw a throw, but really what he does for us, the little things, the bouncing catch with one hand to make the play, he plays baseball, makes baseball plays. Yeah, guys like that, they play hard and they will them self to do special things.

As far as Hamels is concerned, yeah, that's -- that's what he is. He goes out and competes. We had the error there that led to a couple runs, but he continued to pitch, never gave in. That's what a front line pitcher does.

Q. From your vantage point in the dugout and your team's vantage point of the replays they showed, what did you make of that review in the 14th inning with the foot on the base, what did you think of that?
JEFF BANISTER: Well, look, what did we think of it? Well, we felt like that he was on the bag, that's what we thought of. I mean, obviously the call stood, so that's part of the game. That's what we do as far as this game and replay and it's here. So hey, if it goes the other way, we live with it, we move on.

Q. Jeff, you had referred to yesterday when the bottom third of the lineup is scoring for you it's a back breaker, they scored 7 of your 11 runs in these two games. That obviously qualifies what you talked about?
JEFF BANISTER: That does qualify, and as we put the lineup together each day, we think about how we can construct innings, opportunities to score, and that's why we try to spread our lineup out as much as we can and we have faith in the bottom of that lineup that they're going to find a way to create and put runs on the board for us.

MODERATOR: Thanks for coming in, Jeff. Safe travels.

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