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NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: CUBS VS METSOctober 18, 2015David WrightNoah SnydergaardFlushing, New York - Postgame two New York Mets - 4 - Chicago Cubs - 1 Q. Noah, can you talk about your performance? I mean, the more you pitched, the more you looked like a poised veteran rather than a kid who came up in May. What's the evaluation of what you've gone through in your development? NOAH SYNDERGAARD: I felt pretty good out there. I wish I could have gotten ahead of hitters a little bit better, but it makes pitching a lot more easy when you go out there and offense puts a three spot on one of the best pitchers in the game right now. Kind of takes a little load off my shoulders. I mean, I feel like I battled the elements pretty well out there. It was a little cold, but I was able to stay loose in between innings and stay warm. I wish I would have gotten ahead of hitters a little bit more, but I was able to get out of some jams with my secondary pitches as well. Q. What does it say about this team that in this playoff run the kind of pitchers you've beaten, the Kershaws, the Greinkes, the Lesters, the Arrietas tonight? What's it say about where you guys are right now in the elite part of the sport? DAVID WRIGHT: Yeah, I mean, we've beaten some of the best that the game has to offer. I'll argue that we have the Syndergaards, the Harveys, the Matzes and the deGroms, so I like our chances when we can run those guys out there. But just an amazing run for us offensively to be able to get to some of these guys early and then allow these starters to go out there. I think Noah will tell you and the rest of the starters will tell you that it's nice having that lead early where you can challenge hitters, and don't have to be so fine trying to protect an 0 0 game or a 1 0 game. These guys have done a great job. If and when we get them a lead, they hold it and put up zeros. Q. Your manager kind of made us laugh with when you told him I guess last night that you were fine except that you suck right now, was his word, not mine. To that end, how did it feel to contribute today? What did that mean to you? DAVID WRIGHT: Yeah, it felt nice. I've said all along I've had some poor at bats and some good at bats where you have nothing to show for it. But through all of it, you try to grind it out and you try to do some other things, if you're not swinging the bat that well. So it's nice to be able to come out and contribute early, especially off a guy that's probably the frontrunner for the Cy Young. You know, Grandy gets on, like he's been doing the entire postseason. It was nice to come through. Then gets in scoring position for Murph, who has been about as hot as anybody I've ever seen. So offensively it just clicked for us early. We needed all those. Q. Noah, you mentioned the dealing with the weather. How did you cope with it specifically, and as you were going along, how did it affect choices you were making? NOAH SYNDERGAARD: The preparation before the game didn't really change all that much. In between innings I was just able to step inside the clubhouse and stay warm. That's about it. Q. (No microphone). NOAH SYNDERGAARD: As far as what? Q. Is there anything you felt like you could or couldn't do gripping the ball? NOAH SYNDERGAARD: Actually, no, I thought gripping my curveball would be a little difficult tonight, but I didn't have any problem with that. Colder climates just allow me to throw my changeup with more consistency. Q. As you were preparing tonight, were you thinking at all about the last time you faced these guys was in your Major League debut, and how far do you think you've come since that start? NOAH SYNDERGAARD: I wasn't really thinking about my last start with them, making my debut because I feel like a completely different pitcher now. Being able to work with Dan has been a true joy being around Jacob and Matt and Matz, and even Bartolo, even though there's a little bit of a language barrier, he's a lot of fun to watch, and soak in as much knowledge as possible from those guys. Q. You played with Daniel Murphy for a long time. What's it like watching him on this streak right now, and how he's come to this point? DAVID WRIGHT: Yeah, I think as a teammate and as a hitter very rarely do you see somebody get this hot against average pitching. Then you throw in that it's Kershaw, Greinke twice each, Lester, Arrieta, I mean, that's impressive. I said it after the Dodgers series, he's about as locked in as I've seen a hitter, and he's carried that out now for, what's it been, seven games. That's quite a feat, especially in the playoffs against this pitching. So when you throw him right in the middle of that lineup, pitchers are going to know where he's at, so hopefully guys in front of him are getting better pitches, and guys behind him are going to be hitting with runners in scoring position, because sooner or later, they're going to start pitching around him. Q. So few home runs at this ballpark get robbed because of the fences. I would imagine that when a pitcher gives up a long flyball, it doesn't even really enter the realm of possibilities. What were you thinking when Granderson made that play in right field? NOAH SYNDERGAARD: That was a huge play for us. It saved a run. Potentially saved what could have been a comeback for them. But just being able to throw the pitch at a certain time, make a mistake, and have my defense back me up was unbelievable. Q. One of the key sequences in the game was when you were pitching to Schwarber with a runner on base. Can you walk us through the choice on the 3 2 pitch? NOAH SYNDERGAARD: 3 2 pitch I knew he was probably sitting on fastball and he was going to gear up for it. I just liked changeup in that count right there because I knew he was probably sitting on a fastball and I had a base open. So why not, basically. Q. What point in your career were you able to recognize that you could dial it up around 100 on a consistent basis? Was it as early as high school or later? When did that kick in? NOAH SYNDERGAARD: Yeah, I think I got up to 98 or so when I was in high school, but it was all over the place. Now I'm able to locate it down in the zone and add a little extra movement to it as well. Q. David, for you and guys like Jon and Dan, who have been here since the park opened, do you guys allow yourselves or everybody to get into how a crowd is feeding off of everybody and the big plays like that? DAVID WRIGHT: No question, no question. I think being able to score early tonight and then have this guy go put up a bunch of zeros, it just adds to the momentum for us. We were pumped to be able to take care of business at home because we feel like this is a tremendous home field advantage. So to be able to have that advantage in this series and come out and take care of business against Lester and Arrieta, first two games at home, I think it was big for us moving forward. Hopefully we can kind of keep that momentum going in Chicago. So, yeah, I think the home field was huge for us. The fans were huge for us. Especially with the elements tonight. When they get into the game, that adrenaline kind of rubs off for us as the home team. Just wants you to try to step your game up and pick it up. Q. Did the inning you pitched in relief the other night have any impact on preparation for tonight's game? NOAH SYNDERGAARD: No, not at all. When I woke up this morning my arm felt fine. Yesterday it felt great. I told Terry I was ready to grab the rock and ready to go. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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