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NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: CUBS VS METS

October 19, 2015

Kyle Hendricks

Chicago, Illinois - Workout Day

Q. Normally I'd ask you if you want to pitch Murphy low, but the home run he hit yesterday, how do you pitch a guy that hot, and do you sort of have to throw out the scouting report and kind of start over?
KYLE HENDRICKS: Somewhat, yeah. He's swinging a hot bat. Sometimes the best thing to do is pick your spots. See when guys are on base, when they're not, when you can pitch around him. Regardless, when he comes up, you've definitely got to be careful. You can't make any mistakes with him. But you do want to get the ball down. That one yesterday was down, but it was coming towards it and he just got to it. So hopefully I can stay on the edges more and keep it down with him.

Q. Beyond Murphy, and the entire lineup, you've seen the last few days for you --
KYLE HENDRICKS: Yeah, yeah, they've got a really good lineup. No doubt about that. Definitely a better team than we faced in the regular season. The few additions that they got with Cespedes and Parnell being in there. Up and down the lineup, it's tough ABs, man.

Granderson, he's their catalyst, he gets on base and they kind of get going. I've just got to go out there and pitch my game. All the way up and down the lineup, I've got to make good pitches and can't lose focus at all, that's for sure.

Q. Have you identified any kind of general philosophy the Cubs have on pitching and how to bring the best out of guys?
KYLE HENDRICKS: I'm not sure on general philosophy. It is very individualized. I think that might be the best part of it. They really key everything towards what you do best, especially with the guys up here, Baas. I mean, he looks at every guy when their throwing their bullpens. He knows what the keys are to get you back on track. There is no cookie-cutter way of going about it.

I think that's the way you've got to approach it, because every guy's different. Every guy's got their own motion, their own mechanics. So I think that's probably the biggest reason, I would say.

Q. Just your general thoughts on pitching a game tomorrow night of this magnitude?
KYLE HENDRICKS: It's awesome, man, I'm excited. This is where we want to be. We've got to get this win. We're back at home, and we've got the fans here. Hopefully we can get us back on track and score a few runs.

Q. Following up on David's question. This season wasn't smooth at all. I remember some troubles in May, and then I think after the White Sox start, you're working on your delivery. I mean, how do you feel just getting to this point after what you've been through?
KYLE HENDRICKS: Yeah, it's been a crazy year for me in particular, a lot of ups and downs. Had to work real hard with Baas, made some mechanical adjustments there, like you said, after that White Sox game. And I've felt really good in my last four, five, six starts here. Finally back in my lane. Hopefully I can just keep it going tomorrow, find my lane, get the ball down, and just stay in line.

Q. At Wrigley Field, what is the dynamic when Starlin Castro comes up to bat, both on the bench and down in the bullpen? It looks like it goes a little crazy.
KYLE HENDRICKS: Yeah, that's a fun thing we've been doing for a while, since the beginning of the year. With his walk-up song, everybody starts clapping, and I think it resonates with the crowd now. It's just a fun thing, and another reason these fans, why we love them so much. They really pick up on what we're doing.

Q. It's supposed to be much warmer here in Chicago than it was in New York. As a pitcher, would you want it to be 45 and busting guys inside or do you like the warm weather?
KYLE HENDRICKS: There's reasons for both. When it's cold, you can bust guys inside. When it's warm, you can warm-up easier. It doesn't matter to me. No matter what the weather is, you've got to make good pitches and keep the ball down. So that's where my focus is.

Q. Do you feel the pressure of this being pretty much a must-win game?
KYLE HENDRICKS: I mean, yeah, there's pressure. It's the playoffs. There's always going to be some pressure, but you've got to let the pleasure exceed that. We've heard Joe say it a lot. I'm just going to go out and try to have fun. This is why you play the game, this is why you want the ball. So pressure in a way is sometimes a good thing.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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