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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: BLUE JAYS VS ROYALS

October 23, 2015

John Gibbons

Kansas City, Missouri - Pregame six

Q. Your bullpen, specifically Sanchez and Osuna, what is it in those guys, two rookies -- and Sanchez who joined the bullpen midway through the season -- what is it that they've been able to step up in this situation?
JOHN GIBBONS: You know, I'm not sure exactly. They're both so young, and Osuna is the youngest in the game. And Sanchez is a youngster. He came up in September last year, really good. But really, going into the Postseason, we didn't know what to expect. Because they are still green in a lot of ways. They both had tremendous years. But you look at what they've done, they've answered all of that. Really, in a lot of ways they've dominated.

They have the arms and the stuff, whatever you want to call it, to do that, but still, you know, the emotions of their first Postseason at such a young age, to overcome that or at least get through it right away is pretty impressive.

Q. Your pitching staff set up pretty ideally in Game 5 for you guys. If you were to draw it up today, how would you like to see things unfold pitching-wise?
JOHN GIBBONS: We're definitely better off today, talking about the bullpen, because Lowe will be back. Hendriks will be good to go. But really, you always need your starter to give you a good outing, otherwise you wind up burning through everybody, and you never want to do that.

But I feel good going into tonight, more so than we did on Wednesday night, for sure, because we had more bodies, with some guys that were pitching well that we could go to early if we had to.

Q. Ned calls the team one that don't live or die with its power. However, he's got a real power hitter in Morales, which you know for a long time. He had an outstanding season this year and he's doing well in the playoffs. Can you talk about Kendrys, what you knew about him before, and are you surprised about the year he's having this year?
JOHN GIBBONS: No, I'm not surprised at all. We first got to see him back when he was with the Angels, when he had that unfortunate thing where he blew out his leg on that walk-off home run. And in the past when he was in Seattle, things we mentioned to our GM, if we ever get a chance to get Morales, get him. Time are different now with our team the way it is.

But he's been one of the best hitters in baseball, productive run producer, that kind of thing, for a number of years, especially now that he's healthy.

But you mentioned about home runs, if you took Kansas City, and put them in our ballpark, you could add a share of home runs to all those guys. They play at a park that it's going to give you a few more doubles, maybe a couple of triples, but it's going to take away some home runs. They have legitimate power over there.

Sometimes I think they approach it differently, because they're looking to put that ball in play and use their speed. It's a good lineup. But really, Kendrys, he's really anchored that middle and has driven a lot of huge runs for them. He's got some good table setters ahead of him.

Q. Is there any situation where we might see Marcus Stroman in the game today?
JOHN GIBBONS: You never say never. It wouldn't be ideal. But if we look at tonight like we did on Wednesday, maybe.

But if the game gets wild late and you're burning through the guys or goes extra innings, was it 14 innings, early, then that might happen. We'll see. Ideally not. I wouldn't count on it. Can't totally write it off.

Q. You had a lot of questions about David, and he's even tweeted stuff. Just conversations you've had with him in the 24 hours, what more can he prove today for a guy who has proven so much right now, today, in this game in the Postseason?
JOHN GIBBONS: You know what, yeah, David has been a focus, whether what's happened to him in the Postseason or how he's been used this series and what have you. One thing that I would say, David has accomplished so much in the game already. He's only going to add to that. Regardless of what happens tonight, it doesn't take away who he is as a man or what he's accomplished in the game and things like that.

And baseball really focuses on Postseason play. You work all year to get here but then everybody chases the champions. Those are the focuses. And so naturally you lean on, the baseball world leans on the guys that get you here, your star players, and he's one of them.

But like I said yesterday, I'm sure he's had some tough luck along the way, maybe a lot of runs scored in his other starts. But good or bad tonight, no way should it detract who he is or what he's accomplished or what he's going to accomplish in the future. That's really just the way the game works.

Q. How much juice do you think your team has gotten out of eliminating four times in a row now? How much do you think it provides a little bit more of a boost going into this game?
JOHN GIBBONS: Well, we've done it before. It's not ideal and it's not easy. But they've proved themselves and they really expect to go out and win tonight. I don't see any change in the demeanor at all, even going back when we were down 0-2 to Texas.

They've looked, they've played, they've acted, everything like they have all season long. It's a confident group. These guys fear nothing. They also understand you're not going to be good every night you go out there. The smallest little thing can make the difference in winning or losing, they get that. There's a human element in the game; playing against other great players that are trying to win just like you are.

So I think they understand that and they really haven't changed their outlook or approach at all. So far to this point we've had that knack of responding at the right time.

Q. Troy Tulowitzki over the past few games has been probably one of your hottest hitters. Did you think about flipping him and Colabello to add extra protection with the way they're pitching Jose and Eddie?
JOHN GIBBONS: Yeah, Troy has been really good. He was taking some heat early, too, and he's responded with some big hits at the right time all Postseason.

But Colabello has been swinging pretty good for us, too, since we injected him in there every day.

I really didn't want to have to answer for that, if I did it, so I didn't do it (laughter).

No, no, no thoughts at all.

Q. What is it about the personality of your players that you think has enabled them to succeed in these situations?
JOHN GIBBONS: You know what, like I said, it's a unique group, I'm sure there's other teams out there with similar type players, I don't know that firsthand, but I'm sure. They fear nothing. We've got nothing to lose. You fall down 3-1, nobody expects you to win, so what do you have to lose? Other than go out and shock everybody, really.

And they all have a ton of confidence. Most of them have been around the game for a while, and they know how to play and they know how to play productive baseball. It's not that easy, but they've done it so many times. They're very, very confident as individuals, anyway.

And I guess you do it a couple of times in the Postseason, hey, see if you can do it again. You don't like to have to do it, but you're forced to. Nothing to lose, I would think.

Q. Is Dickey an option for you tonight? What kind of circumstance would he get in?
JOHN GIBBONS: Yeah, he could, too. I just talked about Stroman, you get in a long game or you burn through whoever too early, that kind of thing. He's another one.

Q. Is there anything about Loup's status?
JOHN GIBBONS: He's here today. Yeah, he's out there.

Q. If you get to Game 7 does it seem fitting that it would be Stroman, given all he's come back from and given the expectations this year?
JOHN GIBBONS: Yeah, it would. He's really been that guy that to this point he's always turned up at the right time. So that would be a good thing if he's out there tomorrow.

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