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AL DIVISION SERIES: BLUE JAYS VS RANGERS

October 6, 2016

Arlington, Texas - Postgame one

TORONTO - 10, TEXAS - 1

THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with Jose Bautista and Marco Estrada.

Q. Marco, what did you kind of think of the atmosphere and how loud the fans were? And kind of as the game went on were you conscious of how quiet it got as you were putting on more runs and you were holding them to zero?
MARCO ESTRADA: When you're on the road that's something you want to do is quiet the fans, and I think we did a pretty good job. Obviously we don't want any momentum on their side, and obviously scoring seven runs by the fourth that's going to keep a lot of people quiet.

It makes pitching a little funner, I guess. You're able to make a little more mistakes, and I wanted early contact today and that's basically what I did. I was able to go pretty deep into the game.

Two outs away from finishing it. Unfortunately I couldn't. But who cares, we won. That's all that matters.

Q. When you're that close to the first complete game of your career on this stage and at this time, how much do you want it then and what are you thinking? When does Gibby come out?
MARCO ESTRADA: I was looking at Gibby the whole time. I was yelling, I got it, I got it. He never really looked up at me. So obviously once you see him point that's it, there's nothing else you can do about it.

I don't really care, to be honest with you. We won. That's all that matters.

Q. Marco, where is your mom today?
MARCO ESTRADA: She's here. She's here. My wife and two kids. My family's here. My daughter had school and I told her this is a big game. I need them out here with me. And sucks that she's going to have to miss a day or two. But it's okay right now. She's just in first grade, so...

Q. Her name?
MARCO ESTRADA: Brooklyn.

Q. Jose, I've told you this before that you come across as a very proud guy. How do you feel right now?
JOSE BAUTISTA: I feel happy that we won the ballgame. Coming off of having to claw our way back into the playoffs and the Wild Card game and putting up a lot of runs early feels good, especially when you're backing a start like Marco had today.

Q. You didn't want to make it about you, but it seemed like the stadium wanted to make it about you. How did it feel to respond to that?
JOSE BAUTISTA: Well, if you're talking about the way I played, it feels good to contribute, no matter what game it is, especially in the playoffs. So, and you're right, I wanted to avoid all the questions about the whole ordeal, because we're baseball players, not UFC fighters, and we come here to play ballgames.

That's why I wanted everybody to kind of focus on that in our clubhouse. And we did and we played a pretty good game today and hopefully we continue to do that.

Q. Marco, it didn't seem like you went to your curveball that much today. It's not necessarily that unusual for you. But is that a testament to how good your changeup was today for that off-speed pitch?
MARCO ESTRADA: I feel just overall being able to locate the fastball, throwing first-pitch strikes, I guess I didn't really have to go too much to it. I kind of hung a few, to be honest with you. Maybe it wasn't breaking as sharp as it normally does. So maybe Russ saw that and kind of stayed away from it.

But, yeah, the changeup was a really good pitch today. I was getting a lot of swings and misses on it. But I think the most important thing was just getting ahead of the count. Just makes pitching a little easier.

Q. Jose, do you believe in fate or that fate smiled on you today? Or could it have unfolded any better for you?
JOSE BAUTISTA: I think it can. Still got a series to win. And like I said, I'm not trying to make it about myself. But helping my team win feels good. And I guess that's about as far as I can take that comment.

Q. Jose, the starting times are the same for both teams, but you guys gotta play in, what, 17 hours from now, which gives the other team a chance to kind of wipe this one away. What are your thoughts about having to play so quickly?
JOSE BAUTISTA: It's a challenge. Getting rest is obviously one of the most important parts of the day for an athlete, and everybody knows it's a condensed rest period when you have a noon game the next day. But like you said, it's same start time for both teams, and they have to deal with it as well.

I'm pretty sure our guys are going to -- they'll get some good food and some good sleep and show up tomorrow ready to rumble.

Q. Jose, was there any message to after you hit the home run putting the bat very carefully on the ground rather than anything else?
JOSE BAUTISTA: Well, I think I have a couple of home runs in my career and I think I've only flipped it once. So most of the time I do that. Just kind of been blown out of proportion because of the moment last year.

So I don't think there was anything too special about laying it down the way I did, because that's the way that 99.9-plus percent of the time I do it.

Q. Jose, you've had a variety of injuries this year. How close to full health do you feel right now?
JOSE BAUTISTA: Good enough to play. I mean, I can't point to that for anything that might have transpired this season with me. We're all ball players. We all have stuff to deal with. And I'm not going to use it as an excuse. And I've said that before.

I'm looking forward to the offseason and recovering, but hopefully we get to extend this playoff run as far as we can. And if I have to continue to play like this and deal with even more stuff that might show up on the way, I'll deal with it.

Q. Marco, you walked off last year to maybe the loudest ovation I've ever heard for a Toronto athlete. And then you come out today and did what you accomplished. What is it about you and the big stage?
MARCO ESTRADA: To be honest with you, I think I just -- I don't change anything. I think of it just as another regular season game. Why am I going to add extra pressure on myself? There's no point to doing that, you know. And sometimes I can get to guys and not pitch as well as they can.

So I think about it just as a normal game. And basically I just try to pound the zone. I look at Russ' glove and I try to hit it as much as times as possible. And I guess I don't let the whole, you know, the situation get to me at all. I don't really think about it. I'm pretty calm up there and maybe that's what's helped me out so much.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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