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NL DIVISION SERIES: DODGERS VS NATIONALSOctober 11, 2016Chase UtleyAdrian GonzalezLos Angeles, California - Postgame 4 Dodgers - 6, Nationals - 5 Q. Gentlemen, on the final play, sort of curious as to what each of you was seeing as that ball was coming sort of between you, and Kenley racing the bag, and sort of -- just sort of your thoughts as it was going down. ADRIAN GONZALEZ: So I mean, from my perspective, I know Kenley is really good at getting to the base. So when it was hit, I wasn't -- you know, in my mind, I was just going to attack it. I heard Chase calling it, and at the same time, I was kind of going for it. Then he just took charge and got out there and made the play. CHASE UTLEY: Yeah (laughter). Yeah, it was a little bit to his right. He could have made the play. I was calling it the whole time. Once I was calling it, I didn't want to give up on it just in case he was to give up on it. So it was one of those plays where, glad it worked out. Q. Tough series. How did you change your at-bat to drive in the winning run? You told me yesterday, you started attacking strikes, was that your philosophy today to be more aggressive? CHASE UTLEY: Yeah, to try to put the ball in play, especially with two strikes and a man on second base, at that point the shadows had kind of disappeared. Middle of the game was kind of tough to see. But yeah, able to sneak one through the infield. Obviously it was a big hit for us, but there were a lot of great at-bats today. Obviously Gonzo's home run, J.T. swung the bat well. Overall, Kershaw, Kershaw was pretty special. ADRIAN GONZALEZ: Yeah, I pretty much tipped my hand there. Not a good poker face to say I wasn't going to be ready to attack. But he threw me a fastball and I was ready for it. Thank God the ball went over the fence. Q. At this point in your career, when you come into a situation like that, 1-2 count, tie game, do you live for that moment, or are there any bit of nerves, any kind of butterflies, anything in your stomach in that situation? CHASE UTLEY: For the most part, you're in that situation a lot over the course of a season. You obviously try to keep it simple and try to put a good at-bat together. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn't. Today it did. Q. You have hit a home run in each one of your Dodgers -- in the playoffs since you have been here. Can you talk a little bit about the importance of this one, and how much experience helps a hitter in that kind of situation when your team is down and you have to win or go back home? ADRIAN GONZALEZ: Going back to what Chase said, you're in these situations throughout the year, throughout your career. I felt like the first few games, I was just trying to be too perfect, trying to go the other way a little too much. So today, I just said I'm just going to let it all out, and swing as hard as I can every time. You know, if I run into something, hopefully something good comes out of it. But you know, you're not focused on results. You're just focused on the process. You know, when you can do that, you can put quality at-bats together. You know, just for me, it's trusting God and enjoying the moment. Q. Game 5 in Washington, and you've got the likely Cy Young winner in Max Scherzer. What are your thoughts about playing that game? ADRIAN GONZALEZ: I mean, we beat him once already. We know we can do it. We put some pretty good at-bats against him in Game 1 and we're confident that we can do that again. Q. What were you thinking as Andre stepped to the plate and what did it mean for him to come through in his first opportunity in these playoffs? CHASE UTLEY: We have the utmost confidence in Dre. He's been in those situations, as well. He always put great at-bats and he's a great pinch hitter. You knew he was going to do something special, and he did. When he goes up to the plate, we feel pretty good about our chances for us coming out with a better result than the opposing team. Q. Regarding Joe Blanton, what does it mean for him to be as dominant as he's been after his journey the last few years, struggled in 2013, 2014 was out of baseball, I believe. What is it like for you seeing him do this? CHASE UTLEY: Yeah, I played with him in Philadelphia for a few years, and he's the ultimate competitor. He's kind of like a bull dog out there on the mound. I'm just happy for him that he's kind of reinvented himself a little bit after the last few years. He's been a huge part of our bullpen this year. Q. You mentioned Clayton offhanded earlier. Curious what you saw today, what you were feeling from him today, beyond the results, just the man you were looking at. CHASE UTLEY: You see the same guy every time he steps on that mound. He's intense. He's a competitor. He's extremely fun to play behind. Another guy that comes to mind that I had the opportunity to play behind, Roy Halladay, for a number of years. They have a lot of similarities. Their game day focus, kind of stay away from them a little bit, let them do their thing, they are quiet. But when they get on that mound, they are ready to go. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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