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NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: DODGERS VS CUBS

October 15, 2016

Kyle Hendricks

Chicago, Illinois - Pregame 1

THE MODERATOR: First question.

Q. I know you've been asked a bunch, but was there any moment where you thought my playoffs is over, as soon as you got hit? And at what point did you realize, okay, maybe not so, I'm okay?
KYLE HENDRICKS: Yeah, I don't know if it was that extreme of a thought, but definitely a little concern. Anytime something happens to your arm, your throwing arm, it's not ideal. So, once I came out, once X-rays were negative, I felt a lot better about it. I knew it was going to be a bad bruise type of thing, get through a couple days and it wouldn't be a problem.

Q. What's it like being an observer of the games when you're not pitching and are you a fan and is it different than the regular season?
KYLE HENDRICKS: I think it's nor more nerve-wracking having to watch, not being involved, you don't have any control over it. But, yeah, those couple games in San Francisco, the energy was just electric. We knew they were going to be tough games going into it, that kind of team, veteran team, they have won, especially recently, they definitely know how to play the game, and in those big situations. So we knew how tough they were going to be. To scrape four out there in that last inning, that was pretty unbelievable. Our emotions definitely switched because Matt Moore was throwing a hell of a game for eight innings. But looking forward now, we're past that. We're just looking forward to what we have to do.

Q. You're usually pretty cool, calm, and collected. Will you have any butterflies do you think tomorrow, and how exciting is it for you to pitch in a game of that stature?
KYLE HENDRICKS: I think it will be just the usual anxiousness to get out there. Just like any other game, for the most part. Just having to deal with the outside forces. Once you show up to the ballpark, you get into your routine, you get doing your thing. You really feel the same as any other day, as any other game. I'm just going to try and keep that going, draw on the experiences I've had in the postseason to deal with the energy that will be around here. But just fall back on your routine and know what you do and know what you need to do come game day.

Q. I know you wanted to advance to the NLCS, but was there any part of you, a baseball fan or pitching fan, that wanted to see a Game 5 between Lester and Cueto again? And what do you think the atmosphere would have been like here at Wrigley?
KYLE HENDRICKS: Yeah, definitely I think from the team side we didn't want it, obviously, but baseball fan from the outside, Game 5 would have been something special for sure. I wasn't feeling great about it. You never know what can happen in a Game 5, one bounce this way or the other. So I was glad we could get it. We didn't have to go to Game 5. But it would have been awesome to see Lester versus Cueto, Bumgarner probably coming out of the bullpen. Probably would have been very similar to that Game 5 Nationals-Dodgers, which was a hell of a game.

Q. And the atmosphere?
KYLE HENDRICKS: I'm sure it would have been no different than any other game, I'm sure no different than it would be tonight. These fans, they have been up for it all year long. We have had so many games in the regular season that have had high energy. I think it wouldn't have been much different than that.

Q. Growing up in Southern California, what are your bigger Dodger memories and how often did you get to games?
KYLE HENDRICKS: I actually grew up -- I was an Angel fan until I was maybe eight or nine, and then I was a Giants fan. J.T. Snow was my favorite player when I was young. So I wasn't a Dodger fan necessarily, but I did -- I went to a few games growing up. I played there once, I think, senior year of high school. I got to play, pitch an inning there in some high school thing. So it will be really cool to go back to the home state, be back around some family, spend some time, maybe get to go to a couple dinners, make things a little more comfortable for me over there.

Q. J.T. Snow, was it the Darren Baker moment that did it for you?
KYLE HENDRICKS: I'm not sure what it was. Just the way he played the game, honestly. There was no specific moment. Not even exactly sure why he was my favorite player. I was still a pitcher when I was young. Obviously had pitchers I looked up to. Something about the way he played the game, just going about it quietly but how good he was at first defensively and at the plate. Something just drew me to him when I was young.

Q. I'm just wondering if there's a different feeling going into a seven-game series than into a five-game series, is it different now?
KYLE HENDRICKS: For us, we're always taking it game by game, so regardless of length, we're definitely showing up to the ballpark knowing what we have to take care of that given day. That being said, in a five-game series, obviously, it's shorter. You never know what can happen. I think seven-game series, more games, you're going to hope the better team will come out on tomorrow. We feel very good about our chances and where our ball club is at, so we definitely got a feeling that the more games, there are the more chance we have.

Q. What's it like pitching in Game 2s? Can you learn something, or because it's a lefty going, Lester each time, is it harder to figure things out?
KYLE HENDRICKS: I think just looking at the game plan, you go about that the same no matter what. So all I'll learn really is kind of maybe the aggressiveness they take out there, how they're going about their at-bats, their game. I won't really watch pitch specific how Lester's kind of approaching it because, like you said, he's got different pitches than me, being left-handed. It's going to be a different game plan. So scouting, doing all that stuff will be the same, but I'll definitely tune in to see how the energy, kind of how their at-bats are tonight.

Q. Could you talk about the fantastic season you have and how much it's going to help your confidence having had that kind of a year in this Game 2?
KYLE HENDRICKS: I think it's huge. Just drawing on all those good games, all those pitches you made all year, this point in the year, even though I had a little time off, a little time between starts, your feel is there just because you're at the end of the year. So fall back on your routine, fall back on what you know to do and the confidence that you built throughout the whole year. And it's just look any other game. I'm going to go out there, same simple thoughts, trying to make good pitches, and hopefully my confidence can show through.

THE MODERATOR: All right. Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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