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MLB WORLD SERIES: CUBS VS INDIANSNovember 1, 2016Jake ArrietaKris BryantCleveland, Ohio - Postgame 6 Chicago Cubs - 9, Cleveland Indians - 3 Q. How important was it to play from ahead tonight? The crowd was going crazy. Two up, two down, you're down 0-2, and you get a hanging curveball and jack it out of here. So how important was it to get that momentum early? KRIS BRYANT: Huge, especially with the Indians. Obviously you don't want to let them get to Miller and Allen. They're two of the best in the game. So that's kind of been the game plan the whole series. Try to get up early, so that they can't use them when they're ahead, that type of thing. Tonight we were able to do that. Q. Can you talk about Addison. You've watched him play since the All-Star Game. How much that meant to him, Gold Glove nominee and now tonight? How big was this? KRIS BRYANT: Yeah, I feel like that was the hit of the night there. Anytime you get four runs on one swing, and to go up, I think it was 7-0, that was huge. He's had a lot of big home runs this postseason. That might have been the biggest. So just watching him, he's unbelievable, man. He's 22 years old, Gold Glove, hitting homers in the World Series. He's a pretty special player. Q. The other night you said after being down 3-1, "Why not us?" And here we are Game 7. A lot of people say it's the best two words in professional sports and it's for the World Series. It's not even an argument, it's the biggest game in Cubs' history. Have you been able to at least envision what that might mean tomorrow in a Game 7 scenario to kind of be a champion? KRIS BRYANT: Yeah, I mean, anybody who plays this game grows up dreaming of winning a World Series. You know, we get to play in a Game 7 tomorrow; that's pretty special. So we can't get too far ahead of ourselves. When we were down 3-1, it was take it a game at a time and try to get to Game 7. Tomorrow we're going to be there, and it's nice to kind of build off of these last two games with momentum. Today, obviously with the offense is pretty special, and our pitching was unbelievable, so hopefully we can do it tomorrow. Q. Kris, this will be the third time you guys see Kluber. So what, if anything, changes how you approach that now that you mention Miller now and getting to them? KRIS BRYANT: I don't know if anything changes. I mean, I feel like we should have really good at-bats. We've seen him two times already, and very recently. But he's a good pitcher. He's won the last two games that he's pitched against us. He's a tough one. But we've got a good one going, too. I mean, Kyle is very underrated, and it should be a really good game and a really good match, and I can't wait for it. Q. Back to Addison, he seemed like he was hitting the ball pretty well, at least since maybe the middle of the NLCS. Did you see his approach kind of improve from that point until now that's allowed him to have the game he had today? KRIS BRYANT: Yeah, I think he's just not pressing as much. Any person playing this game that's 22 years old probably has some nerves going into a postseason that really matters to us. But he got those out early. Now it's solid at-bat after solid at-bat, and he's kind of been the catalyst for us. Tonight he certainly was. Q. They've been throwing a lot of breaking balls and curveballs to you just throughout this entire series. What kind of adjustments have you made here in these last two games to adjust to that, I guess? KRIS BRYANT: Yeah, I mean, they've been throwing a lot to me. I feel like they're just throwing a lot to the team in general, too. But I think we're making -- we want to see curveball in. With the curveball outside, it's tough to get any slugging on that to try to hit that. I mean, it's a tough one, especially with the guys they have on their team. Their curveballs are some of the best in the game. So force them in the zone and don't go chasing for them. I felt like these last two games we've done that. But tomorrow Kluber has one of the best curveballs in the game, and hopefully we make that adjustment the third time around. Q. Jake, could you talk about pitching with a lead in the first inning and how that helped you? And also, I know it's maybe crazy, but would you be available for tomorrow if needed? JAKE ARRIETA: Yeah, absolutely. I'll definitely be available tomorrow if outs are needed. Last game of the year, Game 7 of the World Series, everybody's available pretty much tomorrow. That's kind of how we view tomorrow. Tonight, obviously, with Kris getting us on the board early and putting another two runs up in the first inning, and being up 7-0 after three, I knew that was all we were going to need tonight. Obviously with the Rizzo homer, that put two more on the board, it kind of padded our lead. It was really nice to see, and obviously him swinging the bat well, along with the rest of the guys, is really big for us moving into tomorrow. I think some underrated play from Jason Heyward in right field, making a great play on the Ramirez liner I think pretty early in the game, maybe in the 4th. Then the big throw into second for that out, the second out at second base was huge. Pretty much all around, up and down the order, everybody contributed and that's why we played so well. Q. Joe said that he thought the warmer weather might help you all tonight get unleashed a little offensively. Was that the case? Do you feel more comfortable out of the frigid cold? KRIS BRYANT: Yeah, the last time we were here it was really cold, but they've got to play in it, too. We're both from cold-weather areas. I mean, it's not anything new to us, but it's definitely more comfortable playing out there. You get a better grip on the ball. It doesn't hurt when you hit the ball. Those things all play into it. But that weather today, that was some of the best weather we could ask for. Q. I think it was the third straight curveball he had thrown you in that first at-bat. I couldn't see, but anyway, did your eyes light up when you see a hanging curveball like that? Do you feel like you know you're going to get it before the bat hits the ball? How does that process in your mind when you see that? KRIS BRYANT: Yeah, that's my favorite pitch to hit is the hanging curveball. Usually if you just put your swing on it and it's hanging up there, there's a good chance it's going to go pretty far. He's really good at controlling his pitches. The first pitch is a cutter, painted on the outside corner. Then another curveball away. I felt like the last game he pitched against us, he was throwing everything where he wanted. I felt like that was something I've been waiting for, is a pitch in that area and I got it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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