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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: 2ND ROUND POOL FMarch 16, 2017Tony PenaGregory PolancoNelson CruzSan Diego, California Dominican Republic - 3, Venezuela - 0 Q. Today there was a huge expectation for the Dominican Republic with the home run in Miami. And on occasions they did not situate you in this lineup, Gregory. How do you feel now representing the Dominican Republic? NELSON CRUZ: Well, we understood the importance of the game, and as players, professional players, at the end of the game we wish to be in these sorts of situations. Obviously, we want to play ball. We were focused on winning the game, and Tony made certain movements to bring those runs in. In the bullpen, obviously, with that kind of leadership, it helps. GREGORY POLANCO: To respond to your question, I knew from the very moment I was going to have my moment and my opportunity. He told me. He told me directly: I'm going to give you the opportunity to play. And thank God I was able to open the game. I just really wanted to be focused and ready. Thank God everything turned out well. Q. Tony, the offense, and tonight the pitching staff, 14 strikeouts, two walks, combined shutout. Was this a little bit of, hey, we can win the close games with great pitching as well as offense? TONY PEÑA: There's no question. We have a great bullpen, and Borke (phonetic) did a great job today. He did a great job today. After that I was ready to go with all those guys right from the git-go. I told them before the game I will not save anybody today. I want to use everybody at any time. Just be ready. Q. In the team in the Classic, and this is your first time being manager of this WBC, obviously after a loss you had to -- from the very beginning, is this a teaching moment perhaps to bring that confidence level up? TONY PEÑA: Obviously, yes. Definitely. It's very difficult to win a tournament, and when we lost the first game with Puerto Rico, the boys responded very well. We're in training. We're looking at a team that is completely in shape, 100%. And the most difficult thing for a player is to catch that time. Then when they get that timeframe or the opportunity, they just -- when you lose, I think you open your eyes and you say it's not so simple. NELSON CRUZ: Obviously, this was wonderful, and obviously very difficult to repeat the same situation again. It was very difficult to win the eight games. Obviously, the good thing about this is that it didn't -- what happened in L.A. did not occur here. As you mentioned, and obviously, we woke up and we needed to move and move quickly. Q. Today the pitching was perfect, practically perfect. Everyone was available to relieve the rest of the pitchers? TONY PEÑA: Yes, they did 30 pitches and then tomorrow we're going to give them a day off. We're going to wait. Tomorrow we don't have that time available. We have to be ready. I'm not going to hurt any of my boys. If the boys tell me I can't do certain things, then I will not use them. In the next game, I think that Betances will be there, and he did several pitches. I have many people that are available. Q. How does a young man, newcomer to this event, how do you transform the anxiety level the way that you've done it at this game? GREGORY POLANCO: That nervousness or the anxiety, this is what you do. This is what I know how to do. This is not something out of a different world. At one moment obviously one is human, and you get over it once you confront those sorts of challenges. But this is baseball, and it's not another type of sport. We're going to focus ourselves, we're going to do this work 100%. And I have teammates that are veterans. They tell me, look, things are like this, like that, and this. I understand. Thank God we're here doing things very well. Q. We talked about the game, the relief pitchers for the Dominican team, Eddie joined that wasn't there the first day, and Carlos Martinez, the openers? TONY PEÑA: Well, when the pitchers begin to pitch midway in the first round, it's very difficult. Sometimes they're not at 100%, and then they go from 60 pitches up to 80 pitches, and they obviously start increasing. We're closer, and we're midway in our training process. But today definitely Carlos Martinez did a great job. Welington did a great job, Santana did a great job as well. Q. (Indiscernible) is novice no more to winning. At the same time there are some Japanese press coming. Many Japanese fans would like to see the big game with Dominican Republic and Japan. Maybe look forward to see you coming up to the semifinal? TONY PEÑA: Well, it's something that we are looking for. It's not to see everybody coming over. Most of the time you guys from Japan come to do your homework. It's good having you guys around. We're going to be ready. This means we need to continue to play here and try to pass to the next round. Q. Nelson, you got a bit of a shower when you came in after your home run. Your teammates were just so excited. Can you talk about how much fun that was coming in after the home run? NELSON CRUZ: I mean, yeah. We get excited any play that we make. It feels like we're little kids. We enjoy it, we have fun. I mean, that's the way we play growing up, and that's the way we play right here. So anytime we get a good play and score a run, that's the way we react. Q. What represented with Marte, once again, that you're obviously counting with your best lineup? TONY PEÑA: I was a bit anxious that Starling Marte would be ready and he arrived early, he was ready. He told me: I'm ready to play. That gave us a better lineup. Gregory has done a fantastic job. All the players have done a great job. They all are playing well. Nelson Cruz, Bautista. Nelson has been playing with a very sore leg, and it was the opportunity to have him play with the ideal team. My guys are happy, and they're having a good time. They're playing their game. Not only are they having a good time when they bat, but when you see the plays that Manny Machado did, obviously all the guys were all over him. This group and the unity that exists, you can see it demonstrated. Q. Nelson and Gregory, Manny Machado's defensive play, what were your thoughts as you saw it unfold in real time? NELSON CRUZ: Well, I mean, it's nothing new. He's, I guess, the best or one of the best third basemen in the league. So I got a chance to play with him, and I see that play over and over. He's just unbelievable. Q. Nelson, two home runs for this series. There was a bat that you made that almost left the field. Did you prepare? Were you focused for this WBC? NELSON CRUZ: When the WBC is announced, we begin to prepare. And you begin to have that information gel, and you start to prepare. You elevate your game. I think that's exactly what's happening now. Q. How do you have that swing so refined, so prepared? NELSON CRUZ: Like I mentioned, my Spring Trainings aren't usually that well. They don't go very well. But this is a very good game, and one tries to really raise the bar and the emotions that occur when we play with fans and representing the Dominican Republic, we do a very good job. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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