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MLB WORLD SERIES: ASTROS VS DODGERS

October 25, 2017

AJ Hinch

Los Angeles, California - pregame 2

Q. Down 1-0, obviously it's a seven-game series, what are the prospects of you guys being down 0-2 with Verlander, your horse on the mound, how much pressure is there tonight?
A.J. HINCH: Well, there's always pressure in the World Series. I think but again this guy, for him, I don't think it's pressure as much as it's an opportunity. I think our guys understand, especially after Game 1, that getting a win here is huge. You want to win as many games as you can, as fast as you can. We can't set up a perfect series for anybody, but you have to deal with what's on hand today. But certainly he's going to feel the burden of wanting to be the guy to help us get a win to even the series.

Q. So George Springer is in a bit of a slump. The middle-out pitch, this is a pitch during the regular season he hit for his highest average . 360, but now he's swinging through it? What looks off with his swing?
A.J. HINCH: Nothing. I haven't seen it today. It can be a really good swing today. I think that the baseball is really hard how you deal with failure, and how you deal with some tough days. But you start fresh today. If Hill wants to throw him a pitch right over the plate, let's test him. Let's see if he can bounce back, and get a good pitch to it.

I think you can make too much out of it. George Springer has way more good days than bad days, and way more good stretches than bad stretches. So I'm going to continue to encourage him. He's going to lead off. He's going to be a big part of an offensive approach tonight against a good pitcher. If he carries the burden of what he's not doing with him, then that's not going to him. The only thing that helps is getting out and compete.

Q. If you win today, the way you guys have played at home has been fantastic. If you win today, you have a chance to win at home. If you don't, you have a chance to play at a place you've played so well. What kind of confidence does that give you knowing you are going home? And why are the splits the way they are?
A.J. HINCH: We'll have confidence whether we win or lose, but we want to win though. It doesn't affect our confidence level. We are a good team. We can play well on the road or play well at home.

I think there's such a small margin in the playoffs. We're playing against the best team in baseball. And we're one of the best teams, as well. So they have good pitchers, they're going to be tough on us. These teams that we play down the stretch trying to win a world championship are all equipped to get you out.

But our confidence level will never waver. We believe in ourselves. We believe in what we're doing. Our guys showed up with a good vibe today, good approach and an opportunity to win the game and even the series.

So getting home is always nice. It's going to be loud, in front of our home crowd that we've played tremendously well in front of. But we've got to play well here today before we worry about the opportunity to go home.

Q. Biggio has been around the franchise for a few years, but he's been very present during the playoffs. What's it like to have him around the guys? When they're walking into the clubhouse, he's there to encourage him. And the second part of that, is there a little bit feel of unfinished business from the '05 team, where he's watching this current generation?
A.J. HINCH: Well, I think for us to have our legends come back and touch what we're doing here is huge. It's one of the things that I'm really proud of to reconnect the past with what we're doing right now. So Enos Cabell is around quite a bit. Nolan Ryan is around quite a bit. Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio both inducted into the Hall of Fame during my time here; I'm very proud of that.

And we welcome a lot of guys back to be a part of this. And to have those resources for our players, who can relate better to our players than these guys that have had success in the past? And their willingness to give up their time, their knowledge, their investing in us is huge.

For Biggio in particular, this organization, it's all he knows. He lives in Houston. He's been a part of every process. The interview process for me as a manager, he was involved in. He's seen different ownership groups come through. Different GMs come through. He's been a constant that the Houston Astros fans have been able to lean on. And having him be a participant in all this is really priceless.

Q. Although you may not have seen George's swing today, I wanted to revisit and ask, what has looked off about his swing the previous eight games?
A.J. HINCH: I don't remember. I think I draw a blank when I start thinking about stuff in the past. There's nothing we can do about it.

I think his swing is great. He's one of the most electrifying players in the game. He's an All Star. And he's a guy that we rely heavily on for energy, for good performance, for the music in the clubhouse. There's nothing this guy can't do.

So to even say his swing is off is not right. Because tonight it can be very on. He's going to lead off the game, and if he gets a good pitch to hit, there's not a doubt in anybody's mind that he can be productive. To me his swing is perfect.

Q. You've got innings out of your starter last night. I guess we can assume innings tonight, as well. Have you cemented your 3 and 4 starters?
A.J. HINCH: Yeah: McCullers will pitch Game 3, Charlie Morton will pitch Game 4.

Q. How did you come to that conclusion?
A.J. HINCH: Those are two guys that we really believe in. The order is kind of what it is. It opens up Lance a little more in Game 6 and 7, if we can get that far, and if we don't clinch before that or if they don't clinch before that. The home start, coming home, and having Lance McCullers go, there is going to be a ton of energy in the building. And we had to pick one.

Both are equipped to pitch and both have been very successful for us, so we just had to pick an order.

Q. Chris Devenski had been a great weapon for you all year. Not so good so far in the playoffs?
A.J. HINCH: I don't know, last night, pretty good.

Q. Last night, how much did that reassure you?
A.J. HINCH: I have a ton of faith in D-Vo because of how prepared he is. And he's got huge weapons. And obviously left-handed -- he's really tough against left-handed hitters with the changeup. He's got a good elevated fastball for righties and lefties. A good slider last night. I think more so for him to feel walking off the field that he did something successful is huge.

My confidence hasn't wavered. I'll put him in the game in the most important spots, because of the weapons, the demeanor he has, the confidence that our team has. It's always nice to come off of a good outing and feel you can build some momentum off that.

For us to win the World Series, he along with some other guys are going to need to get some outs behind this rotation. Other than a few glitches along the way, they've been pretty good this season.

Q. How important has Marwin Gonzalez been to your team, and how big of a boost is it to have a guy play so many different positions for you?
A.J. HINCH: He's huge. He gets overlooked a lot because we have big names on our team and guys that have performed very well. And he's carried us in a lot of different portions of the season offensively and defensively. The only unfortunate thing is in the World Series you're not getting to see his versatility much. He may play first base if I move things around.

But having the answer in one person, no matter what I wanted to do, if I wanted to give Altuve a day off during the season, he can play second, short for Correa, third for Bregman, first for Yuli. I could put him in center if I wanted to. It's like having multiple players in one. And not just that he can do it, he can do it well. And he can fill in admirably to where there's not a lot of offensive slippage, there's no defensive slippage, and there's no gap in the performance. And as a manager, he's a winning player. Helps us shape a lot of wins.

Q. McCullers threw a ton of curveballs in Game 7, Hill throws a lot of curveballs. As a former catcher, do you enjoy how guys can upend traditional pitch patterns?
A.J. HINCH: I do. I'm amazed by it, because it's such a strike pitch for both of them. They can literally -- at 3-0 it's not safe. You can't assume fastball in 3-0. You can't assume fastballs ever against guys like Hill and McCullers. The comfort level they've both been able to establish is remarkable. Most guys rely a little bit more on the chase, a little bit more on being careful with it. These guys you know what's coming. You know when it's coming and they don't back down, they just continue to trust their ability to throw where they want.

I've never been around or never caught a pitcher like McCullers, who literally the last 25 pitches you don't even have to put a sign down. McCann just said "bring it." But it's unique. And it shows the quality of the pitch. Because hitters, he's not sneaking up on anybody with his stuff. People know.

Q. We know that sometimes young players who are in the postseason early in their careers can get kind of swallowed by the moment, especially on the road. You guys were 1-6 on the road, 6-0 on the home. Fenway, Yankee Stadium, Dodger Stadium all raucous, how much has that played into this?
A.J. HINCH: Not much. There's some names, like Sale, and I know Sabathia was really good against us. It's convenient because of the short, small sample size. We are not spooked by it. The youngest guy on our team is Bregman, and he's having a good stretch; big home run last night.

I don't think it's youth. I don't think there's an excuse. There's not a big moment we can't handle. It's just small, a month that -- we're all a little bit more comfortable with the 45,000 fans at our place cheering for us. We're all a little more comfortable in our routine, the backdrop, being in our own clubhouse. But we can win on the road. We've won a lot of games on the road. The three years I've been here I've had to answer questions on why we're good on the road and bad at home, and why we are bad on the road and good at home. It's baseball. You win and lose in a lot of different ways.

Q. You are going to see guys see Darvish Friday night, and you guys have seen a lot of him over the years. And we talked a lot last night about unfamiliarity and how pitchers tend to have the advantage. Will you guys have the advantage Friday knowing what to expect from Darvish and having seen him that often?
A.J. HINCH: I don't know. Depends on how good his pitches are. Like any pitcher, we've had history with him. It doesn't really guarantee anything. There's no more comfort facing Darvish on Friday than there was three months ago in Texas or last year or three years ago, when I think we ended a perfect game or no-hitter before I got here in the ninth inning.

We'll have some more information on him, but the game will have to be played on the field. It's not a simple comfort exercise. It's a results exercise.

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