	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NL DIVISION SERIES: ROCKIES VS BREWERS

October 4, 2018

Bud Black

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - postgame 1

Brewers - 3, Rockies - 2

Q. How tired is your team right now after a couple of close games like that?
BUD BLACK: I think we're okay. Pardon my voice. I'm a little hoarse. I think we're hanging in there. It's been a rough stretch the last three or four days, but I think the day off yesterday helped, and I think the postseason energizes players, so we're fine.

Q. We talked a little bit before the game about the Brewers going to their bullpen for this whole game, and for your hitters to have to see a different pitcher each time, it seemed like that was making things difficult for them. Did that seem to be the case?
BUD BLACK: Well, I don't know whether it was the changing of the pitchers or the pitchers themselves. I mean, that group of pitchers threw the ball well. Right out of the chute, their starter, I mean, he has a good arm. I mean, he was pitching with velocity. He had a very good slider. He was pitching aggressive. And the same thing for the kid from St. Mary's. He threw the ball well, too. Knebel threw the ball well. Hader threw the ball well, but eventually we got to Jeffress.

But I think it was more about how they threw the ball than our at-bats. I mean, they pitched really, really well.

Q. You guys had a multi-city, a lot of miles road trip, a lot of late games. Do you think you're handling it pretty well?
BUD BLACK: Yeah, I do.

Q. Do you think tonight showed that --
BUD BLACK: Yeah. While you were walking in, a gentleman asked that same thing. I think we're doing fine. Time will tell over time, but I think the day off helped yesterday. I think the postseason energizes players.

So I think right now, we're fine. I mean, we've got to keep going. Time will tell, but I thought today there was an energy to the group coming into the ballpark, and our pregame stuff was fine.

Q. Yelich is on a real tear. He's been for over a month now. He did a lot of damage today. Can you give us your thoughts on him today?
BUD BLACK: Well, we talked about him earlier today. What a good game. Obviously the home run on the changeup out over the plate, to stay back on an off-speed pitch, even though the ball was up in a pretty good spot to hit, his timing looks like he's impeccable. He's on everything. Even his takes are good.

He had the walk, hit the ball back up the middle against Rusin. It looks like he's using the whole field, seeing the ball really well. Even the at-bat against Ottavino, Otto had him 0-2 and made some good pitches, couldn't put them away. But yeah, obviously he's in a good spot.

Q. That was a good at-bat in the 10th inning, and then you get to a couple of outs with Moustakas. Did you think about walking him or did you feel Otto was throwing --
BUD BLACK: Yeah, thought about it for sure, and then we got ahead of him, and Otto couldn't put him away.

Q. During the regular season, he got to 0-2, I think it was 0 for 36 the hitters were. He's been nicked a couple of times --
BUD BLACK: I think maybe that's just the regression to the mean, but I think Otto will tell you if you talked to him that some of these 0-2 pitches have got to be better placed. We saw one the another night against Baez. Otto is aware. It just didn't happen this afternoon or tonight.

Q. I know you get no points for being close, but the way your team came back in this circumstance as well as the travel and the way they fought their butts off, you must take -- do you take something out of that?
BUD BLACK: Well, I think it just says something about our players for sure, where we've been the last couple weeks, having to play through those last couple weeks to get to where we are now and just the daily grit and drive that these guys show. I mean, it's showing up. It showed up today late.

But that's sort of the characteristic of this group, that they play hard. I know it's overplayed a little bit, but this group truly plays hard, and it's awesome. It's awesome to see.

Q. Have you had a chance to look at that foul ball yourself?
BUD BLACK: I'm sorry?

Q. Have you had a chance to look at the foul/fair call on that ball?
BUD BLACK: I have not, no.

Q. It's pretty amazing. We're going to get into this whole debate of what is foul and what is fair --
BUD BLACK: Right. I mean, I glanced up at the scoreboard, and again, the -- I don't know whether it caught the very outside part of the chalk. I don't know. It looked like it might have. I thought it might hold up.

Again, I don't know if they superimposed it really close or not, but I have not looked at it since the game ended. I just saw what I saw on the scoreboard.

Q. On Yelich, do you feel like -- does a pitcher feel like in an extra-inning moment like that, he's damned if he does, damned if he doesn't, walk the lead-off man --
BUD BLACK: Well, I think it's tough to walk a lead-off hitter, right. It's not ideal. But when you've got a guy like that, you've got to really pitch him tough.

Again, Otto got ahead of him 0-2, tried to finish him, couldn't. He didn't really expand the zone. He had a good quality at-bat. But I'm sure Adam will tell you that he was trying to throw strikes and didn't.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297