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NL DIVISION SERIES: ROCKIES VS BREWERSOctober 5, 2018Erik KratzJeremy JeffressMilwaukee, Wisconsin - postgame 2 Brewers - 4, Rockies - 0 Q. J.J. you guys talk especially in the bullpen about what a redemptive game it is. One day can be tough but you get the ball the next day and tonight was a great example of that. You get two innings and how did that feel and what about going two innings after pitching yesterday? JEREMY JEFFRESS: It felt great. It just shows the confidence, the team, the managers, all the coaches have in me. But you've got to have a short-term memory in that bullpen, especially with these high-leverage games. Like I said, you've got to have a short-term memory, and the next day just have a different game plan and go right out. Q. I know every reliever has bad games, but what have the last 24 hours been like for you? JEREMY JEFFRESS: Yeah, I mean, these games are very important, each and every one of them, and like you said, we've got to have those short-term memories to go back out and be ourselves and just attack guys and play the game that we know how to play and have fun. These games are fun. You can tell; the crowd is just going crazy each and every pitch. We've just got to continue to play our game. Q. Erik, just wanted to know was that two-run single the biggest hit of your life, and just in general, what has been being in the postseason been like for you at this stage in your career after all the organizations you've been with and teams you've been with? ERIK KRATZ: I hit a homer in the Triple-A playoffs one time. That was pretty cool. Yeah, it's the biggest hit. Just like the strikeout the time before was the biggest strikeout of my career. That's what this moment is. It's something that is -- I feel like it is an incredible opportunity to be here. I don't think anybody loses that fact. I don't think anybody says I have to be here or oh, you're going through so much. No, to play in this game in May is a blessing and to play in this game on October the 6th or 5th or whatever it is, is a blessing. Seeing the fans the way they are, seeing J.J. come back out after giving up two runs last night and throwing two innings tonight and picking the boys up, it's the best. That's the playoffs. I love it. Q. Jeremy, your manager, you knew he had confidence in you, but he would hand you the ball and say go get me six outs. What's that like for you? And what was the fist pump at the end? What was the emotions running through you there? JEREMY JEFFRESS: I mean, it was great. The confidence, I can't put it into words, the confidence that counsel he will has for me. I'm gracious. And to see those two outs -- I mean, those two innings in front of me just gave me even more confidence to know I've got a lot of work to do, and I can go out there and be myself, do what I've got to do, and that fist pump is to show you the passion that I have for this game. It's fun. I'm enjoying every single moment, and that shows. Q. What's it like to catch a guy that's got that many weapons, high-level weapons? ERIK KRATZ: Easy. It really is. I mean, there's no -- you go to him in the eighth inning and he's got two. I was just hoping I could get a hit so I could see him hit. He's pretty good. Good swing. He's athletic. Q. Jeremy, if you don't mind, who is your press conference guest today, and what does it mean to share this experience with her and the rest of your family. JOURNEY JEFFRESS: My name is Journey Jeffress. JEREMY JEFFRESS: This is my daughter, four-year old daughter. Inspiration. Every time I leave that bullpen, I say it's for her. I mean, to have her watch and understand -- she understands. She does fist pumps just like I do. She understands, and to have her here enjoying this moment with me, it's great. Q. Kratz, the bottom of the lineup was raking today, eight hits from the 5 through 8 hitters. What made you guys so successful in the bottom of the lineup? ERIK KRATZ: Just putting together good at-bats. We weren't necessity getting a hit every time up. We weren't necessarily getting the job done every time. It was something that even the at-bats that we had that were unsuccessful results, we were wearing the pitcher down, and we did a really good job, led by HP, led my Moose, led by the guys really -- big at-bat in that one inning was Jesus, it was a nine-pitch at-bat. That's what the guys do. That's what we do in the lineup. They feed off each other, and you pass the baton to the next guy, and it's something that you can't -- the at-bat I struck out is something that maybe I need to take that walk there to pass it on to the next guy. But the next guy is always -- that's just what we've done all year. We pick each other up, and it's huge. It doesn't matter if it's 5 through 8 or 1 through 4 or somebody that got an MVP award. Q. I know you don't want to discount your past playoff experiences even if you didn't get in the game. With the Royals or Phillies, was there even a chance that you might get a pinch-hit or anything, and to see your name in the starting lineup, was there any added measure of relaxation knowing that you were definitely going to get in the game? ERIK KRATZ: Well, with the Phillies and the Yankees, I was not on the active roster. Made the games really nervous because if anything happened, it was like, wait a minute, now I'm on the active roster. But the Royals, there was probably about nine times throughout that playoffs that had Salvy gotten on base, we would have pinch ran Terrance Gore and I would have been in the game, including the ninth inning of Game 7 with what would have been a tie ballgame. One thing I always took from those nine or ten times that it happened was the sense of calmness that I felt when there's a good chance I'm getting in this game. It was like, I was nervous because I'm watching my guys, I can't do anything about it, and the sense of calmness that I'm getting in this game. It gave me satisfaction that my preparation was there. So then today's game, you know, I think the energy in the stadium was better than any game I've ever played in, obviously, but we've been playing meaningful games that have had your heart racing since probably September 10th or whenever we were in Chicago. So it's something that it prepared us for, and it really was just a different game, a different game, different day. But we played it the same way we always have. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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