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NL DIVISION SERIES: ROCKIES VS BREWERS

October 5, 2018

Craig Counsell

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - postgame 2

Brewers - 4, Rockies - 0

Q. I was wondering if Jhoulys exceeded expectations pitching on short rest and it looked like he had to battle a little bit more tonight. To get five innings out of him, was that the best you could possibly expect?
CRAIG COUNSELL: Yeah, I mean, look, if you give up five innings and no runs, that exceeds expectations every day for sure. He was magnificent. You know, he got into a couple jams, not with kind of two-out jams really where he had to make big pitches, and as he got into those jams, he made great pitches, to story, to Arenado, and those were kind of his best at-bats, got strikeouts in both scenarios there to two very good hitters.

I mean, you're very pleased. Short rest, five innings, that's exactly what we needed and wanted.

Q. Obviously Christian has gotten a lot of the headlines lately, but how much was this win sort of an example of how deep your group is with Kratz and Hernan Perez and Chacin and all the guys that stepped up for you today?
CRAIG COUNSELL: Yeah, it's been the story of the last six weeks for us for sure, really since the trade deadline, is we've become a team with a lot of depth, and that's how we're going to have to win. They're making an effort to be very, very cautious with Yelich. It's pretty clear. So guys behind him are going to have opportunities. And tonight, we got a couple things going, and Moose took advantage of one. Hernan got a rally going, and then Kratz eventually got the big hit to break it open a little bit, if that's what you call 4-0, I guess.

Q. You had that opportunity the inning before, first and third, nobody out, and those tack-on runs were tough to come by and runners in scoring position. Is that an important step to see kind of corrected, or --
CRAIG COUNSELL: Well, yeah, I mean, it's -- look, it's very simple. I mean, we're getting -- the guys are punching out in those spots, and Oberg is a good pitcher, and they had an inning very similar to us the inning before with Soria, where Soria, a guy on third and nobody out and Soria strikes two guys out and Josh gets the final out.

There's some good pitchers throwing pretty good stuff in those innings, and the contact has been a problem in those spots for sure. In the ninth we broke through a little bit and some guys had some good at-bats. But this is what you expect. You're going to get tough matchups. You're going to get relievers with strikeout stuff, and we're seeing the value of that. We're doing a good job putting pressure on -- we did a good job today specifically putting pressure on these guys, and we finally cashed in in the eighth.

Q. You had Granderson in the on-deck circle and then eventually you went with Schoop. Were you trying to think one step ahead, or what was the reasoning behind pulling Granderson back?
CRAIG COUNSELL: Well, it was either Granderson versus a lefty or Schoop versus Oberg. I chose Schoop versus Oberg.

Q. You went right back to Jeffress after one of those nights that relievers have. What's your confidence level in him, and what have you learned about him?
CRAIG COUNSELL: Yeah, and we asked more tonight, with two innings. It was just the way that -- before the series, I'd said that this is a rested guy that we're going to need to carry a heavy load this series. The way the game played out, I thought he was capable of two innings tonight. Yesterday was not part of the equation for me. This is a guy that's been -- he's an All-Star. He's been one of the more -- one of the dominant relievers in this league this year.

There's no hesitation at all. He is a guy that we'll continue to count on and are going to need to make a really good run.

You know, I'm proud of him. You get thrown right back in the fire after Game 1 of the playoffs where you gave up some runs, and you've got to have a little fortitude, and knowing that you got six outs to get, and that's not easy, I'm proud of him for handling it well and doing a nice job.

Q. So that being said, you had Broxton on the on deck circle in the eighth. Was that just gamesmanship?
CRAIG COUNSELL: Yeah, it didn't -- because the bases were loaded it was kind of irrelevant, to be honest with you. But yeah, it was never going to -- if Kratz maybe did something like a home run, we might have gone to Junior.

Q. Two nights in a row that Moose has come up with a big hit. How much of a luxury is it to have a guy like that, and when you've been through this in the playoffs, how much easier does it make it to deliver in a situation like that?
CRAIG COUNSELL: Yeah, well, Moose is swinging the bat well, I think, first of all. He had a couple good at-bats tonight, and I think tonight he was kind of the guy in a got the matchups actually in the game. But his experience, it's important. It really is. I think you use it, and the feelings that -- I was talking to Hernan before the game about making sure we stay in the process and making sure we don't put the result ahead of the process in our at-bats, and I think Moose is doing a heck of a job of that.

Q. What made the bottom of the lineup so successful? 5 through 8 hitters had eight hits and they scored all your runs. What made them so successful?
CRAIG COUNSELL: Well, yeah. That's a really great thing, and I think that points to the depth of our team. Guys like Hernan and Travis, who normally is -- since we've added these guys, hasn't started against left-handed pitching. But I thought he had a chance to make a contribution against Anderson, and he did.

Those guys set the tone, man. They did a nice job. That was pressure. For those guys, the bottom of the lineup putting pressure on the other team is going to spell good things for us.

Q. You had a bullpen day yesterday, then you had to piece together four innings behind Jhoulys today. What does that say about your pitching group?
CRAIG COUNSELL: Yeah, well, I mean, the story of the series so far is how these guys, how we've pitched. We've continued to make pitches. Corey Knebel had another great outing, really, really solid. Joaquin gives up a little infield hit, and then two big strikeouts where you need strikeouts.

So it's coming together nicely, and it's because these guys are pitching well and covering outs, and in both cases, Brandon yesterday getting nine outs and Jhoulys getting 15 outs, that's what sets up our bullpen to be able to be effective and to be able to -- what we feel like reasonably finish the game.

The pitching has worked together as a team as out getters and done a wonderful job.

Q. What about using Hader back-to-back because you haven't done that very often this year?
CRAIG COUNSELL: It was just -- you know, they had -- we got him up, and I think the fact that we had him up probably made Holliday the hitter instead of a lefty against Soria, and so it was almost like Josh got us some help for the 9 hole, as well. And then at that point, you're up 1-0, and we're saying, all right, it's one hitter, Josh, you've got one hitter tonight, that's all you're going to have to do, and I thought he was capable of doing that, and he did a nice job.

Q. When you first acquired Erik Kratz, I'm curious if you envisioned him sort of rising into this co-starter role, and if there was a point in the season where you became clear that he was that guy and he'd be in position to do what he did tonight.
CRAIG COUNSELL: Yeah, I mean, I think we acquired Erik as an important kind of -- probably more as a backup for sure. But he has acquitted himself so well through the course of the season that he's earned playing time, and it's because of the way he's caught. He's provided value offensively. But most importantly, he's done a wonderful job behind the plate working with our pitchers, understanding the game plan, and does a really nice job receiving, as well.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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