	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

AL DIVISION SERIES: INDIANS VS ASTROS

October 6, 2018

Gerrit Cole

Houston, Texas - postgame 2

Houston - 3, Cleveland - 1

Q. Gerrit, two-part question, if you don't mind. One, what does it mean to come up with a game like this in this scenario? Two, your 12 strikeouts with no walks, second time that's happened in the history of the game in the postseason. The other was Thomas Seaver 41 years ago. Talk about that, both of those things.
GERRIT COLE: The first part of your question, it means a lot. The season is long. You go through aches and pains with your brothers. When it's on the line, you just want to give them -- you know, you want to perform. You want to give them a shot to win the game. I felt like we did that tonight.

Then as far as the second half of the question, I'm pretty thrilled with the no walks. Base runners in postseason games are kind of tough to deal with at times. Sometimes the walk is needed. But I think it just -- he was just dropping down the right signs, and we were just pounding the zone. Pretty special day.

Q. (Off microphone.)
GERRIT COLE: It's pretty cool. Maybe I'll have a glass of wine about it after this is all done.

Q. What do you know about Tom Seaver? Secondly, you talk about the brotherhood, but being here, how much has it been great for your career coming over here?
GERRIT COLE: Tom Seaver, high heat, nasty breaking ball, workhorse. Seaver and Sutton, both guys seem the same. That era is fun to watch from some of the clips I've been able to come by.

Then just being here is just, it's been an unbelievable opportunity, and I just try to take advantage of it the best I can. We have an unbelievable group that sells out every pitch. We don't make it about ourselves. We make it about each other.

Q. Gerrit, when you got here, you talked a lot about this team's offense and the way they help out their pitchers and how you're excited to be a part of that. That sixth inning today was proof of that. What did that do for you watching what was happening and to see how they were able to step up and take the lead and get the win here?
GERRIT COLE: Cookie was throwing the ball well today. He was giving them fits early. He kept the pitch count down, really mixing them in and out. Saw some uncomfortable swings. Saw some good at-bats early. But there's not a moment that's too big for really anybody on this team.

Marwin has had an unbelievable -- I mean, what a predicament. You've got two hits off -- he's got two hits off Carrasco at that point, and he's also having the best year of his career from the right side part of the plate. So really kind of puts you between a rock and a hard place. He stepped up, and so often times, I think in postseason games, we find going the other way really pays dividends. What a sweet hit.

Q. Gerrit, when you've had issues with walks, it's been with the breaking ball. At what point tonight did you realize your slider and curveball were exactly where you needed them to be?
GERRIT COLE: I wouldn't say they were exactly where I needed them to be. Lindor was all over that one. He was on a lot of stuff tonight. They were tough, man. I mean, I felt like I made a couple mistakes and got away with them. I made a mistake and got hammered. And then I had a pretty decent feel for the zone, but I think that came more from the fastball.

If you can constantly just put pressure on all four quadrants, it gives you a little more leverage to be able to fill the zone up with breaking balls and fastball counts -- or with breaking balls when guys are maybe sitting on the fastball that you've established.

I had good command with it. I was able to throw strikes with all four pitches, but I really just kept trying to pound the zone and stay aggressive.

Q. Mr. Cole, how close are you --
GERRIT COLE: Gerrit.

Q. -- as a pitching unit, and to see what Verlander went out and did yesterday and then for you to come and back him up just like that?
GERRIT COLE: Yeah, J.V. was on yesterday, especially early. We were able to pick him up with some early runs, and he kind of coasted through there. Bullpen picked him up in that jam in the sixth. We're a really tight-knit group. We communicate through every series the entire year. I think there's a more heightened communication now with more on the line and with the fact that you're really going to have to use everybody to be able to get through these postseason games, get through these super potent lineups.

There's conversations being had all the time. It's kind of your job. It's kind of what makes this clubhouse special, though, too.

Q. Gerrit, you mentioned the offense when you first arrived here in Houston. The one-two start with you and Verlander, is that kind of what you envisioned being possible, the dominance you can have in a playoff series in games 1 and 2?
GERRIT COLE: The offense is just tremendous. You have so many multidimensional type hitters. You have guys who are going to work the bat. You have guys that are going to ambush on pitches they're sitting on. You have guys that are going to slug. You have guys that are going to go the opposite way.

I think a lot of times on this team you're going to find a lot of those different attributes -- a lot of individual players have multiple attributes, like the gentleman sitting to my right.

I don't know. I don't really have any expectations. I've always just kind of prided myself on just taking the ball and just trying to give your team a chance to win, and I really don't try to make it any more complicated than that.

Someone asked me a question like that not that long ago. I mean, we expect to be good. There's no doubt we expect to be good, but this is a team effort. So we expect to keep our team in the ball game. I don't know about all the personal accolades or all the dominance or that kind of stuff, but we just want to put up a fight.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297