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AL DIVISION SERIES: INDIANS VS ASTROS

October 6, 2018

AJ Hinch

Houston, Texas - postgame 2

Houston - 3, Cleveland - 1

Q. A.J., when you know you're going into the sixth inning, both teams are going to send the top of their lineup up against the starting pitcher for the third time. Did you kind of feel that inning was kind of defining the game?
A.J. HINCH: No. That's probably looking a little too far into it, because there's a lot of outs left. I don't think in postseason baseball you can ever define a game before you get the 27th out.

Obviously, we'd had decent at-bats, not great at-bats. Carrasco was really good. We couldn't get the ball off the ground. He kept getting a ground ball when he needed it. Gerrit Cole was exceptional. It was a matter of how the last 12 outs were going to play out on both sides.

But to answer your question, I didn't go into that inning knowing much more than we wanted to get something started to try to put some pressure on them.

Q. We talked so much about everything that Marwin does for your team. What did you feel about how he came up for you in that moment?
A.J. HINCH: Yeah, there's a couple parts of that inning that obviously became huge, and Marwin, for the better part of the first half and into the second half, was really battling to find his swing on both sides of the plate. It is so gratifying for the work that he put in to be able to come up big in that spot.

I love the fact that he went up there aggressive, looked slider early, hooked a ball down the line for a strike, and then came back and hit the ball the opposite field. Which everyone will say, Hey, it's great hitting when you hit the ball the opposite way.

But barrel contact off the ground into the outfield was huge, and I'm proud of him because he's had to fight and claw, and he's been a huge part of our success not only this year, but recent years, and that's pretty awesome to see him come through.

Q. Cole had been exceptional through six innings, but after that long stretch when he was in the dugout during the sixth, did you second-guess bringing him out for the seventh inning? He just blew through that inning.
A.J. HINCH: I didn't have any doubt I was going to send him out for the seventh. I think he had a long layoff, obviously, then he came out -- and he was so good today. It's hard to take the ball out of his hand when he's so dominant.

I did think he was out of bullets at the end where it's not easy getting through their lineup. 12 punch, that's going to exert a lot of energy. You can look at a number all you want in pitch count, and it doesn't represent what these guys put into those pitches.

Pretty easy decision on both sides. I mean, one, he was going to go back out in the seventh. Number two, taking him out after seven, I got Pressly, Osuna, McCullers available. I had a whole bullpen available. I felt we could piece together the last six outs we needed.

Q. A.J., how specifically has Marwin's right-handed swing evolved and improved throughout the season?
A.J. HINCH: Well, not just because he did it today, but it's the whole field now. He was very pull oriented early -- when I first met him and got to know him early in '15, he was very pull oriented, which this ballpark can do to a right-handed hitter, being how short it is.

But it's a little bit more well-rounded now. He's got the ability to move the ball around the field. He's gotten to be a smarter right-handed hitter, where he's not just trying to ambush all fastballs. He's into the counts. I think his bat path is cleaner. I think his pitch selection has gotten better, and his production has come with it.

Q. What happened to Jose going down the line, and how is he?
A.J. HINCH: Well, when he fell, I think he banged his right knee on the ground, and then it was a little uncomfortable for him as he ran. I don't know if he hit the base with it. So he had a little bit of knee soreness when we got out there. He's been battling this for most of the second half. He went on the DL with it. There was a little bit of a scare, a little bit of uncertainty -- when I asked him, What happened? What did you do? I don't know, but it hurt. And as some time passed, he felt a little bit better.

He actually went to second on his own during that at-bat, so he obviously felt good enough to do that. Then I sent him on the 3-2. He scored from second. I mean, it's October, man. He probably doesn't feel great, but I think he'll be fine.

Q. 12 strikeouts, no walks. The only guy to do better in the postseason was Tom Seaver with 13. What does that say about where Cole was at and how much he helped you?
A.J. HINCH: Yeah, he dominated the game. He's as focused -- I say this about Verlander, it's like copy/paste. He was focused. He made a mistake, and he learned from it with the Lindor homer. He was emotional. I loved the emotion off the mound when he's getting big strikeout after big strikeout. This is one of the best offenses in the league. They can do damage. They can put long at-bats together. He used all his pitches. He was creative.

What else can I say? He was awesome.

Q. You say "what else can you say." You've been saying it all season about your pitching staff. But back-to-back games, three hits allowed, three runs total, you couldn't have drawn that up any better. With that confidence that they seem to have that a run's going to come from the offense whenever it comes has to be --
A.J. HINCH: No, they want to be perfect. Our pitching staff is really good. They want a shutout every day, and they don't care who you match up against, teams that can dominate, teams that can't. They prepare as good as you would expect. They execute at an elite level. They get outs quickly if they need it. They punch guys when they need it. Very few walks, excellent stuff across the board. How many compliments can I give our pitching staff?

When we do that, our position players know exactly what we have as an opportunity to play behind this pitching staff. We played great defense today. We put all that together, we're a tough team to beat.

Q. What is kind of the mindset now that you're going to Cleveland with a chance to wrap this up?
A.J. HINCH: Just try to win the series. This is not our first playoff series. We know it's not over. We have a day off tomorrow. We'll have an optional workout. We're not going to take anything for granted. Our mindset will be get after Game 3 and try to do everything you can to win it and end the series.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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