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AL DIVISION SERIES: YANKEES VS RED SOXOctober 9, 2018Andrew BenintendiNathan EovaldiBrock HoltNew York, New York - postgame 3 Boston - 16, New York - 1 Q. Nathan, you've obviously had a lot of success against the Yankees since you came over to the Sox. What was the most important part of tonight's game for you? NATHAN EOVALDI: I felt like our offense, we were able to score some runs early, which made it easier for me to pitch. I feel like my fastball command and my cutter were really effective tonight, and I was just trying to use their aggressiveness against them and try and get some quick outs. Q. When Alex was in here, he was saying, the way you pitch, like you were pitching at Tampa Bay or pitching at Fenway Park, you didn't let the atmosphere or the crowd affect you. How is it you were able to do that in a situation like this? NATHAN EOVALDI: It was tough. Warming up before the game, the crowd was pretty relentless down there in the bullpen area. I think once you get going and you get that first pitch out of the way, you're able to settle down, and it's just another game. You go out there, and you try and attack the hitters. I was effective, I felt like, from the first pitch on, and we were able to get some quick outs and get back to the dugout. Q. Nathan, given how tumultuous your last few years in baseball have been, how big is tonight for you? What were your emotions going into it and obviously coming out of the game, knowing the work that you did? NATHAN EOVALDI: It was a special moment for me. I don't think it's really quite settled in yet. To be able to pitch the way I did and then for us to score as many runs as we did, it was a big game for us tonight. We needed to win this one going into tomorrow. Hopefully, we'll be able to clinch here tomorrow and move on to the next round. Q. Brock, can you talk about your game today. Is this a dream come true for you, Brock? BROCK HOLT: Yeah, this one I'll remember for a long time. Obviously, you don't go into the game expecting to make history or do anything like that, but let alone score 16 runs against a good New York Yankee team. So it was a good night overall for everyone. Like I said, this is one I'll remember for a long time, and hopefully we can carry this over into tomorrow. Q. Brock, following that up, I'm assuming, when you went up in the ninth against Romine, that you knew you needed a home run for the cycle. What was your mindset? What were you trying to do? And then when did you find out that it was the first one in postseason history after you got it? BROCK HOLT: Well, obviously, yeah, I knew I needed a home run. I saw Romine was on the mound. So you get a little antsy when a position player is on the mound. I told everyone, Get me up. I need a home run for a cycle. I was going to try to hit a home run, but I figured I'd ground out to first, be out in front of something. But I scooted up in the box a little bit, and I was going to be swinging at anything and try to hook anything. Obviously, you don't expect to hit a home run, but I was trying to. I was trying to hit a home run. That's probably the first time I've ever tried to do that. I rounded the bases, and seeing everyone going nuts in the dugout was a pretty cool moment for me. Like I said, tonight is something I'll remember for a long, long time. Q. And when did you find out it was the first one in postseason history? BROCK HOLT: Postgame interview. Yeah, Lauren told me in the postgame interview. I didn't know that. So that's pretty special. To do it here at Yankee Stadium, like I said, special night and a good night all around for the Red Sox. Hopefully, we can carry this over. Q. Nathan, even though you've pitched here before, and even though fans here are rooting against you tonight instead of for you, was there any comfort just that you got from being here, pitching here for quite a while? NATHAN EOVALDI: Yeah. I mean, I've always enjoyed pitching here. I feel like that's just baseball. Having the crowds, it's a fun baseball atmosphere. When you come here, you know the crowd's going to be against you. I try to turn it around and try to keep them out of it as much as possible. I know that, maybe if I give up a free base or give up a couple hits in a row, the crowd's going to get back into it, and I don't want that to happen to get those guys going over on the other side. Try to make it a game within itself, and try and get the guys out as fast as possible and keep the crowd out of the game. Q. And just your familiarity with some of the guys in the Yankee clubhouse from being a teammate of theirs, does that in any way help you when you're pitching against them? NATHAN EOVALDI: No, I don't think so. I still got to go out there and execute my pitches and try to get the guys out. I've had the recent success against those guys, so that helps. I didn't have to change up my game plan too much, but, again, I still have to go out there and execute all my pitches and stick to the game plan. Q. For Brock, with all that you've been through the past couple of years, what does a night like this mean to you? BROCK HOLT: Like I said, it's a night that I'll remember for a long, long time. The last two years, it's part of my story now. I feel like I'm a good baseball player when healthy and when right and given an opportunity. So you try to stay ready. In the position I'm in, you try to stay ready, and whenever your name's called, you try to do what you can to help the team. I was able to do that tonight. Our offense 1 through 9 was pretty good tonight. Good at-bats all the way through the game, and obviously Nate throwing seven innings, one run, and kind of setting the tone for us and putting up zeros. When we score and our pitchers put up zeros, it keeps the momentum on our side. He was able to do that tonight, and it was fun for everyone. Q. Andrew, when you look at the track record of just this season alone of how these teams have really beaten each other up, does that help you close the door on a night like tonight even quicker understanding the pendulum could swing so quickly the other way? ANDREW BENINTENDI: Yeah, I was trying to think honestly before this series, it seems like every game we've played, it's been a huge deficit or a blowout, like you said. Yeah, we're going to try to take this into tomorrow. It's over. We've enjoyed it. Now we can focus on tomorrow and get after it. Q. Brock, how and when did you find out that you were going to be playing today? And how have you stayed sharp without regular at-bats recently? BROCK HOLT: I found out last night. A.C. sent me a text and said I'm playing somewhere tomorrow. He said either first base or second base. I knew I was going to be in here. I don't have very good numbers against Severino, so I told -- I sent him a text, and I said, Are you sure? Yeah, A.C. does a good job of letting the guys that don't play every day, letting us know when we're playing so we can kind of mentally prepare in that way. That makes a huge difference, knowing that you're going to be in the game. So he told me last night, and show up, get ready to go. We had a good night. Q. For Andrew or Nathan, how much buzz was there when Brock comes up in the final inning there? And just kind of overall what has he meant to you guys as a team this year? ANDREW BENINTENDI: I mean, usually when stuff like that's going on, you don't really talk about it. Everybody knows, but they don't talk about it. Brock is going around, Get me up. I need a homer. He wasn't shy about it. Everybody was rooting for him. I mean, Kinsler put a good at-bat together. BROCK HOLT: He worked the walk. ANDREW BENINTENDI: Yeah, he worked the walk and got Brock up there, and he did what he did. I think, if you ask anybody on our team, Brock does a lot, a lot more than people see. He's a great teammate, and he'll do anything for you. So I think everybody in our clubhouse is glad that he's on our side. Q. Andrew, first time through against Severino, what were your impressions of his stuff? Did it seem like you guys would be able to get to him tonight? ANDREW BENINTENDI: Like the first time through the order? Q. Yeah. ANDREW BENINTENDI: You never know. I mean, the crowd was into it that first inning. I don't even remember the first inning, what happened. I think once everybody saw him -- I mean, we faced these guys so many times this year. It's kind of a cat-and-mouse game back and forth. We knew what our game plan was and what we were trying to do, and we were able to go up there and get him out of the game pretty early. Q. For Brock and Andrew. Looking forward to tomorrow, what's it like to face CC Sabathia? ANDREW BENINTENDI: It's tough. Everything moves. He doesn't throw a straight ball. He throws that big slider. We'll have to break down some video, I guess, and see if we can find anything. But we're going to stick with the same approach and try to put good at-bats together and see what happens. BROCK HOLT: I don't have very many at-bats against him. He throws with his left arm. I normally don't get in on those games. No, he's been doing it for a long, long time and been really, really good. I think, if you ask anyone over there, they want him on the mound. We've got to get ready for him, and we'll see what happens. Q. Brock, I'm sorry if you answered this already. I got here a little bit late. Two questions. One, I saw you going through your cell phone in the locker room. A lot of messages, I imagine? And secondly, has it sunk in? First guy in I don't know how many playoff games it's been, to hit for the cycle. Has it sunk in yet? BROCK HOLT: A lot of text messages. I'm probably not going to get back to everyone. I had to take my watch off, so it keeps dinging while Nate is trying to answer his questions. I'm trying to be a good teammate over here. Like I said, it's a really special night. I don't think it sank in. Whenever you say first player ever to do something, I mean, that's crazy to even think about. A lot of text messages, really good night for me, and I'm glad that my wife and little boy were here to watch it. So I can't wait to get to them and give them a big hug. Q. Andrew, the double to right field that kind of opened up the game for you guys there, kind of take me through that at-bat there. ANDREW BENINTENDI: Yeah. He had just walked Mookie on four pitches, and he threw the first pitch. It was a ball. I mean, at that point, you pretty much can bank on if it's going to be a fastball, it's going to be something to hit. I fouled it off. After that, I think I swung at the next pitch out of the zone, and I was trying to stay short and just put the ball in play and hopefully get something to the outfield and at least get one run in. I hooked it down the right field line, and I was fortunate enough to keep it fair. Q. Brock, after you double-checked that you were supposed to be in the lineup, did Alex tell you why he went with you? BROCK HOLT: No, he didn't tell me why. I figured I'd get in there eventually. I didn't play the first two games, and, you know, mix things up. I played quite a bit throughout the season. Didn't sit for too long, you know, too many days in a row. So I figured I'd get plugged in there somewhere at some point. He told me I was playing, and like I said, it really helps us get ready mentally and just be able to prepare. Like if you know you're playing, you can better prepare yourself to be ready that day. He's done a great job with that all year, letting us know, and it's no different now. Q. How do you feel? BROCK HOLT: I'm glad you said that in English first because I wouldn't have understood it. No, it feels great. To be able to do it on this stage and at this stadium, and in the postseason is pretty special. I wouldn't have been able to do it if 1 through 9 our guys didn't put together the bats they put together and gave me the opportunity to get up that many times. Like I said, it was a pretty special night for me, but a pretty special night for all of us, Nate and the whole offense. So pretty fun. Q. Andrew and Brock, can you talk about Porcello, and what will it take for Rick to close it out tomorrow or today? I don't know what time it is. ANDREW BENINTENDI: Yeah, Rick's a bulldog. He'll go out there and compete. He doesn't care what situation he's thrown in. You saw the other night, he came in in the eighth inning. He just wants to win. We're confident in him. He goes out there, and he attacks. He's going to take it right to him. Hopefully, we can put up a good number of runs tomorrow and get out of here with a win. BROCK HOLT: Yeah, Porcello will be ready. He's been good for us all year. I don't know. I mean, you could put any of our guys out there, but for him, like Andrew said, he's a bulldog. He throws strikes. He pounds the zone. Like you said, he wants to win. I think he'll obviously be ready for tomorrow. We're lucky to have him on the mound, that's for sure. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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