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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: ASTROS VS RED SOX

October 14, 2018

Josh Reddick

Boston, Massachusetts - pregame 2

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Josh.

Q. You and Alex and others have talked a number of times, especially in this situation the important thing is to keep the pedal to the metal after winning Game 1. Is that easier said than done?
JOSH REDDICK: Yeah. You look across the way and that team's is pretty darned good over there from what they bring top to bottom. We know it's not going to be an easy task.

Our mindset is to, like you said, keep our foot on the gas pedal. And if we get to these guys early, hopefully they'll falter.

Q. You know what it's like to play in this ballpark and what last night's win means in terms of trying to gain back home field advantage. But what do you expect from this Red Sox team in terms of desperation tonight, if any?
JOSH REDDICK: We've already read they're all in tonight. So we saw from them announcing their third and fourth game starter, they're kind of treating it like a wild card game. So they know how important, just as much as we do, know how important this game is to win going back home. So it makes sense what they're doing; they're going to have all hands on deck.

And I think to an extent that's what we're going to be like today minus our starters between Dallas and Charlie. So we know how tough this team can be in this ballpark. These fans really get behind them, as we saw from last night in that fifth inning, they get behind once they smell blood.

So it's going to be a fun night as much as an interesting night tonight.

Q. How loose can the hitters be knowing you had yesterday JV going, you've got Gerrit and you've got Dallas going, just in a tight game that you guys know your pitchers got you?
JOSH REDDICK: We know how they can keep us in a lot of ballgames and give us the opportunity to go out there and give them a lead. It's pretty easy with those guys on there because we've seen what Gerrit can do all year with the strikeout numbers and keeping us in ballgames and giving us a chance to really erupt like we did last night whether it's in the fourth or the eighth inning where we can really do damage. That's one thing those guys do fantastically, is just keep us in ballgames, to be able to score runs for them.

Q. How do you explain what you went through offensively this year and what you guys are able to do right now in the postseason?
JOSH REDDICK: I mean, just personally a down year for me, just kind of got out of some approaches I had last year. But once playoff time kicks around, those numbers are irrelevant and you start over at zero, and you've got to hit the reset button.

My biggest focus this year was looking back at all the highlight stuff, I got caught up in last year with what teammates were doing. I tried to get in that spotlight and tried to hit the long ball and have part of that.

This time around, focused on just being the guy that got on, especially now with hitting ninth -- eighth and ninth, it's a lot easier to kind of relax and get on base for guys like George, Altuve and Bregman, to be able to get a little spark in the bottom of the lineup. I guess I'm trying to be like Tony Kemp was for us all year.

Q. How easy was it for you mentally to just pull back from that spotlight or wanting to be in that spotlight, and also how easy or difficult is it for you guys to come back in in October and just turn it back on?
JOSH REDDICK: It was pretty easy for me. Last year I think I came in hitting, I think it was 2 and 5 and 6, until I think the end of the ALCS last year.

So I think it all starts with my mindset and when I go into the box just not trying to do everything on the field at one time with one swing. Just going out there, working counts. Trying to get good pitches to hit. I know as clichÃ© as that may sound, that's what it's about.

It's just about going in there with the right mindset. And you have to repeat the second question. I forgot already. Sorry.

Q. How easy or difficult is it for everyone in the lineup to just turn things back on in October, especially given like the injuries that you guys saw?
JOSH REDDICK: I think it's just a matter we have times to reflect on last year, we can look back at a lot of good moments that we put them together last year, and I think that's one way to get back to it.

And I think everybody takes the same mindset, like I said, the season is behind us. We've got to work on new numbers, even though playoff numbers are kind of irrelevant, personally just a matter of getting the win. That's what we worry about. We worry about the team being total as a whole and just trying to get that win. And I think JV put it best, is we don't have one hero every night, as long as we have a hero, we don't care.

Q. How much time do you guys spend on your defensive prep and alignments before games? As an example last night, Vazquez, two feet behind Altuve, you had to be a little worried about a ball over your head in that situation.
JOSH REDDICK: Kind of, yeah, you look behind you and there's about 100 feet behind me with this Red Sox Fenway Park. So it's definitely nerve wracking, but our guys take a lot of long time to break down swings of guys and how their tendencies are to hit balls to certain parts of the field.

And not only that for me personally in the outfield, with George and I out there, it's pretty easy to get along with him out there.

We always know where each other is. And he's always got my back. I've always got his.

But I rely on Gary Pettis. When he tells me to move, I go. And if I see something, he has the willingness to let me move myself, when I see something in the swing.

So our guys in the analytic room work day and night, even on flights, in and out, to make sure they have everything right.

Q. You mentioned the fans. You obviously played in this ballpark. You've seen a lot here. They were kind of taken out of the game last night both by Verlander and the way the game went. What are you expecting for an atmosphere here tonight? And you've seen it here before.
JOSH REDDICK: I think they put the Game 1 behind them. They come back out loud. Going back to them, they know and we know how important this game is. These fans, they're true baseball fans. So they know, one, how big this game is and, two, how to support their home team.

As being a former player here years ago, I realize one thing here, coming in, is it's always fun to play here and you put the history behind that, you put the names that have come through here, but it's just a true baseball ballpark.

These fans, they're going to get on you as a visiting player. But they're not going to take it over the edge, not going to go over the line with too much being said, but they're going to let you know how they feel.

And I could have listed off several things last night I got called for, from ski mask, from shredder, all kinds of things. But it was cold out there and windy, so I was trying to be warm.

But it's a very fun place to play coming in here, if you're a home player or visiting player. And that's one of the things I tell these guys, enjoy it here, because this is one of the few places where you can feel like it's a history ballpark and it's a legendary ballpark. You feel like you're playing back in the 1920s as well as in the early 2000s.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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