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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: ASTROS VS RED SOX

October 18, 2018

David Price

Houston, Texas - postgame 5

Red Sox - 4, Astros - 1

THE MODERATOR: Questions for David Price.

Q. David, when he's old enough to understand and asks you to tell him about tonight, what will you tell him?
DAVID PRICE: He was a trouper. He took a little nap right after the game started. This is three hours past his bedtime. But he's been to the last two games and stayed up longer than he's ever stayed up. So we appreciate it.

Q. What will you tell him about what it meant to you?
DAVID PRICE: It's one of the most special days I've ever had on the baseball field. So very special.

Q. Could you just walk us through when Alex told you you were going to make the start, and what sort of adjustments you made because of the short rest? And it was notable how much more you used your changeup.
DAVID PRICE: He texted me after -- on the off day, that Game 5 was a possibility, just depending on a couple of things. And we went through Game 3. I was in the bullpen. And then obviously yesterday he told me all hands on deck. I warmed up, had the next hitter. Then he made that really good play. And Workman and myself and Hembree were walking off the field back to the dugout from the bullpen yesterday, and AC's motioning to me that I had today. So that was awesome.

Q. In terms of using the changeup?
DAVID PRICE: It was good. It was good in the bullpen, warming up, it got better as the game went on. Made some adjustments with it, I think, after the fourth inning and it was huge.

Q. You said last night you thought maybe warming up in the bullpen would help you be sharper tonight. Did you feel that was the case?
DAVID PRICE: It helped me figure some things out, yeah. And I think that helped me tonight to be able to carry that over to today. That was huge.

Q. Your manager, in his first season as a manager is now going to the World Series. What has it been about Alex that's made it such a good fit for the team?
DAVID PRICE: Just his demeanor. You know, it doesn't change. I know it's easy to not change when your team wins 108 games in the regular season. But he hasn't changed one bit. Got two little twin girls that aren't letting him sleep, they aren't sleeping. Just for him to do what he's done for us this year has been sweet.

Q. You know what this means to the city of Boston. What does it mean to do it as part of this new group of Red Sox and what does it mean for you personally, this moment?
DAVID PRICE: It's very special for all of us. I think it's something that AC talked about in spring training, just asked, "If you want a World Series, raise your hand" -- at our first dinner the day before Game 1 of the regular season. I think it was Petey, Bogey, Petty, Bogey, Workman. I think we had three guys.

And for us to get to that point, to do what we did in the regular season, to do what we did against New York in the ALDS and to obviously beat the reigning champs, that was very special for all of us.

Q. You're locked in a 1-0 game against Verlander. Did anything change for you just in your mind, instead of watching the rest of this game, after Devers' home run, knowing there was a bit more of a cushion there?
DAVID PRICE: That was very big. The at-bat that Mitch had, with Tony almost making another good play in left field up against the wall, and then obviously Ian, with the runner on second base, you want to try and hit the ball to the right side. He was able to get him over and get on.

So to have that first and third. And for Raf to come up with that very big hit. He's come through like that for us quite a few times. That one, Chapman in New York, I think it was 104 mile an hour, for him to hit that ball into our bullpen, he steps up in big moments. He did the same thing yesterday in the first inning with that two-out single.

Q. Was there a moment for you that you felt, hey, I'm pitching the way I want to be pitching, that this is going to happen?
DAVID PRICE: I definitely felt good on the mound. I continued to tell myself: Just stay in the moment. Don't worry about the next hitter. Don't think about the next pitch. Just stay right here. And I was able to do that tonight. And it paid off. And that was one of the more special nights I've ever had on the baseball field.

Q. Is that what you're doing in those deep breathes, staying in the moment, when you --
DAVID PRICE: I do that -- I've done that for a very long time now. But that definitely helps.

Q. You've been previously on a couple of good Red Sox teams that kind of fizzled out in the postseason. Not much changes as far as the roster, just J.D. What's the difference in this team? 108 wins. Go on the road, Yankee Stadium. Here you win five straight games. What's the difference in this team?
DAVID PRICE: I don't want it to be a comparison between manager John and AC. And it's not. But AC has been huge for us all year long. Not that John wasn't huge or that John is not a good manager or whatever it is. You know, AC just fits this group really well. And he did it before our first day in spring training, just getting guys together, whether it's through text messages and phone calls and going out to lunch in January. Just getting everybody on the same page and making sure everybody has that same one common goal. And he's been phenomenal for us.

Q. Jackie got his shot with the Red Sox back in your Rays days. What's it been like to see him blossom as he has and now how happy are you for him to get MVP honors in this series?
DAVID PRICE: There's nobody on this team that I can think of in baseball that deserves it more than Jackie. Just, one, the player that he is and, two, more importantly, the person that he is. He continues to work. He continues to grind.

He continues to push forward through everything that he has to go through. Watching him line out, hitting balls, 100-plus miles an hour, routinely this year and last year, to see him get that MVP award, to get those big hits, I'm so pumped for him.

Q. Do you keep anything from tonight, like a memento, ball, or anything?
DAVID PRICE: I got the bag of sunflower seeds I was eating in the ninth inning. I made sure Pookie kept those. I'll have a bag of Davids.

Q. Where will they end up? Is there a room somewhere at your house, or is there something --
DAVID PRICE: No, I don't have a room in my house of my own stuff, or really anybody else's stuff. But I'll probably send it to my agent and he'll put it away for me.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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