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MLB WORLD SERIES: DODGERS VS RED SOX

October 27, 2018

Chris Sale

Los Angeles, California - pregame 4

Q. If Eduardo NuÃ±ez had fallen down one time too many and not gotten up again, were you lobbied or been asked to play a position?
CHRIS SALE: I mean, that's something that you'd obviously have to ask AC. I don't know. I mean, I was the only guy left. It was me and Pom. So if that's how it shakes out, it shakes out.

Q. What did you think? We've asked everybody of what Nate on Eovaldi did yesterday, what was your impression?
CHRIS SALE: That was nothing short of incredible. What he did last night I think picked us up as a team. Same thing with DP, same thing with Nunie. I don't know if Nate's ever thrown back-to-back days in his career. And then to come out after one day off, throwing back-to-back days to throw into the seventh inning of a game that was high leverage, high intensity, that's everything you want in a ballplayer and a teammate. He picked us up big time last night. And obviously he's our veteran, but I'll never forget what he did.

Q. After a tough game like last night, is today and the rest of the series an opportunity to show your character of bouncing back from something like that?
CHRIS SALE: Absolutely. I think last night gave us a good opportunity to find out who we were. And I think today is an even bigger opportunity for that. That was a grind. That was the longest game any of us has probably ever been a part of. We obviously lost the game and took one in the gut.

So I think we picked ourselves up last night after that game, get collected, get some rest and come back and stay fighting. That's what got us here. We don't shy away from adversity. We don't back down from a challenge. And I think that's why we are where we are and guys in that clubhouse have stayed close and bonded.

Q. What was your personal experience? What did you do the whole game? Was it very odd just having it go that long and not play in it?
CHRIS SALE: Yeah, I mean I asked a couple of times if they wanted me to throw. Obviously when Nunie went down, another opportunity came up to get in that game in a different way. Like I said, same thing what Nate did, DP the same thing. He threw 90-something pitches, I believe, two days ago and put himself on the line for us. And Nunie just gutted up. I mean, like I said, that's just the character of the team, that's what got us here is grinding and putting it on the line for everybody in the clubhouse.

Q. Heading into what may be your final start of this season, how do you feel physically? How has the progression been coming along at this point for you in the postseason?
CHRIS SALE: I'm ready to go. I'm excited for the opportunity.

Q. Today Major League Baseball will announce the Reliever of the Year Award. Do you have a comment about Edwin Diaz?
CHRIS SALE: Yeah, he was amazing. We obviously saw him a couple of times. He was out there a lot, and he stepped up to the plate and he's obviously deserving of the award, and same thing with Hader. He was almost punching out two guys an inning, that was big. And what he did in the postseason was huge for his team.

Both of those guys are very well deserving of the accomplishment, and I think we'll see him for a while here.

Q. Have you ever done what Nathan Eovaldi did last night in terms of pitching three times in four days, high leverage at any level of baseball? And secondly, what is the fine line of the picture between laying it all out on the line and trying to have your best stuff?
CHRIS SALE: I think the second part of that is you've got to do what your team needs you to do. And you're not really worried about stuff as much as you're worried about just getting the job done. It doesn't really matter what stuff you have on a different day, if you can grind through an outing and do the job that your team needs you to do, that's the most important part.

The first part of the question, I don't know if there's anybody that's ever done what he's done, given the scenario. We're in Game 1, Game 2 and Game 3 of the World Series, freezing cold weather in Boston, worse the second night than the first night. And then we have a six-hour travel day, where there's not a whole lot of movement. And then he threw seven innings in the most high-leverage game of the year. Check the book, I don't know, but that's incredible by any standard. I don't care who you are, what you've seen, that's impressive.

Q. It might feel like a long way away right now, but tomorrow you might have a chance to pitch your team for a championship. What would it mean to you to be able to put this team in that position?
CHRIS SALE: Well, we've got to get there first. And we're focused on what we've got to do tonight. We'll worry about that when we get there tomorrow.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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