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MLB WORLD SERIES: DODGERS VS RED SOX

October 27, 2018

Mitch Moreland

Boston, Massachusetts - postgame 4

Red Sox - 9 Dodgers - 6

Q. Mitch, you're sitting there and you're watching Hill pitch as well as he did, and the offense sort of struggle the way that it was to that point. How much responsibility did you take in the 7th to sort of get things going there for the guys?
MITCH MORELAND: Yeah, in that situation obviously we kind of stalled out there for a few innings, even going back to last night. It had been a grind. And anytime you come up with a situation like that, you want to make something happen. But we had two guys go up there and build an inning before me, and just we kept grinding and kept grinding, and finally gave ourselves an opportunity by putting some guys on base and able to capitalize and get a good pitch in and put a swing on it.

Q. It's just to see some of the more known stars struggle in the series, and to have guys like you contribute and carry the offense, what does it say about the offense overall?
MITCH MORELAND: Yeah, I mean that's something we've taken pride in all year. We've won 108 games, and obviously we've got some guys, MVPs and that-type guys on our team. But it's taken all 25 of us to get where we are today. And we put ourselves in this position, something that we worked for since day one, and we're feeling good right now. It's something that we've kind of counted the days down and the wins down. So we've got one more to go and that's our goal right now.

Q. Just to piggyback on that, you played in the World Series before. To be one win away for you, personally what are the emotions like right now?
MITCH MORELAND: Obviously excited. We're in a great spot. But speaking of the World Series before, I know that it's not over until it's over, until the last pitch. So just trying to stay level-headed. Like I said, we went into the postseason saying we had to get 11 wins, and we've got ten right now. We've got one more to go. It will be a lot better when we get that 11th one.

But that's the mindset right now, we've got to continue to do what we've been doing and get that last one.

Q. I don't know if you were in the on-deck circle when Chris was firing up the team in the dugout. Did you hear anything about that or did teammates relate to you what he passionately was trying to get across?
MITCH MORELAND: No, I've heard about it in the media questions about it so far. But to be honest with you, I didn't hear anything. And I think I was downstairs maybe hitting or stretching or getting ready or something because just watching the game, I felt like my spot right be coming up pretty soon or my number might be called, so I was trying to get ready. I couldn't tell you what he said. I'm sure it was something to fire us up, and obviously it worked. So it was a good one for us.

Q. Very tough loss last night, obviously. But one of the things, the story resonating is Eovaldi and what he did. Joe Kelly just said, "I was sore this morning and then I thought how would Nate be."
MITCH MORELAND: That sounds like a bracelet.

Q. In a different, weird way, did that performance inspire you in any way?
MITCH MORELAND: Man, how could it not? Even if you don't play baseball, what he's been able to do obviously coming in those first two games and shutting the door for us late, I think it was the eighth inning both games or maybe the seventh, out in the seventh one game, but he stood out there last night and just carried us. And everybody was trying so hard to get some runs for the guy.

But, yeah, that was special. That's something that's one of the coolest things I've seen on a baseball field. Me and Joe were actually kidding in the dugout, like he said, "I pitched that inning for him." And I said, "I hit that homer for him." Yeah, he definitely, he led the way for us. And that's what our team is about. We lean on each other. And believe in each other. He did a great job for us yesterday.

Q. You've maybe spent more time with Steve Pearce than anyone on the team. What can you tell us about him?
MITCH MORELAND: Yeah, obviously Pearcie, he's a beauty, man. He's came over here and he's done nothing but produce. But he's a great teammate. A good dude. But he fits right into the clubhouse. And obviously we welcome all three of those guys that came over in the middle of the year with open arms, and they've been great for us. Pearcie stepped up time and time again for us, and came up with big hits, big plays. He's done a great job.

Q. Your team in the late innings seemed somewhat down, you were down 4-0 and you come up and hit the home run. What did that feel like emotionally, and the fact that you really crushed that one, what did it feel like physically?
MITCH MORELAND: Physically it was great. It's something that I was kind of watching the game a little bit. And like I said, it wouldn't have happened if we didn't build an inning right there, get a couple of guys on. Those guys grinding out at-bats. It was a matter of time. With the way we play, we're constantly trying to get some guys on base, put pressure on the other side. So we got that chance right there. And I saw him throw a couple of changeups to Jackie up in the zone. I decided, why not sit on that one first pitch? And when he threw it, I saw it pretty good, and put a good swing on it.

Q. Congratulations on the win. Can I ask you a couple of things, first of all, and you may have talked about this before, but the whole concept of being down 4-0, even your manager said that there didn't seem to be much energy. It didn't look good at that point. What gives this team the ability, with the Red Sox to come back? And secondly your thoughts from being one game away from what you want to do?
MITCH MORELAND: Yeah, with our mindset, we can change a game quick. We play 27 outs or however many was last night. We're going to grind it until the last out, the last pitch, and we've proven that all year. We've had a lot of come-from-behind wins. We can throw a big inning together pretty quick.

It's a special group. Our offense has done some stuff that I don't know, but I'm pretty sure there's not too many teams that have done what they've been able to do over the course of the year. It's been special to be a part of and to see what we can accomplish. And I think tonight was just another example of that. Obviously we put ourselves right where we need to be. And we've got one more to go. So that's our mindset right now.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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