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AL DIVISION SERIES: RAYS VS ASTROS

October 5, 2019

Alex Bregman

Houston, Texas - postgame 2

Houston - 3, Tampa Bay - 1

Q. Alex, you've been hearing the MVP chants for a while. It's been going on through the regular season. What is different about the sound and sort of the feeling when you hear it in the postseason?
ALEX BREGMAN: It's a lot louder now. The environment that we've played in the last two days here is unmatched. And we love playing in front of these great fans. They know the game of baseball. They have fun. They're passionate. They love the 'Stros and we love them.

Q. Alex, you've been watching Gerrit for the last two seasons. Was that the most dominant you've seen him, especially in the situation, playoffs, 15 strikeouts to throw that hard that late in the game?
ALEX BREGMAN: I think one of the -- the only other time I've seen him that dominant was starting against Arizona last year. I think he punched 20, 15 on the mound, then he punched 5 times when he was hitting.

So he's unbelievable. Seriously, he's got the best stuff in baseball. He's a bulldog on the mound. He's more prepared than anybody. Him and Justin and Zack and Wade, these guys, they don't go out there and just say what happens, happens. They're prepared. They study as much as anybody. They set a great example for all of us.

To see Gerrit go out there and dominate the way he did, nobody was surprised because we know the preparation and work that he put in. We love playing behind him.

Q. Alex, talk about the significance of the home run, what it means to come through in that situation, the way the game was being played at that point.
ALEX BREGMAN: Just was trying to put a good swing on a pitch. Snell is tough, the reigning Cy Young. So I was just fortunate enough to get the barrel on it and get us off to a good start.

I think scoring first is huge in the postseason. Altuve did a great job of getting us on the board yesterday, breaking the ice.

Q. I know it's a cliched question. You're up 2-1, best of five. How do you look at things going forward?
ALEX BREGMAN: I think we've got to worry about the next pitch that -- Charlie's tough. We've got to worry about the first pitch of the game. We'll win that pitch. When that's over, we'll move to the second pitch.

They've got a really good team over there. They've got a really good pitching staff and an offense that competes and battles. And they're tough. They're tough to beat.

Q. Alex, we talk a lot about your offense and the offensive firepower that you all have. What does it mean to have Correa back, especially defensively in the field?
ALEX BREGMAN: It's huge. Carlos Correa was born for October. I think we've seen that in the -- throughout his career. In the postseason, he steps up. When he's not hitting, he's playing great defense. When he's at the plate, he's normally coming through in huge situations.

Today was just another example of that. He had a huge double to advance Yuli to third and give Martin an opportunity to drive in a run from third with less than two outs. This last at-bat, adding another insurance run in a line drive to right field, I mean, he's done it over and over again in the postseason.

He had a huge walk-off in the ALCS in '17, huge homers in the World Series. So to have him in there, it's special. He's an elite, elite, elite player in this game.

Q. Because, in the postseason, you only really face good pitching, when you hit a home run and it's just 1-0, is there a different feeling of elation to get that home run when you know that these are low scoring games and close games?
ALEX BREGMAN: I guess. I think the thing with our team is during the postseason, our best games that we've played during the postseason, we strung at-bats together. It's not necessarily going up there trying to hit a home run, but it's trying to put up a good at-bat for the next guy.

If we keep continuously putting up good at-bats, the next guy will come through. And I think when we have that mindset, we're really, really, really good offense.

Q. That's a great point about Correa, being born for October. What are Verlander and Cole born for?
ALEX BREGMAN: October.

(Laughter.)

Q. How many of your guys are born for October?
ALEX BREGMAN: We got a lot. I want to say everybody. Tell you this. Tonight, Roberto Osuna and Will Harris showed they're born for October. Osuna came in, huge punch-out in the 8th inning. Huge, huge, huge punch-out. Got a ground ball to me I should have turned a double play on. Then Will Harris came in and did what he does all year.

Q. Alex, Cole and Verlander get a lot of attention, but you are going to game 3 with Greinke on the mound. How confident do you feel with him on the hill to close it out?
ALEX BREGMAN: That sounds really good. I'm fired up. Game 3 is going to be a lot of fun. They've got a good team, and we've got Zack Greinke going for us. Unbelievable pitcher. He's had a Hall of Fame career and he's been great since he's been here with us.

Just like Verlander and Cole, he studies. He knows the game of baseball. He knows his strengths, and he has a plan that he's going to try and execute every time he takes the mound. We love playing behind him, and we're going to try and play good defense for him in Tampa, Game 3.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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