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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: YANKEES VS ASTROS

October 19, 2019

Carlos Correa

Houston, Texas - pregame 6

Q. AJ is going to go with Brad Peacock to start things. He's been there and done that with you guys. What do you think about that?
CARLOS CORREA: He's experienced. He's been here before. I think he looked great last night. His stuff looked really good, his command was there. He's healthy, and when he's healthy he's as good as he can get.

We're excited to go out there, see him put in the work, and give us a chance to win the game.

Q. A number of the Texans players are wearing Astros gear on their way to Indianapolis for a big game. What do you think about that?
CARLOS CORREA: That was awesome. We're in this together. We're representing Houston. We support each other. We watch every single one of their games in the clubhouse when they're playing. I feel like they do the same.

So to see their support is really awesome. It's great.

Q. You guys have had quick turnarounds before, obviously several during the regular season. What are some of the keys to getting off a plane really early in the morning and being able to play that evening?
CARLOS CORREA: I think it doesn't matter in the playoffs. Playoff pace is different. The adrenaline kicks in and then you forget about how tired you are, how late you got in. So when we go out there and step on the field, we're going to go out there and play a hundred percent, give it our all, and we're going to try to win the game.

Q. Were there any conversations on the way back or anything just among your teammates about what you're expecting out of tonight, what you want to see out of tonight, or is it just all business at this point?
CARLOS CORREA: The only conversation I heard last night was people snoring.

Q. Who is the worst?
CARLOS CORREA: Who's the worst? I think I'm the worst, but I cannot hear myself, but that's what people say.

Q. (In Spanish.)
CARLOS CORREA: (In Spanish.)

Q. How big was it for Verlander to give you as many innings as he did, and preserve most of the bullpen?
CARLOS CORREA: It was huge. He settled in after the first inning, and he gave us a chance to win the game. We just didn't score runs after that. But keeping the bullpen fresh is huge, especially on a bullpen day like tonight. We've got to go out there and try to win this game so we can move on to the World Series.

But it was huge. It was huge. It was a great performance by him after that first inning. The bullpen is fresh. The guys are feeling good. The guys are ready to go.

Q. I know it's kind of a reality of 2019 baseball, but you guys haven't done a ton of bullpen games over the course of the season. So here we are at Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, the biggest game of the year, both teams are doing a bullpen day. From your perspective does that seem a little weird?
CARLOS CORREA: You know what's weird? It's facing a different pitcher every time you step in the box. We're used to two or three times seeing the same pitcher, especially in the playoffs.

With Tampa we felt like every day was a bullpen day. So we're kind of used to it. We're ready to go out there and play the best we can as a team and try to win this game. But it's definitely weird, it's not what you're used to. At the same time you have to adjust, they're going to try to match up against our hitters, and we've got to adjust and be able to put great at-bats together in order for us to win.

Q. Alvarez has been a huge part of your lineup the last few months, he's struggled this series, but AJ is sticking with him. Have you seen anything with him that you can impart to get him going?
CARLOS CORREA: Yeah, we've talked a lot. I feel like since he got to the team, I feel I've identified with him, rookie coming up. A Latin rookie coming up and performing right away.

I've given him a lot of advice throughout the regular season but not in the playoffs. I feel like it's more about how your mental approach is towards the game. He's an unbelievable talent. He's going to be fine. We've struggled at some point, it's happening right now for him. But we trust him. We believe in him. He's one of our main guys in the lineup and we're going to stick with him until the last day of the season.

So with that being said, I know he's going to break out of that slump soon and he's going to swing the bat real well for us and give us a lot of wins coming forward.

Q. Players over time have always said if we played with the intensity every day that we do in October during the regular season we'd be burned out by the end of May. What is the difference? From a fan standpoint the stress level of every pitch is so much higher than the regular season. What's it like for you guys?
CARLOS CORREA: Yeah, every pitch counts in the playoffs. I feel like my previous movement at some point on every single pitch and every single time you want to be on top of everything, moving with every play and make sure you're in every spot. It's tiring.

During the regular season sometimes with a hitter you take some pitches off here and there. In the postseason you've got to be locked in. Every second of the game you've got to be locked in, and that wears you out.

But the adrenaline in the playoffs is different. It's a different animal. So much fun. You've got to try to win every single game. In the regular season you're doing this every single day so you've got your routine and you prepare and you go play a game, win or lose you go home, and then you do it again the next day.

Right here there's no room for losses. We want to win every single game, so you have to be on point every single day.

Q. What does this mean to you? Of course with the loss last night, you've got a chance to go to the World Series at home in front of the home crowd. What kind of difference does that make from your standpoint?
CARLOS CORREA: It's a big difference when you're playing in front of your home crowd. I feel like we feed off their energy, the energy here in Houston. It's great. Our fans are awesome. They show up, they support us big time since day 1.

It's going to be great to be able to win the American League Championship here. With that being said, we have to go out there and take care of business tonight.

Q. Given the fact you've been there and done this before, but what's it like in comparison for the first time when you went to the World Series or had a chance to get there? Here you are one win away now, is it a different feeling? Is it easier to deal with now because you've been there?
CARLOS CORREA: I feel like last time we were here against the Yankees we were down 3-2 and we were all talking in the clubhouse like, We're not going to go home, we're going to go out there. We've got to win two games, we've got to do what it takes.

Right now we can't be overconfident. We've got to go out there and feel like it's a must-win tonight, it's the last game of the season. We've got to go out there and try to win this game. No matter how we do it, we've got to come up with a win tonight.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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