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MLB WORLD SERIES: NATIONALS VS ASTROS

October 23, 2019

Josh Reddick

Houston, Texas - pregame 2

Q. As a guy who's had a lot of catcher interferences in your career, is it something that should be reviewable, especially after a situation like last night?
JOSH REDDICK: Way before the situation last night. I think it should be something that needs to be looked at because, you look at last night and that inning keeps moving on and there's a tying run, bases loaded and one out with Jose-y up and this little squibbler up the line, if anything, he come home. But I think we tie right there. Hundred percent it should be a reviewable play.

Q. Is that frustrating when you hit the mitt and the call is not there?
JOSH REDDICK: Absolutely. Yeah, it's very frustrating. Just look back at it and see what kind of things could have happened at that point.

It's just one way that the game just hasn't changed yet.

Q. I know there's a lot of baseball left to be played, Carlos said last night that he and you are looking at this as a must-win. Do you see it that way?
JOSH REDDICK: It possibly can be, yeah. You definitely don't want to go down 0-2 at your home ballpark, especially in these circumstances.

But I think one thing we did do positive last night was work a lot of pitches out of Max Scherzer, their bullpen early and kind of put them against the ropes to get their guys out there early. I think that's one thing we can take away from this game is we got a look at their best guys, and that definitely will help us out later down the road.

Q. Does it change any mindset when you think this is a must-win type deal?
JOSH REDDICK: Yeah, but I don't think we go into it like that. A lot of people can look at it as a must-win. Like I said, you obviously want to take the split out of here and go to their house and do a lot better.

But I don't think there's anything talk about must-win. I think we all realize that it probably is, but we're not approaching it like that.

Q. Obviously you guys have hit with runners in scoring position beautifully, and then hit a little bit of a dry spell in the postseason. Is that a matter of getting one or two, and then as you've told us so many times, one of those builds on the next and the next and the next, and you guys pass the baton, as you like to say?
JOSH REDDICK: Absolutely, yeah. It's crazy because we talk about it all the time, or at least I do, about how we haven't even gotten to be our offense that we normally are yet, and we're still here in World Series, competing and losing by one run. That's definitely one thing.

Once this lineup does click, and obviously it needs to click soon before it's too late and we're sitting on the couch. Once we do, I think it's going to be a scary situation for those guys over there because we can put up quick numbers pretty fast.

Q. Strasburg has been terrific in the postseason. What has been your experience over the years facing him?
JOSH REDDICK: It's been very limited for me. I got him I think with the Dodgers and once here. I think you go into these at-bats expecting to strike out against a guy like that. He has so many that he usually gets them, but you have to zone in. When he gives you one in you zone you can't miss it because that's probably going to be the only one you get.

Q. Has there been throughout for you any tricks to handling the pressure of the postseason, you treat it like a normal game, some players say they're nervous their first time up? Can you focus on and put all the distractions out of your head?
JOSH REDDICK: I'm 32 and I'm still nervous before every game of the postseason, every game. I think it's something I can build on, but at the same time learning how to control that and maybe take a step back, do a little bit of breathing, slow the game down, which a lot of people who are so great at on this team.

But I was telling the guys yesterday I was holding my hand out, it was shaking a little bit. This is exciting, this is the World Series. Why wouldn't you want to be excited? But at the same time, nerves do kick in whether it's your first one or your second one. I look to it as a positive.

Q. Does stepping out and exhaling do it for you?
JOSH REDDICK: Sometimes. Sometimes. Not all the time. There's a lot of different times where I've got to take a little bit more of an approach and kind of go down and get out of the situation, sit underneath the tunnel, and just get away from the game a little bit. Sometimes that tends to help.

Q. Last night Soto said after the game he said it helped battling against Cole in Spring Training. Do you have any insight against this pitching staff that you played them that much in Spring Training or was it overrated?
JOSH REDDICK: Probably something overlooked and overrated. I didn't even know until you just told me that Gerrit even faced those guys. So it must have been a situation where it was his day to throw and at home.

The positive thing about having to share a stadium with those guys is you do play them so much. Maybe that could have been something for him to look back on, he had good at-bats off him in Spring Training. If it's something you feel like a positive then so be it.

But I don't know, I just think it's a coincidence.

Q. Do you remember anything about Stras?
JOSH REDDICK: I don't think I faced him -- yeah, did I face him in Spring -- yeah, I did. Fastballs and I think a lot of changeups off of him. Could be something I could be potentially looking for at this point to kind of look at. Was it last year, two years ago we faced him and I got a lot of off-speed and a lot of fastballs late.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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