AL WILDCARD GAME: RED SOX VS YANKEES

October 5, 2021

Nathan Eovaldi

Fenway Park

Boston Red Sox

Postgame Press Conference

Red Sox 6, Yankees 2

Q. What turned your game around since the last time you played the Yankees two or three weeks ago.

NATHAN EOVALDI: I felt off mechanically the last time I faced the Yankees. I still have to compete and execute my pitches, and I just felt like the last time I faced them I didn't have the curveball or splitter, and both of those pitches played big into my game. And tonight I was able to establish the fastball inside, ask get them active. And then I was able to use the curveball the second time around, the pauses, quick pitches, things like that and kind of use the splitter earlier in the count to get them active.

Q. I think you faced them in every series that you guys had with them and tonight is the seventh appearance. What challenges does that bring to a starting pitcher when a lineup has seen you so often and you've seen them?

NATHAN EOVALDI: I feel like most of the time it's those back-to-back series. We did that twice, or we did that once right after the All-Star series, and went back-to-back. Those were the most challenging times. As long as there's a two-week or three-week gap, it changes everything. A lineup like that, you have to prevent the ball from leaving the ballpark and attack the zone. And I feel like if you can attack the zone, it's going to make your job a little bit easier out there.

But at the same time, you have to be locked in and ready to go with a lineup like that.

Q. In the first inning, Alex said the ball that Stanton hit off the end of the bat was going out. What were your thoughts?

NATHAN EOVALDI: I felt like I left the slider up a little bit and with his power, there's no telling if the ball is going to be gone or not. I felt like it was initially off the end of the bat, but with the short porch over there to the left and the height it had, I thought it was gone initially. And it hit off the wall and we were able to keep him to a single and it that was huge for us.

Q. What were your thoughts on the atmosphere and the crowd?

NATHAN EOVALDI: Crowd was unbelievable. Walking out on to the field just to warm up, they were getting going and they were fired up. We had the introductions and we had all the little videos and everything on the scoreboard. They were locked in from the first pitch on and feeding off that.

We were able to score first off Cole and we kept the momentum going from that point on. And we had good quality at-bats. Bogey was able to get us on the board in the first inning. And for me it's like once we get the lead, I have to try to do my job and get the guys back in the dugout as fast as possible and try not to let him have a chance to recover. And we were able to do that tonight. But the crowd, the energy, we were feeding off it, it was definitely there.

Q. Are things that you took from that last outing against the Yankees, where you saw the way they attacked you?

NATHAN EOVALDI: I felt like they were jumping on my fastball early in the counts, and I was staying away with the fastball at that point and they were able to drive the ball. And then when I did have the time to throw the off-speeds, they were able to jump on those as well.

And tonight I wanted to make sure to establish the fastball inside. And the second time through, I was able to stay away from them but also keep them honest inside and I think that game plan worked out well for us tonight.

Q. Everybody talks about how well you pitched in Game 3 of the World Series; how does it feel like to pitch another game but win a game?

NATHAN EOVALDI: It definitely feels better to be on the winning side of it. Game 3 obviously was a very special moment, and at the time it was frustrating for me because we lost, and I felt like I let the team down. But looking back at it, a lot of positive things came from it. I was able to learn a lot from the whole 2018 experience. Coming into tonight, I felt like I was able to cherish the moment a little bit better, kind of just go out there and compete and have fun.

Q. You've pitched for Alex for a while and know how he operates, but when he comes out there to the mound, how hard is it to accept the ball is coming out of your hands?

NATHAN EOVALDI: It's definitely frustrating but obviously I understand the situation and everything. Third time through the lineup, it's tough. Batter seeing you for the third time, they have a better understanding of what you're going to do and a better idea of how you're going to attack them.

I get it. Obviously in that situation, I didn't want to come out. I felt like I had been doing decent against Stanton tonight. And then Gallo as well. But Brasier did an amazing job coming in. We were able to get out of that inning. Had the great relay off the wall. And Kiké bogeyed to Plaw behind the plate and we were able to lock it down and get the win.

Q. It looked like at one point you might win the division this year. How nice to get a crack at the Rays after losing the division to them?

NATHAN EOVALDI: Again, it's one of those teams in our division. We know them well and I feel like we faced off well against them in the past and coming into this one, anything can happen, you know what I mean. I feel like we had a lot of good momentum coming in tonight, coming into the game, we were able to feed off our crowd. The dugout was fired up. We were able to score first, and I think that's what it's going to take when we play the Rays.

And, again, pitching-wise we have to attack, attack. I don't think we had any walks tonight which was big for us, and you see how effective our bullpen can be when we are ahead in the count.

Q. Kyle said this is the best Nate Eovaldi performance he had seen and when Alex came to get the ball, he described you giving him a death stare. What was your mindset at that point?

NATHAN EOVALDI: I wasn't positive he was going to take me out, but I wanted him to know that I was ready to continue and to keep going out and battling. I wanted to go as deep as I could into the game, but he explained to me a lot of our guys in the pen matched up well against the Yankees. I'm never going to second-guess what he does, and I'm caught up in the moment. Yeah. I'm just kind of caught up in the moment and I don't want to come out of the game.

Q. You said the guys coming out of the bullpen specifically. What did you think of Tanner and what he was able to do with his postseason debut in that one season?

NATHAN EOVALDI: That experience was unbelievable. He was able to come, in attack the zone, get three outs, and it was a three-up, three-down inning and that's what we got to have coming out of the pen. He did great.