AL DIVISION SERIES: RAYS VS RED SOX

October 8, 2021

Christian Vazquez

Tropicana Field

Boston Red Sox

Pregame 2 Press Conference

Q. Christian, Chris Sale has talked about how he's from game to game is not necessarily sure which stuff he is going to have working. How quickly with him, especially as he started to come back, can you get a feel for what he has got and what you've got available to call on a given night?

CHRISTIAN VAZQUEZ: He is a gamer. He likes to compete no matter if he got the stuff or not. He is going to give all got to give us a chance to win, and that's the way he is. So we're happy to have him on the mound tonight, and I feel good with that.

Q. Christian, I'm going to ask in English and Spanish if you don't mind answering in English and Spanish.

(Question in Spanish).

The question is how important has it been to this team to have Alex back and bringing what he brings to the team? And, obviously, we've seen some good results.

CHRISTIAN VAZQUEZ: Yeah, he bring a lot of good stuff for us. You know, he is so smart in this baseball, in this game, and, yeah, we missed him last year. It was a tough year for us, and he is a big reason we are here in the postseason. He is the leader of this team, and we follow him, and it's good to have him back and play for him. It's a pleasure all the time.

Q. Christian, could you just take us through the few seconds before Arozarena broke for home on that play and what you saw and how it ended up?

CHRISTIAN VAZQUEZ: Yeah, he had a big lead on third base yesterday, and Taylor was, like, seeing his vision was to first base, and, you know, he took off, and, you know, it was -- he was like middle of third base. He was getting a huge lead, so it was a smart running from him. So it was a great play.

Q. Christian, you've obviously caught a lot of games this year behind the plate, but what do you think is the reason for the not having the power that you had the last couple of years this year?

CHRISTIAN VAZQUEZ: The what? Sorry.

Q. At the plate, the power.

CHRISTIAN VAZQUEZ: Me? Myself? I think it's part of baseball. You know, some years you have a good year. Some years it's struggling, but the good thing we're in the postseason, and it's part of baseball. I think we play for a championship like a team, and that's why we're here.

Q. Christian, what was your perspective last night on the steal home by Randy? You know, was what was it like seeing that unfold?

CHRISTIAN VAZQUEZ: You don't see that very often, so it was very impressive. He is an electric kid. He is a great player. So it was, like I said before, he was taking a huge lead at third base, so nothing we can do there.

THE MODERATOR: Christian, thank you so much for coming in. Appreciate it.