AL DIVISION SERIES: RAYS VS RED SOX

October 8, 2021

Kevin Cash

Tropicana Field

Tampa Bay Rays

Pregame 2 Press Conference

Q. Kevin, a recurring question for you from last year and now this year, but I'm sure you don't mind, what can you say about Randy turning it on in October very first game?

KEVIN CASH: Pretty amazing. You know, we were thinking that he was trending in the right direction at the start of September, but, look, I don't think any of us could forecast what he did last year. That probably would be unfair to the player, but if he wants to do it again, we'll be fine, like I said yesterday, and he certainly started off in the right direction.

Randy's game yesterday, highlighted by the steal of home and the home run, but there were some other really good things that he did. You know, the lead-off walk not -- looked like Rodriguez was trying to get him to fish out of the zone. He stayed on it, got the walk. The base-running to not assume anything, score on Wander's double, and then the play off Renfroe's bat. That's a double nine times out of ten. Randy got the ball in really quick, kept it to a single. Had he not, we're probably looking at a 2-1 ballgame because they would have found a way to get Renfroe in from second base leading that inning off.

Q. Kevin, with Wander, when he hit the second double last night, he drove the ball to the opposite field, kind of threw the ball in, had a pretty good approach. What can you say about how mature this guy is knowing that he is just three months in the Big Leagues?

KEVIN CASH: His maturity is certainly beyond his years when he is on a baseball field. The talent and the ability to just handle different pitches. He has been attacked every way possible because I think teams are trying to find that one way to get him out, and there probably isn't. He has shown since he's been up here, he can beat you line to line. He will pull a ball right down the line or stay on a pitch and shoot it the other way. His vision of the game is pretty elite.

Q. Kevin, we talk about a lot of the rookies you have. Feyereisen is also a rookie and didn't have much time last year. Can you speak to the job he did last night in not only getting you the six outs, but kind of getting through a little bit of some spots there?

KEVIN CASH: Feyereisen, we put him in a lot of fire, and he handled it very well. You know, we lost the ball. Wasn't very comforting for a guy that has pitched in ten post-seasons or now just one. So credit to him keeping his composure. And then a lot of composure to -- that's a lot of momentum coming off the mound right there. He didn't let his guard down. He went back out there and finished the game.

So with him and Shaggy (Chargois) both, I think that was a great experience. It's something they should feel better about going forward now in these postseason games with everything at stake.

Q. Does he know he is going two, or do you tell him after the first inning he is going back out?

KEVIN CASH: No, he doesn't know. As soon as he came off the mound, it was kind of, keep going, let's go.

Q. One other question, is it fair to say Rodney Linares had a good game last night?

KEVIN CASH: He had really good game. Rodney does a tremendous job coaching third base, and he never assumes anything, and I think our players have fed off that. They know you're getting waved around. He will stop you if you need to be stopped, but we want our guys to go hard all the way until you see that his hands come up. That first play off Wander's bat, it showed. Showed up right away. Off the bat Randy has no business scoring on that. It takes a really good third base coach to have the patience to see it, not assume anything, and it takes a very good job of base running by Randy to just keep running hard.

Q. Kevin, you saw some other instances of aggressive base-running last night as well: Guys taking extra bases, even Yandy sliding into first to beat out the infield single. Just how important has that been for this team, the understanding of running hard and what that can do for your lineup?

KEVIN CASH: We're really fortunate. These guys pride themselves on finding a way to get the extra 90 feet. Not at any point this year could you question anybody's effort getting down the line. You know, there are times throughout the season that you want to manage it with, you know, different ailments a player might have. We're aware of those things, but right now you can expect that every one of them are going to do everything they can to get to first base. Even like Manny last night tagging up from first base to get to second. Those are all meaningful plays.

MODERATOR: All right, Kevin. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.