AL DIVISION SERIES: ASTROS VS WHITE SOX

October 8, 2021

Carlos Correa

Kyle Tucker

Minute Maid Park

Houston Astros

Postgame 2 Press Conference

Houston -9, Chicago - 4

Q. Carlos, you hit, did you think it was going to go over his head considering how hard it was hit? Did you see him break in a little bit? Did it give you more confidence it was going to get in there?

CARLOS CORREA: From my point of view, when I hit it, I thought it was going to be right at him. The ball just took off, and I didn't notice if it went forward or not. I am just glad it dropped.

Q. This team played amazing defense today. You in particular have had the best defensive in the majors according to some metrics. What did you do to improve that part of your game and get it to where it is now? And just how big a part of what makes the Astros good is your defense?

CARLOS CORREA: We preach that every single day in our club house. Defense wins championships. We take a lot of pride in that. From the moment we showed up in Spring Training, we said, hey, let's try to be the number one defensive team in the Big Leagues. You can see every single guy taking pride in batting practice.

It's about having that mental approach of being active in every single pitch. Make sure you get that movement on every single pitch, don't take any pitches off. Especially now in the playoffs, we're doing a great job with it.

I said before the series, the team that plays the cleanest is going to win. So far we've played very clean.

Q. Are you doing anything you think personally better on defense this year than you have in the past?

CARLOS CORREA: Yeah, my first step is getting a lot better. I focus on it a lot more. I attack the baseball a lot more. Before slow rollers, I used to time it a little more. Now I attack and go all the way as fast as I can and try to finish plays. I'm trying to cover as much ground as I can.

Q. This could be for both of you, but specifically for Kyle. Before you guys had that big inning in the seventh, you had that big catch in the top half of the inning. At the moment, did it feel like it could have been a game saving play? What was it like for you guys as a group?

KYLE TUCKER: I just tried to go all out for it. Our pitchers are out there working real hard. Any time we can make a catch or make a play to make it a little easier on them, it definitely helps out the team as a whole. To finish the inning with that big out, I think the momentum kind of changed and everyone was real excited. When you put a lot of good plays the following inning and really throughout the whole game, but it was a big part of the game for us.

Q. Carlos, you have several guys who have been here since '15 and have been in basically the playoffs every year. That seventh inning, that seems like a part of that is experience. You were facing two deficits in that game. That was a huge swing between 2-0 and 1-1. How much does experience and this core group of veterans come into play?

CARLOS CORREA: 100 percent. I think experience plays a big part of it. The moment is never too big for guys in the club house. You see the bat, through at-bat, the line moving. Everybody has the same approach from the first guy to the ninth. We try to make good pitches. You saw the leadoff today. He had all three pitches working for him, and there were a lot of 3-2 counts. For me, that was key to get him out there a game early. You saw that first inning, he was unhittable. We had to switch our approach a little bit and make him pitch a little bit more. We got to the bullpen. That was the key of winning the game.

Q. Carlos, can you talk about just how big José Altuve was today?

CARLOS CORREA: I told him, a lead defense. Defense wins championships, and he showed up today. Nasty plays. I think the play in the first inning is one that might go unnoticed through a nine inning game, but that was a nasty play, and that kept us in the game. If that ball would have gone through, the game would have been totally different. That play was huge. He played amazing defense today, and we've got to keep doing it through the rest of the playoffs.

Q. Kyle, if I could get you to kind of take us through your home run start there. And then Carlos, if you could, talk about your view of what he does from the 7 hole in this lineup, coming up with a bomb to the opposite field and then the depth of this lineup and how that kind of takes a toll on pitching staffs.

KYLE TUCKER: First of all, Carlos had a great at-bat, driving in a couple runs for us to take the lead. I was just trying to get down for a fastball through his curveball and just see it. He threw it up middle of the way. I didn't try to do too much with it, just tried to drive the ball the other way where it was pitched and ended up going for a homer. That was huge for us to put up a 5 spot there.

CARLOS CORREA: I think Kyle was the best hitter in our lineup this year, and he's one of the best hitters in the game. The reason why I say that is because obviously the numbers will back me up, but also, I don't see him getting fooled too often. It don't matter if you throw a first pitch breaking ball or first pitch fastball. It seems like he's always on time. That's something special. You don't see many hitters that are able to adjust to that.

He's a natural hitter. Natural hitters are always the best hitters in the game. The future is bright for this kid right here, not because he's here. I've always told you guys he's the most underrated in the league. I'm glad he got this platform in the playoffs to show you how good he really is.

Q. Carlos, Dusty said that this is your time of year. How much do you revel in shining when the playoffs come around?

CARLOS CORREA: I enjoy the playoffs a lot. As you can tell, I'm losing my voice already. It's only Game 2. I get very hyped. I get very focused. I find that inner calm when there is a key situation. So I just enjoy playing in this type of situation, this type of atmosphere. It's just special. I'll never take it for granted.

You never know if you're going to play in the playoffs every single year. You never know if next year you're going to be in the playoffs. I'm trying to enjoy every single moment that I get out there with my teammates.

Q. What's it mean to this team, up 2-0, and one win away from going to another ALCS?

CARLOS CORREA: It's a great feeling. We've got to stay focused and take care of business when we go to Chicago. This say great team we're playing on the other side. They can get the job done any time. It doesn't matter if they're down two games. They will fight back. We've got to stay focused and try to get one more win.

Q. For both of you guys, I know it's kind of cliche, but Dusty said you've got to go to Chicago like it's 0-0. Is that easier said than done for both of you?

KYLE TUCKER: Like Carlos said, they're a really good team. They didn't make the playoffs for nothing. They worked really hard this past year, and they deserve to be in the playoffs. At the same time, we've got to take care of business. We're not going to go there and take it easy just because we won the first two games. We've got to go there and take care of business and win the series.

CARLOS CORREA: Dusty's a wise man. He said it best. That's the mentality we've got to have, and we need one more win. We've got to focus and lock in and get the job done.

Q. Carlos, can you describe from your vantage point Yuli's double play with that tough hop? Then also, when I asked him who he thinks the most improved infielder is on defense, he said himself. So what have you seen that's made him even better lately?

CARLOS CORREA: He really wants to win a gold glove, and I think this is the year. I think his metrics look really good, and I think this is the year. In Spring Training, he's been preaching he wants to be the best defensive first baseman, and we've seen it all year, not only on his end when the ground balls are hit at him, but also how he picks us up whenever we make a bad throw and he saves us.

Going back to that play, that play was huge. It's not as easy as he makes it look. And then the pump fake, to get Eloy to look, that was funny. The guy is a veteran. He knows how to get better and knows how to work and be smart about it. I'm really happy for the season he had, batting champion, hopefully a gold glove in there too. It was a special year for him.