AL DIVISION SERIES: RAYS VS RED SOX

October 11, 2021

Brandon Lowe

Fenway Park

Tampa Bay Rays

Pregame 4 Press Conference

Q. First, you maybe much as anyone talked about how you guys' goal was the World Series this year and that was the sole target. How does it feel to be sitting here on Game 4 of the ALDS facing elimination?

BRANDON LOWE: I don't think anybody's shocked. We're facing a very good team in the Red Sox. We all knew this wasn't going to be easy. To say we wanted to be in this situation, nobody really wanted to be here, but we know we're facing a really good team. We're going to face good teams here on out if we do make it past this.

It's just kind of the way that baseball works. Sometimes you're going to get backed into a corner, and we need to respond.

Q. We've talked many times of your struggles in the postseason last year, your start to this year, as strong as you finished it. What do you feel is going on now with your postseason so far, and how much does it mean that Cash has kept you in there?

BRANDON LOWE: It feels like I haven't gotten any hits, as simple as that.

Q. Is there something you noticed the way they're pitching you or putting too much pressure on yourself or anything?

BRANDON LOWE: It feels like I haven't gotten any hits.

Q. As far as the elimination game, how much do you think the experience the team has gained the last couple years kind of helps you in this situation maybe not making it into a bigger deal than it is?

BRANDON LOWE: Yeah, I think it's going to be huge for us to not add a huge amount of pressure onto us. When everything is going to be kind of bearing down on us, the fans that they have here, obviously an incredible fan base that's there to make opposing teams feel uncomfortable. For us to have been in Wild Card games in hostile territory as well is going to help all of us kind of relax and understand this is another game. We need to come out and play Rays baseball, and we'll be fine.

Q. On that same end, can you give us a feel for what the atmosphere in the clubhouse or on the way over to the ballpark was like today? Any different than normal? Was it normal? How would you describe it?

BRANDON LOWE: I think it's very normal. Everybody got on the bus. Everyone's in the same mood as if it was game 85 in the season. Obviously, everybody knows that this isn't regular season baseball and stuff like that, but nobody's coming in and trying to pressure anybody to step up and try to be someone that they're not.

We're a good team. We've proven that throughout the whole year. To say that we need to play different now would be terrible advice. We need to go out there and just do what we've been doing all year, and we'll be hopefully playing more baseball soon.

Q. What was your take on that play last night? We've asked just about everybody involved and what their view was, what their understanding was, frustration level, that whole kind of take on it.

BRANDON LOWE: I think everybody's kind of frustrated on it. When you look at it, I think Yandy was halfway to third base when the ball eventually ended up getting into the bullpen. From what we're told, it's a two-base rule or something like that. I'm still a little hazy on all the details. I don't know when it kicks in, if it's from the beginning of the play or whatnot.

But it sucks. The way that you look at it, in the long run of things, I guess it really wouldn't have mattered. Vazquez did hit a two-run homer, not a solo walkoff. It would have been nice to have a one-run lead. It changes a lot of things in it. But when you look back on it, he hit a two-run homer, so that one run might not have made much of a difference.