AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: ASTROS VS RED SOX

October 16, 2021

Rafael Devers

Minute Maid Park

Boston Red Sox

Postgame 2 Press Conference

Red Sox - 9, Astros - 5

Q. Just after J.D. hit that grand slam in the first inning, just for you to hit another one, how kind of crazy was that? It's only the second inning, and it's already 8-0.

RAFAEL DEVERS: It felt really good. Obviously, Houston, they're a really good team, and we know we have to score a lot of runs in order to beat them. So it was good to get those runs early in the game.

Q. (Question in Spanish)

RAFAEL DEVERS: (Answer in Spanish)

Q. It's clear that on certain swings you're in a lot of pain and you're going through discomfort and all that. What does it mean to you, despite all that, to still be producing at this level?

RAFAEL DEVERS: Obviously, it's something that's -- it doesn't really limit me as much because I'm able to play every single day. But, obviously, it's a part of it right now. We have a couple more weeks to play and just trying to grind it out and be there for my teammates right now, so I can still play.

Q. Just how good do you and your teammates feel right now just kind of going back with the series tied and going back to Fenway for the next three?

RAFAEL DEVERS: It feels goods. Obviously, like I said before, Houston is a really good team, and being able to split here and then now we're able to go back home to Fenway where we're comfortable and we know how we can play over there is really good for us.

Q. You had to sit around and wait for a long time before you came up for that at-bat with how long he was warming up for. What was that like, and how were you able to stay sharp and kind of stay in the game when you hit that home run?

RAFAEL DEVERS: I just stayed focused. Obviously it was a long delay, but at the end of the day, I was going up there and trying to give 100% and trying to look for the pitches that I wanted to hit. And, thankfully, I was able to do that.

Q. The three guys who were big for you today -- you, Nate, J.D. -- were all here in 2018 and played these guys in the same series, all that type of stuff. How valuable is that experience in this situation to come back and do this kind of thing again?

RAFAEL DEVERS: Obviously it's really important being that we were here for 2018, but we have a lot of guys that can help win ball games here, just like J.D. If I can't do something, Bogey can do something for us as well, so it's a total team effort, and that's what really came away from this win.