MLB WORLD SERIES: ASTROS VS BRAVES

October 29, 2021

Alex Bregman

Luis Garcia

Truist Park

Houston Astros

Postgame 3 Press Conference

Atlanta - 2, Houston - 0

Q. Alex, I know it was a difficult go for you guys all night, but specifically with their starter, what was Anderson kind of doing so well to keep you guys off balance?

ALEX BREGMAN: He was commanding his pitches. I mean, give him all the credit. He pitched his tail off tonight, and we didn't really get anything going offensively.

But I have a lot of confidence in this team moving forward, and we've just got to string a few more at-bats together.

Q. Is there anything you guys can do approach-wise or anything just to get the offense turned around in time for tomorrow?

ALEX BREGMAN: I think we didn't swing it for one game. I think we flush it and move on to the next day and have a short memory. You have to in this game.

You give all the credit to them tonight. They pitched their tail off.

Q. Alex, how's your foot? And can you just talk a little bit about what you're feeling up there over the last few games at the plate.

ALEX BREGMAN: My foot will be fine. It's the World Series. Got to find a way. Got me on like the ankle bone.

Feeling better today at the plate. Just trying to swing at good pitches today, good pitches to hit. Missed one, my second at-bat, and just fouled it straight back. But overall, looking forward to continuing to compete in the box.

Q. Luis, what did you think of your stuff overall today? And after you walked Soler to load the bases, what was that mound visit like, and how did you manage to get out of that jam?

LUIS GARCIA: I mean, my stuff was good today. I felt great about that. When I walked Soler, I was like kind of mad because -- you know. But I was trying to get out of that inning like however I can do it, and I'm glad that I did.

Q. Alex, were you guys expecting Anderson to last only five innings or so? He had the no-hitter going, obviously. Did you think they would pull him when they did?

ALEX BREGMAN: I don't know. You expect anything in the postseason. You've just got to go out and compete and battle. He did a great job tonight. Obviously, they shut us down offensively.

I think you just flush it and move on.

Q. How do you feel in your first World Series start?

LUIS GARCIA: I felt really good out there today, thank God. I felt confident in myself, thanks to God. The results weren't there for us today, but I have a lot of confidence in this team and what we can do moving forward.

Q. Luis, when the bases were loaded in the third, you went back to the windup for those last two batters. Was that something that Strom suggested in the mound visit?

LUIS GARCIA: Yeah, he suggested that, and it was good.

Q. Alex, when you're facing the starting pitcher who is working on a no-hitter and then he comes out of the game, is it almost a relief to see him leave?

ALEX BREGMAN: I don't know. They have a really good pitching staff all the way around. So no matter who's coming in, you've got to stay focused and locked in.

Q. How do you feel with the rain on the mound? Did that affect you at all?

LUIS GARCIA: It was okay, but my cleats were like really bad, like I didn't feel comfortable with that, but it's okay.

Q. Suggestions he made to get out of the bases-loaded situation?

LUIS GARCIA: Yeah, nothing more than just trying to execute my pitches in that situation, and thank God I was able to get out of it.

Q. Alex, in your three games, what have you seen just overall from this series? They took the first game pretty solidly. You guys had an excellent Game 2, and this was a really tight one where you only had two hits, but it was also only 2-0. You and Dusty have already talked about how you guys still fully believe in this team 100 percent.

ALEX BREGMAN: Yeah, I think you see two damn good teams playing good baseball. It's been fun. Both teams are really good. That's what it's all about. That's why you play the game, play in the World Series, two of the best teams in the game going at it.

So it's been a lot of fun and look to continue doing that tomorrow.

Q. Alex, you guys talk about the advantage of seeing a pitcher an extra time through the lineup. What about like an atmosphere? You guys didn't have a workout yesterday, no pregame BP, the fact that you were in it tonight, can you get comfortable with another day, another game?

ALEX BREGMAN: Yeah, I think so, but there's no excuses. Both teams didn't have BP. Both teams are in the same situation. Whether it's raining or not raining, it's going out and competing and playing the game that we all love.

Give the credit to them tonight. They played their tail off. Tomorrow's a new day. We flush it and move forward and keep going.

Q. Alex, you guys have been in so many big situations with Zack Greinke on the mound. Even if he's not pitching as deep as he used to be given the situation, how valuable is it to have him on the mound tomorrow night, and how big is it to see him in that situation one more time?

ALEX BREGMAN: It's super valuable to have a future Hall of Famer throwing for you. He's pitched in big situations. He's pitched great for us in the World Series before. So we have a ton of confidence in him, and we want to play good defense behind him and give him some run support.

Q. Alex, Dusty described Anderson as effectively wild. I guess I'm just curious how challenging it is to square a guy like that up when he's throwing essentially one ball for every strike.

ALEX BREGMAN: He's definitely difficult to square up. He's had an amazing postseason career. He has three pitches that are good pitches, and he throws them on the edges. You have to be selective, but we didn't do a good enough job of squaring up the ones that we could have tonight.

Q. Just the strikeout-to-walk ratio you had tonight and what can you say about the balance there? Also, you're the fifth Venezuelan to play in the World Series. What does that mean to you?

ALEX BREGMAN: He's thankful to God for the opportunity to play in the World Series (laughter).

LUIS GARCIA: Yeah, the walks are never good, but thank God I was able to control them and they didn't get worse. Obviously, the walks are never something you want to be able to do and grateful to be fifth Venezuelan to be in the World Series, fifth Venezuelan pitcher to be in the World Series.