MLB WORLD SERIES: ASTROS VS BRAVES

November 2, 2021

Austin Riley

Minute Maid Park

Atlanta Braves

Pregame 6 Press Conference

Q. Austin, you guys can see what the Astros can do. What's the level of urgency to close this out here?

AUSTIN RILEY: I think there's always a sense of urgency to go ahead and get it done. I think we're right where we need to be. The atmosphere in the clubhouse is really good. We're ready to get after it.

It's a good ball club on the other side. So we just need to come out, play our game, and let everything else take care of itself.

Q. Curious your thoughts when you saw the lineup and Freddie going to 3rd and Ozzie dropping down to No. 7?

AUSTIN RILEY: I didn't really think anything about it. At some point, everyone is going to have to contribute at some point. So it's just one of those things where Snit felt like he needed to make an adjustment, and he did. I don't think there's anything to really think on it.

Ozzie, I think, is going to be huge for us at some point, so nothing there.

Q. Have you noticed anything when you see a team this many times -- because you obviously don't during the season, consecutive days or in a week span -- have you noticed anything in their approaches? Whether it be the pitcher's approach to you or the hitter's approach to their pitchers or anything like that?

AUSTIN RILEY: We hadn't seen each other all season, so we see pitchers for the first time. So there's obviously going to be adjustments there. I think, for both teams, especially from a hitting standpoint, you start to kind of pick up what they're trying to do to you and stuff like that.

It's just one of those things where we, from a pitching standpoint, you've got to go out and execute pitches, and from an offensive standpoint, go out there and execute your plan and approach.

Q. Austin, you guys saw the Dodgers, a number of their guys on short rest during the NLCS. You've seen the Astros are going to be on short rest tonight. As an offense, you see or hear you're going to face a pitcher on short rest, is there a sense of increased opportunity? What's your guys' reaction when you see that?

AUSTIN RILEY: I think it's one of those things where it could be a good thing or it could be -- he may perform well on short rest. You never know. It's just one of those things where, I think at the end of the day, you've got to go out and execute on your plan. If he makes mistakes, then you've got to capitalize on those.

We're not going to think like that because, like I said, he could go out there and be lights out. So we're just going to stay inside ourselves and try to execute our plan when we step in the box.

Q. I feel like, when Max is on, you get a lot of ground balls. What do you personally think the key for Max Fried is in general tonight to get off to a good start?

AUSTIN RILEY: I think just go out there and have confidence, believe in himself. I think he's one of the nastier pitchers in the game. So I mean, just like I said, go out there and have confidence and execute pitches. I think that's what it comes down to because, like I said, you know the stuff is in there. You know he has the ability to put up a bunch of zeros.

I think he's going to be right where we need to be. Like I said, I love playing behind him. He's a bulldog, and I'm looking forward to it.

Q. Austin, you hear about it. Talked a lot about in relief pitchers it's hard to pitch any inning, but the closer is a special kind of guy, just the mentality to shut the door. You guys as a team, winning any game in the World Series is hard, but now you have to be able to shut the door and win the series. Do you feel the pressure ratchet up? Do you need to have kind of that extra focus to be able to finish the job?

AUSTIN RILEY: No, I'm a big believer, if you go out there and play your game in any situation, it's going to take care of itself. I think, when you put that added pressure on yourself, things kind of -- when something doesn't go your way, it just kind of spirals.

So I'm treating it just like a normal, regular season game. I'm going to do my cage work, do a wash, and I think that's kind of how everyone's taking it. I know we have the team. It's just a matter of going out there and executing our plan. I don't think there's anything -- there's no reason to put that added pressure on.

Q. Obviously, you've watched Ozzie for a long time. You know what he can do. What have you seen from him maybe in the past week or so, and what makes you think that he's going to be back to the Ozzie that you guys have seen for a long time?

AUSTIN RILEY: I think it's just baseball. You go through these funks every now and then, and he's one of those guys, he's never -- I don't think he ever has a bad day. He could be O-fer, and he's still got a smile on his face. I think that's what makes him so good.

I think he just needs to go out there and relax, have fun, goof around like he always does. Like I said, he's going to have an opportunity to come up big for us, and I think he's going to do that. Like I said, he's a really good dude, great player. I think he just needs to go out there and trust himself and play his game.

Q. Austin, you suddenly got a fair amount of playoff games under your belt over these last couple years. I'm just curious what you've learned about performing in the postseason, and do you find yourself ramping up your focus and intensity even more than typical?

AUSTIN RILEY: Like I said, I think what I've learned is not putting that added pressure on yourself. It's just going out there and playing baseball. I think that's what I've kind of done differently this year is just going out there and treating it like another game.

You know it's going to be loud. You know that each play is going to be intense. I think, if you just kind of calm yourself down, it enables you to focus that much more.

Q. I'm not going to ask you to be truthful because that would kind of intimate that I'm thinking you're going to be untruthful, but if you could think back to the 4th of July, say, in the time where you guys are still trying to get above .500 but get it going, if somebody said to you you were going to be playing in November in Game 6, would you have believed that?

AUSTIN RILEY: At that time, we were searching. I think there's no question about that. If you would have asked me, I think I was like a lot of things have to go right for it to happen, and it has. We've made a lot of moves to make it happen.

I think going through those struggles is what kind of made us bond together as a team. We're super close, and I think that's what's gotten us here to this point is just that bond we have as a team. We believe in each other. I think that goes a long way.

Q. Along those same lines, when you guys are coming out of the All-Star break, you had just lost Acuna the game before the All-Star break, and then you get Pederson, Joc coming out of the break. Joc told us he played last year against you guys in the playoffs and that this was a World Series team, that you guys were in control at NLCS and all that. What did you guys think when you heard him talking like that when he first came over? Because you had just lost Acuna. Did you believe in what he was saying?

AUSTIN RILEY: No, I definitely did. It took a lot of guys to step up, and that's what they did. You play in this game to be in the World Series, to win a World Series championship, and I think just the competitive mindset of a baseball player in us that you don't ever doubt that. I think you always think that there's a chance.

This game is crazy, and I think that everyone sees a lot of crazy things can happen. Like I said, we have 88 wins, and we're in the World Series. Anything can happen. I definitely didn't not believe him.

Q. Just really quick because I don't know that I heard you bring up. One of the first things you said in here was the feeling in the clubhouse today was really good. Can you expand on that a little bit? What do you mean by today specifically? Any examples?

AUSTIN RILEY: Nothing really. I think we really wanted to finish it off in Atlanta. I think you can ask anybody, there's no question. But today I feel like we've kind of got that mindset, we need to finish the job. We come in here for a reason. Let's not waste any time. And that's our mind. That's our goal. Like I said, it's just good vibes.