AL WILD CARD SERIES: RAYS VS GUARDIANS

October 8, 2022

Sam Hentges

Progressive Field

Cleveland Guardians

Postgame Press Conference

Cleveland Guardians - 1, Tampa Bay Rays - 0

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Sam?

Q. What was it like sitting out there in the bullpen on a cold day, 0-0 score? I'm sure you had to be alert at any time to go in.

SAM HENTGES: Definitely. Like you said, it was a long game. It was a lot of fun. It was fun to watch everybody come out of the pen and do their job. When my name was called upon, I just wanted to go out there and do the same.

Q. Going three innings, how do you, I mean, was it all adrenaline? How were you feeling out there?

SAM HENTGES: Yeah, it was a good amount of adrenaline. I think that had to do with the situation. The crowd was awesome. The atmosphere here was unbelievable today. They were loud.

Yeah, just wanted to go out there and do my job like everybody who came in before me.

Q. When you're in that spot as the game's scoreless and like one mistake might be the end, are you feeling pressure?

SAM HENTGES: Not really. I think in these playoff games and towards the end of the game coming out of the bullpen, you pitch in situations that every pitch matters, especially in the playoffs. That's how you have to attack it as a relief pitcher, but I just wanted to go out there and throw strikes and let the defense take care of the rest, and they did a phenomenal job today.

Q. What was your reaction when Oscar hit that ball? You immediately knew it was out, I suppose?

SAM HENTGES: Yeah, I think everybody in the stadium knew that it was out right away. But it was a lot of fun. It's fun to watch him. I came up with him in the minor leagues and it's cool to see, the rest of the world now gets to see what he can do.

Q. Did you know he could do this long before us?

SAM HENTGES: I think there's a quiet confidence in our group of guys that we have here. We come to the ballpark every day and we don't really back down from challenges. That's preached from Tito, and I think it's kind of instilled in us, and that's how we attack each day.

Q. Did they keep asking you about, can you go out for one more inning, or did you think you were going to do multiple innings?

SAM HENTGES: I didn't know it. Like, I think it was the 13th or 14th inning, our bullpen was getting kind of thin. There weren't a ton of guys down there. So I knew I was going to go out and have to throw at least probably two innings if the score said the same. So I was prepared for it, but I was ready to go back out for the third. I had a lot of help on the defensive side.

Q. Mentioning the José and the Naylor play there in the 12th, have you seen a better one than that?

SAM HENTGES: I mean, it was unbelievable. Those two made a couple of unbelievable plays today. I think it was in the 14th inning, that double play that Giménez and Naylor and Rosie took care of, was huge. Just to get out of that inning and give our hitters a chance to go up there and win the game was enormous.

Q. Did you notice that the hitters were getting frustrated with the shadows and all that? Was that affecting you too?

SAM HENTGES: Not really. I think it's just a part of the game. It was the time of day. But you don't really think about that too much when you're out there pitching. It was just fun that the shadows kind of subsided and Gonzo was able to see one out.

Q. That was the longest scoreless tie by anybody in postseason history. It was five hours of shear pressure, drama. What was it like? How would you describe the afternoon?

SAM HENTGES: Looking back on it you described it pretty well. There was a lot of high pressure situations throughout the entire game. Like you said, it was a scoreless tie. Everyone was just fighting to get that first run. We're very lucky that Gonzo came out.

Q. Are you getting to like these champagne showers?

SAM HENTGES: Yes, I'm pretty cold right now (laughing.)