AL DIVISION SERIES: MARINERS VS ASTROS

October 13, 2022

Alex Bregman

Minute Maid Park

Houston Astros

Postgame 2 Press Conference

Houston Astros - 4, Seattle Mariners - 2

THE MODERATOR: Open it up for Alex Bregman.

Q. What did you think, what were you thinking as they gave the four to walk Yordan in front of you there in the 8th inning?

ALEX BREGMAN: Oh, I was just trying to square a ball up. I was just trying to put a good swing on a pitch and was fortunate enough to drive Peña in. Peña did a great job of getting on base. He has elite speed. So I've had, I had a good feeling when the ball hit the grass that he would score.

I know Haniger has a really good arm out there, too, so I know it was a close play. But just trying to stay within myself, try and square a ball up and use the whole field. I was fortunate enough to come through and add some insurance.

Q. I don't know what to ask you about Yordan except what more can you say about what he's doing, especially in the clutch?

ALEX BREGMAN: Yeah, he's been super clutch for us all year, from April on, not only offensively, but defensively. He's made super clutch defensive plays. He's got all the tools. He can run, he can hit, he can hit for power, he can throw, play defense. So just, he's an elite, elite player in this game and super happy to be on his team.

Q. Specifically about his two-run homer today.

ALEX BREGMAN: Yeah, facing one of the best pitchers in the world, and he was able to square up a tough pitch. It was probably a ball off the plate and he was able to square it up and give us the lead. Can't say enough about him. He's so clutch.

Q. I apologize for sticking on Yordan, but it's obviously pretty remarkable what he's done. Can I tap into your expertise. You play this game at a high level. There is an effortless quality to him when he is on. What do you think about that? How easy does he make that power look, especially to the opposite field today?

ALEX BREGMAN: Yeah, I think a lot of people like try and amp up to get power, but he knows that he just needs to stay within himself and stay within his swing. When he makes contact, it goes. And he can do it from line to line too. He can hit it to left field, he can hit it to right field. He hit three homers in one game to center field this year. So it has an effortless feel to the swing, but it's powerful.

Q. We don't often see intentional walks that happen a whole lot. Can you talk about what that means in terms of how they respect Yordan.

ALEX BREGMAN: Yeah, for sure. No doubt. Especially with a man on first base. He deserves it. He's one of the best hitters in the world. I think that's a sign of respect for how good he is.

Q. You guys were in Seattle after the All-Star break. It was a pretty anticipated series over there. What are you expecting just when you go back there for Saturday's game?

ALEX BREGMAN: Yeah, I expect a packed house. They have great fans there. They're going to show up. It's going to be loud and it's going to be a lot of fun. It's going to be postseason baseball. They got a really good team. It's going to be just a great atmosphere. I know the guys are excited to go play and look forward to getting out there.

Q. After taking care of business here, how much are you looking forward to going to Seattle with just needing just one win to reach the ALCS once again?

ALEX BREGMAN: Yeah, I thought we did a good job these last two games of just continuing to battle, continuing to fight, continuing to play every pitch. I think we've done a good job of staying in the moment, not trying to do too much, staying within ourselves.

You've seen almost everybody on our roster used so far. So I think the guys have done a good job of preparing, and they have a really, really good team over there, so excited to compete again and just, yeah.

Q. Usually Framber games puts the infield to work. That was the case again, especially early in this game. Can you expand on the job you all did, especially Altuve, those two plays that he made, and Yuli on the other end?

ALEX BREGMAN: They were huge plays. Altuve made the clutchest defensive play of the day, I think on the ball Rodriguez hit up the middle. He can really run. He's one of the fastest guys in baseball. Altuve ranges behind the bag and Yuli picks it on the other end. That gave us some good momentum right there. And in the postseason sometimes it's offense that gives you momentum, sometimes it's defense. Josey always tends to give our team momentum and it was a heck of a play.

Q. Going back to the 8th inning at-bat. As good as Yordan is do you take umbrage at the fact that they would not pitch to him to pitch to you?

ALEX BREGMAN: No, no. I was just trying to stay focused. Trying to stay focused on my plan. Try and focus on what I was trying to do. Which was just hit the ball hard somewhere. As soon as he was walked I just said, All right, let's go.