AL WILD CARD SERIES: RANGERS VS RAYS

October 3, 2023

Kevin Cash

Tropicana Field

Tampa Bay Rays

Postgame Press Conference

Texas 4, Tampa Bay 0

Q. Did it have the feel that you guys made it a little more difficult for yourselves in a couple different facets?

KEVIN CASH: Yeah, I think that's very fair. We didn't play a good clean baseball game by any stretch. We didn't hit, pitch, or defend. When you're going up against a good team, they're going to capitalize, and they eventually really did.

Q. What did you see from Glasnow? It seemed like he hit some glitches and wasn't really sharp.

KEVIN CASH: I think that's fair, wasn't really sharp. He picked up his strikeouts because his stuff is so good, but I don't think he executed and commanded the baseball like he was hoping to. Texas did a good job of waiting him out, driving up the pitch count, and not really helping him.

Q. What made Montgomery so difficult for you guys to square up today?

KEVIN CASH: Well, he's been on a pretty good run. It felt like he got ahead of everybody. That's kind of what we preach to our pitchers, to do everything you can to control the count and get ahead.

He did that, and he's got good stuff. The fastball, he commands it to the inner half of the plate, and he went away with it. Both the curveball, changeup, cutter, they all complemented each other. He pitched a good ballgame for them.

Q. What did you see on the Siri play in the 6th, just charging too hard into it, kind of knocked it up in the air?

KEVIN CASH: Yeah, a little bit. In that moment the ball is off the bat. He's trying to get the best read and he's trying to do everything he can to catch the ball in the air, and he kind of got in between and then it became a really tough play.

Q. Did you sense that your team was a little bit tight or, maybe sensing the urgency of the situation, trying to do too much?

KEVIN CASH: I don't think we were trying to do too much. But tight, there were probably some young guys out there that it was a little tense. But we'll be better for it tomorrow.

Q. What is going to be the key to unlocking this offense now that it has been quite some time since you've scored a run in the postseason?

KEVIN CASH: Get some hits, get some guys on base. That's the best I can say.

We're not going to alter our approach. This team has scored a lot of runs this year. It's a good hitting lineup. We got shut down today. I'm very confident that we're going to bounce back and have some good at-bats.

Q. Is there any message going into tomorrow's game being an elimination game?

KEVIN CASH: Win.

Q. When you have a game where you don't hit, you don't pitch, you don't defend, are those kind of games easier to flush, or is that even a factor when you're facing elimination?

KEVIN CASH: No, I think they are easier to flush. By about the sixth inning right there, once they got the four runs, it was a frustrating game. I don't recall us playing a game like that in quite some time.

You're going to have them. Ideally you don't have them in the postseason, certainly in Game 1 when we know how pivotal winning that game is. But a lot of confidence in this group. Certainly in the guy on the mound in Zach Eflin that we can bounce back and play just a better baseball game.

Q. Sometimes when a guy is out, it seems like the ball finds him and it looks like Siri had a couple plays and then the bunt situation. What did you see there and the other play where -- the fly ball to center?

KEVIN CASH: The fly ball -- I mean, the Seager ball off the wall? We've seen him make that play in the past. If he makes that play, it's a highlight reel play, great play. The bunt, he just didn't get it down. I felt like it was the right thought, everything. Montgomery is falling off the mound the other way trying to push it to first or second base to get that run but he popped it up and Montgomery made a nice play.