AL WILD CARD SERIES: RANGERS VS RAYS

October 4, 2023

Bruce Bochy

Josh Jung

Tropicana Field

Texas Rangers

Postgame Press Conference

Texas 7, Tampa Bay 1

Q. Bruce, what can you say about what Nathan Eovaldi did for you guys today?

BRUCE BOCHY: I'll say this. We had the right guy out there, and we had the right guy out there yesterday. What a job he did. He's really worked hard to get back to this point, going on the IL, and goes out there and pitched just an enormous game for us, and he's done that many times.

It all starts with that starting pitcher and sets the tone, and that's what he did for us today, off a very, very good-hitting ballclub.

He's just such a tough competitor, and you saw it today.

Q. Your two big rookies, Josh and Evan, come up with huge hits this series. What can you say about their performance on this stage at the age that they are?

BRUCE BOCHY: Well, it says a lot about who they are and how tough they are and the calmness they have. A big game like this, those two did just a big job for this offense today.

We have length in this lineup, and Josh has been hitting in the 5 hole for the most part. And put him down there, tried to change the pocket a little bit, and it worked out very well for us. He's been working hard, too, to get back to where he was after fracturing his thumb there.

And of course Carter, gosh, this young kid has come up -- I don't even know if he knows that he's in the Big Leagues. This guy has such a calmness about him. So it's good to have the depth in that order and the back end of the order to do what they did today.

Q. Asked about Adolis before the game. What kind of spark was his homer put you guys on the board?

BRUCE BOCHY: I thought that really got us going. Early on we had some good at-bats, had some hard outs, couldn't quite get the runners in. That's what you want to do, just put some traffic out there and hope it happens. It did and he got the home run, and it just seemed like that was the one that really got us going there, and adding three more runs there.

It takes something like that to get the offense going, and he did that today for us.

Q. Josh, up and down the lineup, what do you think allowed you guys to get to Eflin and get him out of the game?

JOSH JUNG: We have the ability to suffocate the opposing pitcher on any given night, and when we have quality at-bats 1 through 9, I know that's a lot of pressure you put on the other team, and that's what we were able to do today.

Q. What's impressed you most about Evan since he's been up in the Big Leagues?

JOSH JUNG: We joke around and say he's our little savior. It's pretty cool when he gets a hit or he, like, prayer hands. It's pretty cool. But the impact he's had has been incredible. He's had a quality at-bat I feel like every at-bat. He knows the strike zone really well, and his at-bat alone is pushing the pitcher's pitch count up. And when you have a good pitcher there on the mound, that's what drives him out of the game eventually or end up making mistakes in late innings and you saw that today.

Q. Bruce, we saw Chris Young take part in the celebration. Talk about working for him and the importance of him bringing you here.

BRUCE BOCHY: I mean, what a pleasure to be back with CY. Had him as a pitcher, and here he brought me out of retirement and here I am in the postseason. I couldn't be more grateful. It's pretty cool what they did for him in the clubhouse because he's really worked hard to give us the tools, the resources to get to where we are now.

And he was determined to get winning baseball back to Texas, and he's done that. I can't thank him enough, ownership, it's just been one heck of a ride for me.

Q. Bruce, your team had a tough time coming into this series, and yet two games you dominated completely. What was the key to getting this thing turned around and showing what you did?

BRUCE BOCHY: Well, I think the key is these guys having the ability to put tough times, tough losses, streaks, whatever, behind them, and this club did an unbelievable job of doing that. You couldn't have had a tougher loss that last game, and we were hoping to win that game, win the division, ended up tying. And, of course, with the team's record, we had to come here to Tampa. We had to fly right over Dallas, so that could have been really a downer for the club.

They reset, refocused, and just put together two of I think the best games back to back that we probably have had all year when you look at the pitching, the offense, the defense, everything, which we knew we had to do to beat a club like Tampa.

Q. You keep saying this team is resilient. That's the word you've pretty much used this whole season. Is this series almost like a microcosm of all the struggles you guys have gone through throughout the season?

BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah, I'd say so. It's all about bouncing back. Dealing with the tough times. You know you're going to have them. I've said this. What's important is how you handle it, and these guys have handled it so well and put those tough losses behind us and come back and put together a good ballgame.

I think we were counted out earlier in the season or late August there when we were really having a hard time, and we were in first place for the most part. And the next thing you know we're in third place. But what a job they did to bounce back and to be in this position.

Q. Josh, your three extra base hits today, coming back from the thumb injury, you probably didn't hit as well as you would like in September, but how much is today sort of a sign of are you all the way back?

JOSH JUNG: I wouldn't say I'm all the way back, but it is a huge confidence boost. No matter how it's feeling, I'm going to give you my best every single night. Yeah, when you miss six weeks and try to jump back in, you're going to go through your ups and downs, but it's a huge confidence boost for me today.

Q. Bruce, looking forward, how important is having that now second day off before you get ready for the next round with Baltimore?

BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah, I think it's really huge. We came in here, had a day off after one grind of a schedule. Those regulars were out there every day. Jonah, he caught 10, 11 in a row, but the reset, get these pitchers a break, Leclerc got worked pretty good.

But it just gives everybody a chance to kind of freshen up a little bit, get their legs back, and so I thought it was big that if we could win today to give them that extra day.

Q. Josh, I'm going to put you on the spot a little bit. As a young player on this ballclub, what have you been able to take from a seasoned and very proven manager like Bruce?

JOSH JUNG: I mean, he instills confidence in you as a player. He lets you go out and play your game, and that's all you can ask for in a manager, somebody that's not going to micromanage you and let you go play your game. I feel like even when we had our scuffles, even when things weren't going our way, or even my way, per se, he just keeps throwing you back out there.

That's just a lot of confidence he has in you, and that gives you confidence as a player.

Q. Josh, what's it like to play behind Nathan when he's kind of rolling and cruising like he was today?

JOSH JUNG: I mean, it's awesome. All you want to do is make plays for those guys. And even Monty yesterday, when you see them going out there, giving you six, seven innings, you can't ask for anything more than that. Because you rally behind that, and I feel like even with our offense, when things are going well like that, it's just contagious, and it's just like, let's just keep the ball rolling.