AL DIVISION SERIES: TWINS VS ASTROS

October 11, 2023

Chas McCormick

Target Field

Houston Astros

Pregame 4 Press Conference

Q. Chas, Dusty said yesterday he didn't play you just because he thought you needed a break. Does that even help? How do you view when that happens at this point of the year?

CHAS MCCORMICK: Whatever lineup he throws out there, what's best for the team, best for us. I mean, he's right. I haven't really been playing that well lately. As much as I thought I wanted to be out there yesterday, I thought we played great. I thought we played awesome.

In there today, so I'm excited to bring some energy and make sure I'm ready to play tonight.

Q. How much do you think you guys can take out of the two previous times that you saw Ryan this year going into today?

CHAS MCCORMICK: I thought we hit him -- we faced him at Minute Maid earlier in the year, thought we hit him okay. We know a little bit about him. He knows a little bit about us.

Obviously playoffs are a different animal. It's a different game, different situation. Everybody's going to be coming out ready to play today.

Hopefully we get to him early. We've got one more game to win. We've got to take this game, take it to be huge, and make sure we come out with a lot of energy in the beginning. We got to get right on him like we did in the beginning yesterday. If we do that today, we're in good shape.

Q. You talk about the energy and starting fast. The fact that it is a clinch situation, you know how the pressure kind of amped up, does that make it kind of even more important to put their back up against the wall?

CHAS MCCORMICK: Definitely. Like I said, like we did yesterday. We got off to an early jump, and smooth sailing for most of the game. If we can do that today, especially with their backs against the wall, that would be huge for us. Especially since we're in Minnesota, they've got a loud crowd. Their fans are going to be in it tonight. It's going to be cold. We have to make sure we get an early lead and we don't take the foot off the gas pedal.

Q. Chas, what's the dugout like right now when Yordan comes up to bat?

CHAS MCCORMICK: It's all eyes on him. You can tell everybody is kind of top of the dugout. He's one of the best hitters on the planet. When he walks up to the plate, it gets pretty tired in the dugout. It's pretty incredible to watch him hit, especially right now. I've seen him do it before.

But he looks so comfortable up there. Just how calm he is up there and with his approach. Just watching his approach, watching him take pitches, to watching him take close pitches, you can learn a lot from it.

He's one of the best in the world, though, so when he comes up to the plate, I'm sure everyone in the stadium is watching.

Q. Jose Abreu obviously had his struggles over the course of the season. How did you see him handle that, from I guess, a demeanor standpoint?

CHAS MCCORMICK: He handled it really well. It's Jose Abreu. He's been in the league for a while. I believe he was the MVP one year. I've seen him playing against him, I've seen him hit 320 bombs. I think we're getting that Jose Abreu right now, which is perfect. He can take us far and away if he hits like he did yesterday. Really he's been hitting great. He carried us in Arizona, and he carried us yesterday.

Yeah, his struggles in the beginning of the season, you couldn't even tell. That's what good players, that's what veteran players do. You can't really tell when they're struggling. He's been a great clubhouse guy as well. He's always super nice. What I appreciate about him is how much he wants to play every single night. You can't take him out of the lineup. He's kind of like Bregman. Even if, hey, he needs an off day or it's time for an off day, they don't need off days, and they want to be out there every single night.

As a young player, it's fun to watch him. Even the ups and downs, he always wants to be out there every single night. He gives it his all.