AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: RANGERS VS ASTROS

October 16, 2023

Nathan Eovaldi

Minute Maid Park

Texas Rangers

Postgame 2 Press Conference

Rangers - 5, Astros - 4

Q. Bases loaded, how did you bare down and get out of that?

NATHAN EOVALDI: It's tough in that situation. They pinch-hit for Díaz. I know he's been aggressive, and I was able to make some good pitches, make him expand. Altuve had a lot of success against me in the past. I felt earlier in the bats I was missing effectively to where it set up that moment.

Once I got him -- when I was ahead 1-2 and I went with a high fastball and followed it up with the splitter, you're close but you're not out of the woods yet because Bregman is equally as talented.

I was able to make a good pitch and get us out of the jam, and I felt like that was one of the turning points of the game.

Q. You're a very good regular season pitcher, but you're an historic postseason pitcher. Why? What happens this time of year for you?

NATHAN EOVALDI: Not really sure. I feel a lot of the times a lot of the guys in the dugout were saying how loud it was in the stadium. And to me, you get that tunnel vision, that extra focus, and you block everything out.

I feel like in those big moments you've got to bare down and make big pitches. The stadium is crazy. You have all the fans and everything going nuts. But at the same time you try to simplify everything down to your strengths and what you do best.

I feel the most comfortable when I'm out on the mound and executing my pitches. So today was another big win for us, and we've just got to stay focused and keep those blinders on and keep doing what we've been doing really well.

Q. After you get up give up the double to Brantley, did you want to come back out for the 7th?

NATHAN EOVALDI: I wasn't really aware of how many pitches I was at at that point. I was frustrated that I didn't make any adjustments on Brantley. Hit a good pitch cutter to left, and that run right there is a big run. Alvarez able to score from first with one out. And now the game is within two.

And coming in the dugout, Boch immediately, when I came up to him, said I was done. Again, I kind of was locked in as if I was going out back for the 7th. I was going to sit down, and he said I was done.

At this moment right now in the postseason, for me to be able to have that opportunity to get out of the fifth inning was enough for me. And I'm grateful for that opportunity.

Q. What does it mean to go back to Arlington with a 2-0 lead?

NATHAN EOVALDI: It's huge. The momentum is in our favor, but can't let the guard down. The Astros are an incredible team, and they have the lineup from top to bottom. They have good pitching.

And we've got to keep doing what we've been doing. And we bring this momentum back home to Arlington. Our fans were outstanding the last game, the first postseason game we had back home against Baltimore. Hopefully they'll be bringing that same energy going, and we'll be able to keep momentum going.

Q. You were ahead of them in the ALCS a couple of years ago. What does it take to get those last two wins?

NATHAN EOVALDI: Yeah, it may be a little cliché, but you try not to think about it. You go into it, we're up 2-0, but we've been doing a lot of the things right. We've been playing really good baseball. The defense has been great. Our starting pitching has been good. We've been able to put up runs early in the game.

Today was a big one to put up four in the first. And it changes that mentality. You're never trying to give up runs, but now you're trying to attack even more so and not giving any free bases.

The bullpen has been great. And just keep playing our baseball that we've been playing. We've been hot right now, and keep it going. We're all excited, and keep it going.

Q. You just mentioned it, but what does it mean to have a manager that is showing a lot of faith in his starting pitchers, three times through the order and sticking with you in tough situations?

NATHAN EOVALDI: It's definitely big. Definitely encouraging for us. We're trying to go as deep in the game as possible. I was checking my pitch count, see where I was, that way I could monitor it a little bit, try to get as fast of outs as possible, especially when we have a big enough run lead where we have a run or two to play with.

I can't say enough about Boch. He's got that old-school mentality, and at the same time he's aware what we're doing now. For him to step away from the game and come back and the way he's been able to manage it, it's been great for us.