AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: RANGERS VS ASTROS

October 23, 2023

Bruce Bochy

Minute Maid Park

Texas Rangers

Pregame 7 Press Conference

Q. I asked Dusty, I'll ask you, back in 2012 you guys matched up in that NLDS, you were with the Giants and he was with San Francisco. Do you go back and use any of that kind of experience going up against him in an elimination game, a game you won?

BRUCE BOCHY: Not really, to be honest. I mean, that's back in 2012. Great series there, great series here. You'd like to think you learn from every series. But that's not something I'm taking from that series that I'll be using here, to be honest.

Q. I know you said all hands on deck. Is everybody except Nate available out of the bullpen tonight?

BRUCE BOCHY: Right. All the pitchers are available and set to go.

Q. What did you think of the decision to uphold Bryan's suspension but he will be available for this game?

BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah, that's fine. I really hadn't put a lot of thought in it. I thought he'd be available. So that's what they came up with. That's out of my lane, to be honest. So I'm just thinking about our ball club.

Q. To you what was the most impressive aspect of the Garcia home run last night?

BRUCE BOCHY: I'd say probably as much as anything, to strike out four times and you are able to put that behind you and not have that pressure, I don't want to strike out the fifth time.

He did shorten things up a little bit. That's what he needs to do at times. He can get a little big there. And I'm sure he was a little amped up, the crowd was getting on him pretty good. He controlled his emotions very well at that at-bat.

Q. Now that you've been with the Rangers now for almost a season, what have you learned about what it would mean for that community to finally see this team win a World Series after 60 years of not?

BRUCE BOCHY: Well, I'll say this. It's been cool for me since I've been there to see the support just grow and grow as the season went. And that's something you have to earn. They've had some tough years recently, after having quite a bit of success.

So it's been cool to see the crowds getting bigger and bigger, louder and louder. So that's something that we feel good about, the players, to see them enjoying baseball again.

Q. Having done this as many times as you have, do you get nervous anymore during games? Do you feel butterflies? Do you feel anxiety? Or is it just another day at the office, so to speak?

BRUCE BOCHY: I wouldn't say nervous. I mean, you're anxious, you know, excited. Same thing I may tell the players. You have to savor it, enjoy it. There's so many times you're not in this situation. So be grateful that you're in Game 7 right now because there's some teams that would love to be here.

So I try to remind myself to enjoy, too. It's not like you're having fun, because it is intense, but you still have got to, again, be thankful we're in this situation.

Q. You got Scherzer going again. He's already pitched against this team. How do you think he'll do this next time around?

BRUCE BOCHY: Well, we just want Max to go out there, be himself. And when he's pitching like he can, then he's going to give us a chance to win. That's all you can ask.

Our bullpen is set to go. We have help for him. But just go out there and be yourself. He's been through this; so there's no concern there. And he's going to, trust me, leave it all out on the field for us.

Q. You mentioned he's been through this. Obviously you've been through this. You have a lot of guys who haven't. Will you specifically go out of your way to touch base with some of the younger players or keep an eye out for a level of nervousness that isn't normal?

BRUCE BOCHY: If I thought I needed to, I would. But how these guys have responded to postseason play, starting in Tampa, Baltimore, here, no, it's not necessary. The Carters and Jungs and those kids, they're really doing a nice job of how they're handling things and keeping, as I said, their emotions under control. So, no, I don't need to say anything to them.