MLB WORLD SERIES: DIAMONDBACKS VS RANGERS

October 29, 2023

Bruce Bochy

Chase Field

Texas Rangers

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. How have you seen Max progress from the Game 3 to the Game 7, and what do you expect for tomorrow?

BRUCE BOCHY: Well, I'll start with, it's just getting better and better with him, which is the norm -- the command of all his pitches, arm strength. I did go out and get him early. But he's been getting his work in.

Took a good bullpen a couple of days ago. So just takes time sometimes, and each time out I think he's just getting better.

Q. Your thoughts on Pfaadt, the first time you saw him and what you've seen from him so far -- tomorrow's starter?

BRUCE BOCHY: Good stuff, I mean he's pitching very well. That's why they're here. They're throwing the ball very well the starters and that bullpen.

He's got great stuff -- movement, command. He's pitching with a lot of confidence. We know we have our hands full with him, just like last game.

Q. We've asked you this every step of the way. We might as well ask it on another stop. This team has played exceptionally well on the road all throughout the playoffs. What have you seen from why this team has been so successful on the road?

BRUCE BOCHY: You know, Evan, that's hard to explain. Both teams have played well on the road. You need to when you're in the postseason. I'll start with that. You've got to find a way to win a game on the road. Obviously that last series we did.

But you know what? It's always a great sign, I think, that guys are staying focused on the road. Sometimes on the road, do you spend more time together. I know you do. And that can bring a team together and just build that chemistry you love about a club. And sometimes that happens on the road with the travel and staying at a hotel and coming to the ballpark.

Q. The Diamondbacks, they'll take their singles. They'll bunt. They'll steal bases. How difficult is it to game plan for a team that plays that way and can play it pretty well?

BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah, they play the game well. They do. It's a challenge. They're really good. They're athletic. They're fast. They do little things well. So when you face a team like that, when you're at this stage, you're playing a really good team.

All teams are a little different in their own way. They're built different. We're different than them. Their style of ball is a little different. And it works for them. That's what got them to the World Series.

Now it's always up to you to adapt to the way the club is playing against you, whether it's a running club or slug team, whatever it is. That's what we need to do. And that last game, really, was a close ball game. Got away from us at the end. But we played well.

Q. You guys carry three catchers three very different players in personalities. How important have all three of them been to what you guys have done this postseason?

BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah, they are different. And they all bring something different. That's the great thing about having more than one set of eyes and ears. They help each other in the meetings, when they work out, whether it's doing catching drills, blocking things like that, going over the game plan. It's a nice luxury.

And it's come into play for us, as you saw already. And even Hedges, if I had to make a move, I could put Mitch there. I'll lose my DH, but it gives you some insurance.

Q. As a manager, what's the best part or what do you enjoy the most about watching somebody like Max, who has pitched on this stage before do it in your uniform?

BRUCE BOCHY: Well, I'll say this, I appreciate the gifts and talents that great players have. I love to get to know them a little bit, what makes them tick, what makes them so good, especially over a long period of time. They're all special in their own way. But it doesn't take you long to figure out why they have been successful.

You have to have talent. It starts with that. But in our game you've got to have mental toughness. You've got to be able to control your emotions, all those things. But you've got to put a lot of work in and a lot of preparation. And he's all about that.

Q. Torey was in here a little while ago and he said it was an honor to be on the same field as you. He said it also meant a lot to him that you knew his name. Just what do you make of the job that he's done with the Diamondbacks this year?

BRUCE BOCHY: Incredible job, really. You look at where they were and the year that they've had, no not too unlike us. They had their bumps in the road.

But he got them back on track. Like I say, they play a great brand of ball.

And I think you have to look at him, that style of baseball that they play. I've had a chance to manage against him for a while. He's on top of everything. He does everything well.

We haven't spent a lot of time together, but in the short time we have, I respect him. I appreciate what he does across the field for his team.