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NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: CARDINALS v METSOctober 15, 2006Carlos BeltranCarlos DelgadoST. LOUIS, MISSOURI: Game Four Q. Can you just talk, Oliver Perez's line is not going to be overly exciting in the paper, but can you talk about what he contributed tonight. CARLOS DELGADO: He did a great job. I guess when you look at the greatest numbers in the game, you look at getting the job done. He kept us in the game until we took the lead and he gave us six good innings. We really needed that. This is a big guy that hadn't pitched in a couple of weeks, and it was nice for him to go out there and throw the ball the way he did, he kept us in the game. I think he did a fantastic job. Q. For both Carloses: Were you surprised to see the Cardinals bring Thompson in the fifth inning as opposed to Flores? CARLOS DELGADO: I don't get surprised. I don't mean to be short but I don't get surprised. In the playoffs anything can happen. I haven't played against the Cardinals enough to see what is their order in bringing guys out of the bullpen. So I wasn't. CARLOS BELTRAN: Well, I think he brought Thompson because Thompson was probably the guy that he was looking to put in the game. You know, like he said, Carlos, I don't get surprised with any move La Russa made. He makes a move because he knows what he's doing. Q. This is for both you guys: Did the offense feel tonight going into the game down 2-1 and with Perez on the mound that you guys needed to score a lot of runs to win the game? CARLOS DELGADO: We kind of -- we don't think that way. I am one to believe, let's get one more than them. What we did do was put last night's game behind us, and we went out there with, you know, clean slate, with a good approach, different from last night. We took a lot of pitches. We made their guy work. He probably had 75 pitches by the third inning. We saw a lot of pitches and made him throw a lot of pitches and we got some guys on that came up with some big hits in key situations. CARLOS BELTRAN: Well, we had a great approach today at the plate. We were letting the guy pitch. We took a few walks and, you know, it felt good, including myself, when I take a walk and have a guy like Carlos behind me and make the guy pay. He hit the home run with two guys on at the same time, and he also hit the double to score two more. Offensively, we did a great job. We was able to go out there and put the ball in play and also we made some good plays defensively. Q. Carlos seven home runs in the playoffs against the Cardinals puts you in the same line as Babe Ruth, how does that make you feel? And Carlos Delgado did you ever think it could be like this? CARLOS BELTRAN: Well, every time you contribute in the playoffs, it's a great feeling. Home runs, that's something that I don't look for them, they just happen. I felt good at the plate today. I was able to put the ball in play. I feel confident. I feel comfortable out there. I feel like I was on balance every time they make a pitch. It's a great feeling. It's a great feeling when you contribute to help the team win. I'm just very happy that we were able to win this ballgame and now we feel we're going to go back home. CARLOS DELGADO: For me it's a good feeling. I played 12 and a half years and never sniffed the playoffs. This is what every athlete wants to be in, the playoffs with an opportunity to win and it couldn't happen to a better group of guys. We worked really hard all summer to be where we're at. So we're going to play good and go out there and grind it, and enjoy it. I'm enjoying these playoffs, it's a blast, but I guess it's going to be that much sweeter when you win it. Q. Even if you believed in yourselves, is it a relief being tied 2-2, as opposed to the alternative? CARLOS DELGADO: It's a lot better being 2-2 than 3-1, especially on the road. We didn't put any pressure on ourselves. We knew that this was a very important game, but we didn't want to put anything extra. We just needed to go out there and play the game like we're capable of, and that's what we did. Q. Your home run snapped a scoreless streak of 14 innings for you guys, when you got back to the dugout, did you sense any tension or anxiety lifted there? CARLOS BELTRAN: We felt good today out there. When I hit the home run of course it feels great because you tied the ballgame and David Wright followed with another home run and we feel good about that. Our team, doesn't matter how far behind we are in the game, we're not going to quit, we're going to try to get back. We've done it so many times this season, we believe in ourselves. We know we have a real good offense and when everybody is having good pressure at the plate, we can turn the game and today we did it. Q. I watched you two years ago do this, is there something to the fact that you're on an historic pace of hitting seven home runs in 11 LCS games? What do you do to rise to the occasion in these games? CARLOS BELTRAN: I have no explanation for that. Like I say, nobody goes to the plate looking for home runs. They just happen. When you make good contact, when you have a good approach, when you're seeing the ball good -- today, like I said I was seeing the ball good, made good contact and the ball went out. I'm happy just to be in post-season, and just to be able to at this time be playing baseball when everybody is watching us. It's just a great feeling that, you know, we are here and we have potential to go to the World Series. Q. The series has been such a seesaw battle, does momentum count for anything even after a big win like this one? CARLOS DELGADO: I guess momentum, if you can get it, it helps. We're playing a good team. We're playing a really good team, and I think you create your own momentum. Sometimes it happens, you know, within the game. And you've just got to go out and approach every game like it's the last game you're ever going to play. That's what it boils down to. If you start hoping that, oh, what happened last night, what we did in the last inning is going to carry us for another nine innings, I don't think it works that way. You have to go out there and grind it and create your own chances, and hopefully you can catch a break. Q. Do you guys feel like this is the way the Mets have to win, with decent enough starting pitching and an offense that's going to carry the team? CARLOS DELGADO: Doesn't matter how we win, as long as we win. Glavine went out there the other night, threw seven shutout innings and we won 2-0. As long as we score one more than them, I don't care how the victories come, as long as we're shaking hands at the end of the game. Q. To either of you, I've heard a couple of Mets tonight say that you went out with a better approach tonight. Was it something that you guys talked about with each other after last night's game, and was there a little bit of anger or upsetness over the way that that guy was able to dictate the pace of the game and when you guys swung? CARLOS BELTRAN: Well, I think everyone was on the same page today. We went out there trying to look for a pitch to hit, and you know, that guy was throwing a lot of balls and we were able to, like I say, take the walks and Carlos was able to make them pay, twice. Like I said, I think everyone, including everyone, was having a good approach at the plate today. We were seeing a lot of pitches and it's a great feeling when you have a group of guys that are willing to take pitches at the plate. Q. For both Carloses, your feelings about tying the series knowing that tomorrow is going to be Glavine on the mound? CARLOS DELGADO: It's a good feeling. I guess I said earlier, it's a lot better being tied at two than 3-1. Glavine has been pitching great for us and we're hoping that he goes out there tomorrow and gives us another strong performance. He's been around for a long time. He's been in playoffs before. He knows what it takes, and we're just going to come out tomorrow and play good ball again. You know, just good approach and like I said, try to play like this is going to be the last game.
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