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AL DIVISION SERIES: RANGERS v RAYS

October 9, 2010

Ron Washington

ARLINGTON, TEXAS: Game Three

Tampa Bay Rays 6
Texas Rangers 3

Q. Talk about your thinking about the way you use the bullpen late in the game.
RON WASHINGTON: Well, I brought in Holland because he was going through a bench of lefties right there, and he got the ground ball for the double play. We didn't get it, and he walked the next guy. And I wasn't happy with the way he wasn't actually pounding the strike zone right there so I brought in Ogando. And got a fastball up and he hit it pretty good he got out the inning. And Darren Oliver I thought matched up pretty good the rest of the way. And it was the left-handers that got him, the people that we had him in there to get. And I had Nefti, I was going to use him on Jaso anyway. And in the case of O'Day, Bartlett had good numbers against him, since I was going to use Nefti anyway against Jaso, I just figured I would bring him in to get the one. He would be there in the ninth inning anyway.

Q. Do you feel like you let one get away here this afternoon?
RON WASHINGTON: No, I don't think we gave them anything. I think the runs they put on the board they earned. I didn't see us out there booting balls around; they earned it. It was a tough-fought ballgame. The eighth and the ninth they took it. We'll bounce back tomorrow.

Q. Bringing Nefti into a tie game there left you with one guy left in the bullpen on a game that was tied and could have a easily gone into extra innings. Did that concern you?
RON WASHINGTON: I had guys down there for extra innings, so it didn't. I had any Nippert down there for extra innings. I could have used C.J. and I still had -- I could have used Cliff Lee. So I had people, you know. Nefti comes in and don't walk Bartlett and get out of that inning, we're going to the ninth inning with a tie ballgame and I am bringing my closer in there anyway.

Q. Are you at all concerned about your closer, three walks in the two appearances?
RON WASHINGTON: No, I am not concerned. It was just one of those nights. You know, that's a good ballclub over there. You're not just going to step on them every night. Today they came and played and it was a hard-fought ballgame and they won it. That's the end of it. We'll bounce back tomorrow.

Q. Obviously you don't want to go to Game 5. Knowing you have Cliff Lee ready for such a situation, how comfortable is that?
RON WASHINGTON: It is very comforting, but the only thing we're thinking about now is getting prepared tomorrow with Tommy Hunter. We know if we do have to go back to Tampa we have Cliff Lee. Tomorrow we will come out and do what we did today, play as hard as we possibly can. Hopefully when it is over we have more runs than they have.

Q. Talk about your decision not to bring Lee back on three days' rest tomorrow and how you arrived at that?
RON WASHINGTON: We have never done it before. And we checked the numbers and the numbers say that not very many pitchers have been able to come back and do that. There is not very many Sabathia's out there. We decided to give Tommy Hunter the ball tomorrow. He won 13 games for us. We trust him and we feel good going into tomorrow.

Q. Can you talk about the job that Colby Lewis did. And you said that it was just the left-handers coming up that led you to make the change?
RON WASHINGTON: No, that didn't lead me to make the change. If you were watching in the fourth, fifth and sixth inning there he got erratic. When he started putting those guys on the bag, that's their game. We still ended up walking seven of them, but we dodged some bullets early. And we thought we could shut it down right there.
Once again, I thought I had the right people in the game and we just didn't get it done. Once again you have to tip your hat to them, to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Q. Did you feel like your team was relaxed and still calm and collected as it had been in Tampa?
RON WASHINGTON: Yes, I do. You know, you have to give credit to Garza. I mean, he stood out there and he pitched a good game. You can't take anything away from him you and can't take anything from Colby. He stepped up. We can only get two runs off them.

Q. Are you concerned at all about Oliver tomorrow after he threw 27 pitches today, whether you can use him tomorrow or how effective he will be?
RON WASHINGTON: At this time of the year if I have to use him, I'll use him or he will take the ball. And he's a veteran. He will figure it out.

Q. Wash, talk also with you about the decision before the series to go with the ten pitchers and keep a pinch-runner instead of having the extra pitcher?
RON WASHINGTON: With Molina and Treanor those guys can't run very good. If we ever get into a situation maybe in the sixth inning when the games is the line right there, I think we needed to have someone that can get us a bag when we need it. Someone that can score in the gap. So that's what we decided to do.
THE MODERATOR: Okay, thank you, Ron.

End of FastScripts

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