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NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: GIANTS v PHILLIES

October 20, 2010

Bruce Bochy

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: Game Four

Giants Â– 6
Phillies - 5

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Bruce Bochy.

Q. You want to just talk about the epic night Posey had.
BRUCE BOCHY: What a great night he had. He did all the damage for us, really. I mean, to get that big hit, it's quite a night, every at-bat he delivered for us and he's a talent. We know it. We've seen it for a while and he certainly came through tonight for us, two-out hits. Big hit there in the last inning.
Quite a game for him. Great throw from Aaron, great play there, saved some damage, got a big out in that inning and he still ended up having a big inning, but did help limit that somewhat. But nice play on his part.

Q. When did you determine that Uribe was available? Did you ask him if he could go before you put him in?
BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah. He took BP, said it felt a lot better. He said he was available and we checked on him again late in the ballgame. If Willy had a fairly easy inning, he was going back out there for two innings, we made a double-switch. I felt comfortable putting Juan out there. We had the right guy at the plate there, and he's come through so many times for us and got a ball he could handle to get deep enough in the outfield.

Q. Your bullpen wasn't perfect, but Casilla settled down and gave you, got out of the inning and also pitched a perfect seventh. And Romo gave up the double but he got out of that inning. How important was that?
BRUCE BOCHY: Well, it's important when these guys do come in. They give up a hit and they settle down. And Casilla has done such a great job for us, especially with men on base and got that breaking ball up.
He placed it just in the right place between outfielders. But the wild pitch, you know, that didn't help matters.
But after that, you know, he settled down and he gave us the next inning, I thought was huge, and same with Romo. You give Werth credit. Pretty good pitch he hit. But you got a man on second there, and he got out of it. That saved us.
So these guys -- they haven't been getting a lot of work. So I'm sure the work tonight's going to help them. But the bullpen's done such a great job for us. I'm so confident in them and they're going to have hiccups now and then, but I did like the way they settled down and pitched well after they gave up a hit.

Q. Pablo came through for you, a lot of big hits there, big double there. Can you describe that moment for you guys?
BRUCE BOCHY: It was a great at-bat. In fact, I thought the one ball was fair. And I guess it was just foul. He didn't let it bother him. And came through with the line shot there in the left center gap. I thought he had some good at-bats tonight, which it was good for his confidence. I mean, this guy can hit. And he can certainly help us.

Q. I heard you answer about the bullpen. Just curious about not using Wilson in the eighth inning, I know you've done that quite a bit this year?
BRUCE BOCHY: Well, there's nobody out there. Put a lot on him really go two innings and I've been using Romo there. Ramirez, too, and I just felt like with Willy throwing a day before just try to get out of this one out. Tied it. And I had Willy for the ninth and tenth. But to bring him in that situation now puts us in a tougher position, to be honest, if they do score and I don't have them for the ninth and tenth.

Q. Are you as dazzled about the rest of us about the catcher being as good in the biggest games of the year?
BRUCE BOCHY: Nothing he does surprises me. Since we brought him up he played great baseball, both sides of the ball receiving, swinging the bat. He's a guy that we, it's obvious we think a lot of. He's our number one pick and brought him up here. We turned it over to him and he's done a great job. But it's fun to watch this kid play. It really is. The month he had in July, he carried us, and he's a guy you want up there and he finds a way to get it done.

Q. Bruce, the majority of the national media had Phillies in five. Phillies in six. Do you guys pay attention to that at all. How much do you relish being the underdogs?
BRUCE BOCHY: We don't think about that. All we do is think about going out there and giving it the best we got, try to play our best game and win that game. You don't get caught whether you're the underdogs. What's important is what you believe and we're here because we're a good team here. We're playing a great team. We know it. We have tremendous respect for the Phillies. We know we have to play our best ball to beat them. And you go out there and you give it your best. You see what happens.
But you don't get caught in the other things, what they're predicting is what you think.

Q. How do you think Madison handled the start and was it a difficult decision there in the fifth with him?
BRUCE BOCHY: I thought he was throwing the ball well. He wasn't as sharp with his command and gave up four pretty good line drives there and he wasn't quite getting it where he wanted. So that's why I went out and got him. It didn't work out, but the kid was throwing well to that point and we started to get the ball up and he's done a great job for us. His pitches were getting up there a little bit. So when you have a bullpen like we have, you trust them and you give them credit. They scored off us.
But we kept battling, came back and you gotta be resilient in this game and the team was tonight.

Q. On the play where Posey tags Ruiz as a former catcher what was difficult about that play, what was impressive about the way Posey handled that play?
BRUCE BOCHY: It's the toughest play in baseball, a play at the plate. You've got to handle the throw, you've got the runner bearing down on you, and you gotta keep your focus and make sure you secure the ball and it's a close play there. But there's not a tougher play. So Buster did a great job there. And you give Aaron Rowand credit. It's quite a throw he made. He came up and threw the strike right there. He gave Buster a good ball to handle.

Q. I know you're going to say you still have a lot of work to do, but what's your feeling going into Game 5 where you have a chance to clinch, with Lincecum against Halladay on the mound?
BRUCE BOCHY: Again, facing one of the best pitchers in the game. We have a good guy going, great matchup. It's just a case where you go out there and you go out there and try to play your best game and you see what happens. And the only thing we can focus on is what we're doing tomorrow night. This was a nice win. It was a great win. But you've got to put these behind you just like losses and come out and be ready to go tomorrow.

Q. I don't know if you can give an honest answer here but were you surprised to see Oswalt in the ninth?
BRUCE BOCHY: Not really. It's that time of year where you see a little different strategy or guys being used. These are must-win games. No, I saw him warming up. I wasn't surprised at all. He's had some time off. And he's done such a great job for them. They're doing all they can to win the game. So I was not surprised.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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