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AL DIVISION SERIES: TIGERS v YANKEES

October 1, 2011

Joe Girardi

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Game One

Detroit Tigers 3
New York Yankees 9

Q. Joe, you know, when these teams played in '06, I know you weren't here, but Cano was hitting ninth then. It seems funny now. He faces a pitch there in the sixth inning, three inherited runners to score all year. Had not allowed a home run all year. You saw it happen. Can you just talk about how this is just another sign of Cano's greatness.
JOE GIRARDI: Yeah. You look at what he's done the last two years for us. He has been big for us. What he did in the playoffs last year. He did a lot of damage. We talked about moving him up and we couldn't seem to get all our guys in the lineup the same day for a while there.
It's a kid that's grown and blossomed into quite a player is what he's done. He gets two big hits. The double to put us ahead 2-1 is a big hit as well. He swung the bat great all night.

Q. Joe, you've had faith in Nova all year. Did you ever expect he was going to come out in his first postseason game and give you that kind of performance?
JOE GIRARDI: I talked about if he was able to control his emotions I thought he could pitch pretty well. This is a good Tiger lineup, too. I just wasn't sure how he was going to control his emotions. I thought he did a very good job today. I didn't think he had his best stuff today. And he still found a way to get outs. But I thought he pitched really well. He pitched to contact.
We gave him a nice relay to keep them from scoring. He almost allowed us not to use our bullpen at all. I loved what he did today.

Q. Joe, back to Cano. You saw him as a rookie, and he was a good hitter.
JOE GIRARDI: Right.

Q. What's he done specifically that's made him a better hitter, even a great hitter?
JOE GIRARDI: I think he's learned how to pull the ball. I think he's learned how to drive the ball more. I think he's learned how to hit in big situations. It's not a guy that when he goes up there and there's a runner on, he's just trying to get a hit; he's trying to do damage. And I think that's the biggest difference.

Q. Joe, you mentioned that this is a pretty good lineup for the Tigers. How impressed were you that Nova was able to hold them? You held them to six hits. What do you keep doing in the series to keep them at that level?
JOE GIRARDI: Well, you have to make pitches. It's the only thing you can do in the series to try to keep them from scoring a lot of runs. As I said, they're a dangerous club and we know that. This is one game. It's always nice to win the first one. Tomorrow becomes an important game. And against this club you're going to have to make pitches. They pitch well, too.

Q. Joe, the ball that Cano landed on top of the wall in left, what does that say about his willingness to use the entire ballpark and not get seduced by the short porch in right, even though you said he's learned how to pull the ball? What did that say about his approach as a hitter in general?
JOE GIRARDI: It just tells me he doesn't change his approach. He's going to take what the pitcher gives him. And he knows how to use the whole field. He knows how to hit the ball out all over the ballpark. And a lot of times the last thing that comes for a young player is learning how to pull the ball and when to pull the ball. I think Robbie has figured that out.
It's one of the things that's made him such a dangerous hitter. It just shows you he's not trying to do too much.

Q. Joe, any similarities that you see between Nova and Cano and how they approach these big games? They seem to be both two young guys who aren't really afraid of the moment.
JOE GIRARDI: Robbie has been through the moment a lot already. Ivan has not. Ivan did a great job tonight. Our prayer is that it continues. Robbie has been through this a lot. Robbie has been in World Series in big games and he knows how to handle it.

Q. It was a tight game at the time. What was your view of the play at the plate, Russell?
JOE GIRARDI: I thought he was out. I didn't see a replay and I didn't look at a replay. It was a great replay. Grandy hits Jeet in the chest, Jeet makes a good throw and I thought he was out.

Q. The throw was high, but it was a perfect throw for the runner.
JOE GIRARDI: You wonder if he slides is he safe. I don't know. I didn't get real caught up in it because he was called out.

Q. Just have you made any definitive decisions on your pitchers?
JOE GIRARDI: Right now we're planning on CC on Monday and probably A.J. on Tuesday. Is that the days? Yes.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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