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AL DIVISION SERIES: RANGERS v RAYS

October 4, 2011

Ron Washington

TAMPA, FLORIDA: Game Four

Texas Â– 4
Tampa Bay - 3

THE MODERATOR: Okay, questions for Ron Washington.

Q. Hey, Wash, can you just put Beltre's performance into perspective?
RON WASHINGTON: Amazing. You know, we've been waiting for the middle of our lineup to get started, and today he stepped up and put us on his back and hit three home runs against pretty good pitching. And that's not easy to do. And he did it. And he's been big for us all year. And today he was bigger than big; he was huge.

Q. Yeah, Ron, can you just talk about some of the different things you had to do with pitchers today? Holland in the sixth, Adams before Ogando, how that played out.
RON WASHINGTON: Brought in Derek because Damon was leading the inning off, and Derek had two days down, today was his third day, and we wanted to keep a lefty there to get us through. And he got us through the one inning, and then we just needed him to get Joyce in the seventh. And then brought in Mike Adams.
It was a good weapon for me to have down there today. Today everybody -- all hands were on deck today. And we had the lead, so we had to try to put the game away. And we put the best we had out there today, and we survived it.

Q. Can you talk about Beltre, just his presence in the clubhouse, what he brings besides his power?
RON WASHINGTON: You know, he brings defense. He brings leadership. He brings a tremendous work ethic. He brings a lot of energy. He has fun, and that's what the game is. And he's one of our leaders, and today he led big time.
We needed everything he gave us today.

Q. Wash, can you talk a little bit about the last two games. Did you do anything differently in your approach to pitching to Upton and Longoria to kind of contain them? They've been kind of the hot guys down the stretch. And you were able to --
RON WASHINGTON: No, we were attacking them the same way we tried to attack them all year. You know, the thing about Upton and Longoria, when you make mistakes, they make you pay. And we were fortunate enough after the first game to not make very many mistakes against them. And in the process we got them out.
We have a ton of respect for that Tampa Bay team. You know, I want to congratulate them for the run that they made. And it's unfortunate that someone had to lose. And that organization certainly have turned themselves around.
And one thing they can do, they can play baseball and they play nine innings. And it's been tough competing against them. And, once again, I just want to congratulate them for the run they made.

Q. Did you have, if not fear, some degree of concern when Matt Moore comes in and throws the two shutout innings that maybe the momentum is going the other way?
RON WASHINGTON: No, I had no concern. I had no fear. We saw him in Texas and it wasn't under the best conditions, but today we could see the ball. I thought we took better passes at him. I thought we saw the ball better. Although we only scratched one run off him, I thought we made better passes. He is a tremendous athlete. He has a bright future, and I wish him all the health moving forward.
But, once again, Tampa just keeps stacking pitching. This kid had a tremendous arm, a lot of life in it. Showed a good breaking ball today. Beltre got him.

Q. Is this where you expected to be when you started the season, given the changes in the roster?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, when we arrived in February, that's the goal we set, to move as far through the playoffs as we possibly can. And to the credit of those guys in the clubhouse, to the credit of my coaching staff and to the credit of the organization, we got an opportunity to move forward.
And that opportunity didn't come lightly. We had to play for it. And we did. And I'm very proud of them.

Q. Wash, I know you have a lot of incredible players in your lineup, but if you had to pick one guy who you would imagine would come through on a gigantic stage in a gigantic way in a game like this, would it be Beltre?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, you are putting me in a corner, because, as you said, I have quite a few. And I can start at the top of my lineup and work all the way down to the bottom.
Today it was Beltre. But Ian Kinsler got it started. Another day it's been Michael Young. Another day it's been Napoli. Another day it's been Cruz. Another day it's been Elvis setting the table. Another day it's been Mitch Moreland. Another day it's been Murphy. Another day it's been Torrealba. I can continue.
That's why you are successful, because everybody plays a part in what you're trying to do. You can't get it done with one or two guys, because the superstar can't be a superstar if the people who set the table for him didn't set the table. So that's why you rely on everyone.
And I know I didn't answer your question, but that's the type of team I have. On any given day, any one of them can get you.

Q. Why do you think it was Beltre's turn? Why do you think Beltre came through like that?
RON WASHINGTON: He was swinging the bat extremely well down the stretch. And the first two games -- the second game he started really seeing the ball a little better. And today it was the day that we certainly didn't want to have to go back to Texas to play. And they came in focused this morning, and you could see Beltre was ready to play in BP, and today he stepped up for us and we needed everything he gave to us.
Credit my pitching. They did a great job. We played solid defense. We didn't get a whole lot of opportunity to run the bases, but we can beat you in many ways, and today it was the long ball.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Wash. Congratulations.
RON WASHINGTON: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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