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NL DIVISION SERIES: CARDINALS v PHILLIESOctober 5, 2011David FreeseEdwin JacksonST. LOUIS, MISSOURI: Game Four Cardinals – 5 Q. David, you and I have kind of talked about this before, but growing up in St. Louis, not only being in the post-season for the first time but to have the kind of game you had tonight, how do you even describe it? Or what did that feel like and what are you feeling now? DAVID FREESE: Yeah, I mean, I don't even really remember it. It's a dream to be a part of this. Ever since I got traded over from San Diego, I always just thought about the post-season, the playoffs, and being a Cardinal in the post-season. That's what this is all about. This is what you worked for, and just to do this in front of the fans of St. Louis and a bunch of friends and family, it's amazing. Q. David, a couple weeks ago, you said that one of the home runs was the biggest hit of your career. How would you describe this one tonight? DAVID FREESE: I think we can scratch that last one off the list. No, this one is huge. It brings us to Game 5, it gets us to a nice little Halladay-Carpenter match-up, and that's what we were striving for. Q. Edwin, how much of a factor was the long layoff between starts for you? And you got off to a bit of a rough start. How did you keep that together and bounce back from that? EDWIN JACKSON: It wasn't as much of a factor as it might have looked, just a matter of going out. I knew I would feel kind of strong. It was just a matter of going out and staying relaxed and controlled in the game instead of letting the game control me and getting overwhelmed with everything. I mean, they got off to a hot start. They came out first pitch of the game swinging double, and then everybody else keeps swinging. But we had a chance to strike them out, throw them out and get out of the inning. And from then on, I told myself keep it close, keep within striking distance, let these guys do what they did tonight, come back and score runs. Q. David, I guess the beauty of the playoffs is momentum can change with just one swing. Can you talk about your struggles the first three games of the playoffs and then what changed tonight? DAVID FREESE: Yeah, I think I have, what, 20 strikeouts so far this series. I mean, you go up against pitchers like this, you might have bad nights, but that's the beauty of this game. And I'm the type of guy, I'm going to come in the next day and not even remember what happened the night before, and I'm going to get my work in and keep battling and kind of after my first day just be thinking about some stuff and kind of worried about getting my front foot down. That's always a key for me offensively is getting my front foot down. My timing, I felt like, has been a little off. I just got some good pitches to hit. You go up against this staff, you're going to have to grind it out and you're not always going to have the best night, but tonight worked out. Q. This question is actually for both. Edwin, you brought up the double play in the first inning. There was two really big defensive plays, that double play and then Pujols stepping off and throwing to third. Talk about how big both those plays were and then talk about that Pujols' play. Were you surprised by what he did? And David, the same thing, obviously you were ready but were you surprised that was coming at you? EDWIN JACKSON: Definitely that was two big vital defensive plays definitely kept us in the game and kept runners off the base, strike them out, throw them out was big, calm down. The rally that they had going on in the first inning, then the play by Pujols, it kind of did actually surprise me to see him stepping off the base. But out of the corner of my eye, I did see the runner keep going. So once everything settled down, I knew what was going on. But at the time it did kind of surprise me a little bit. But that's what you get when you put veterans on the field. That's definitely a heads-up play and a real veteran move. Q. David, can you talk about your success on first-pitch strikes so far in this series as opposed to getting a few strikes later in the count and how you've had a lack of success there and you've had a great deal of success on first-pitch strikes? DAVID FREESE: Yeah, I go to the plate ready to hit. I think you look at my numbers, I don't walk a lot. Obviously that's something that hopefully I build on. But I go up there trying to find a barrel. If I see something I like, I'm going to go after it, and sometimes it gets me in trouble, but I think you've got to be aggressive. Q. Edwin, what was the thought going through your mind when you took the hill tonight in a must-win game? EDWIN JACKSON: It was kind of funny, this is probably the most relaxed I've been all season, and maybe so far one of the biggest games that I've pitched in. But it was just a matter of going out and doing what I've been doing all season. It's kind of funny you have to treat it like a regular season game even though if you lose it could send you home. You have to do that to not get overwhelmed, especially coming off extra days of rest. I knew I'd be feeling kind of strong and it would be easy to go out there and try to do too much. Just have to keep your poise and make them put the ball in play. That was my main thing, throw strikes. I've been watching the series from the bullpen these last few days and the pitchers have just been coming out and throwing strikes. And the ones that haven't have been in trouble. So that was going through my mind, just throw strikes, make them put the ball in play and let the defense work behind me. Q. What was that move when you got to second base after the double? It was kind of a -- DAVID FREESE: Well, that was excitement, but we kind of cross our arms on doubles. That's kind of our thing. I used to have a walk-up sign, the DX theme, so that kind of stuck. Obviously we don't do the cross down below; you kind of bring it up higher for the kids. But that's just what we do. Q. The big trades, you come from the White Sox, all those guys came from Toronto, Arthur Rhodes, Furcal came in later. What's it been like for you? Or what's it mean for all of you guys to contribute the way you have to help make all of this possible? EDWIN JACKSON: I mean, it's been a blast. We brought a lot of energy over with us, pretty much every guy that they brought over has a lot of energy, and maybe that's what this team felt like they needed, and we just gelled in with what they already have, and everybody has been working out together perfect. You bring in two veteran bullpen guys and then a lefty who has great stuff and you throw him out in the bullpen, everybody in this trade has been vital. It's been like the missing pieces to the puzzle, and we've all been having a lot of fun, and that's how we are where we are today. Q. I want to go back to that play in the 6th because up until then it was 3-2. Obviously you're covering third because of anything that might happen, but how surprised were you when the ball came at you and how big of a momentum change was that? DAVID FREESE: Well, that was a tough hop on Furcal to begin with. I don't know if Pence would have been -- he would have been safe on that play if I would have stayed, but Albert is Albert, and he does stuff like that all the time. And you've just got to be ready, whether he's on the bases or on the field. His instincts are second to none in this game, and he threw me a bullet. And I knew the way Utley plays, he plays his heart out and I knew he was going to come in hard and I was just trying to catch the ball and hang on to it. Q. Knowing the kind of competitor that Carp is and the way he pitched in Game 2, have you guys noticed his demeanor around the clubhouse? Was he pretty upset about that the next couple days? And does anyone want the ball more in a Game 5 situation? DAVID FREESE: You know, Carp is all about winning, bottom line. That's what he said after his outing. We fought back, and that's what Carp wants, he wants to win. And he wants that ballgame 5, and he's going to be ready. He knows what we're going up against in Philly with Halladay and their offense, but I think that they understand that we're going to bring our A game. And it's going to be exciting. It's going to be a lot of fun, and we'll see what happens. Q. Sorry if you answered this, but growing up in St. Louis, having this game at home, is this the kind of thing you dream about in your back yard as a kid? DAVID FREESE: Yeah, I dreamed about the World Series, but having a night like this in front of the people at Busch Stadium is unreal, and this crowd has been amazing the last few nights. Growing up coming to these games, dreaming to be a part of this is definitely something special. Q. I posed this question to Tony: Is there a conscious effort on your part when you're going well to go to center field, right field? Obviously you did get the big hit to left tonight, but do you feel at your best when you're trying to get the ball right back up the middle? DAVID FREESE: Yeah, that's the type of hitter I am. I don't go out there and try to hit home runs, I just try and hit line drives. When guys are on base, I try and act like nobody is on base and try and just be me and try and just go gap the gap, and sometimes it leaves. Q. What was your thought when the ball cleared the wall on the home run ball? DAVID FREESE: Wow, that's nice. I was happy it left. I knew I hit it pretty good, but you never know, especially in this park. But just to give our pitchers a little cushion just to work with because we know what type of offense Philly has, and they're going to play a full nine, and the bullpen that we have and what they're doing right now is awesome. Q. Edwin, I know you don't know what's going to happen this winter or whatever, and you're not focused on that, but is it gratifying to go out there in a game where it's potentially your last one here, pitch the way you did, and maybe give yourself a chance to come back and pitch some more here? EDWIN JACKSON: Definitely. I definitely hope that I do have more opportunities to pitch here. But right now we're just focusing on one game at a time, and hopefully have more opportunities to pitch here in the playoffs. We can go Friday and take care of business, I'll have more opportunity to be in a Cardinal uniform. But anything else besides that, I haven't really been focused on, I've just been focused on trying to go out and win ball games here and concentrate on what we have going on in front of us right now. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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