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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: TIGERS v RANGERS

October 10, 2011

Ron Washington

ARLINGTON, TEXAS: Game Two

Texas Rangers Â– 7
Detroit Tigers - 3

THE MODERATOR: Who has the first question for Ron Washington tonight?

Q. Ron, how do you guys feel now with the 2-0 lead going into Detroit? It still seems like it could be a long series.
RON WASHINGTON: It probably will be a long series. You got two teams competing that will not quit. And you know, we certainly had an opportunity earlier in the game with the bases loaded, didn't get it done. That time we got it done. It was one heck of a ballgame. All the stops was pulled out.
We feel pretty good about ourselves. But we know we have to go into Detroit and we have to play. That's the way it's going to be until you finally make it to where you want to get.

Q. Wash, you in the postseason have been asking Feliz to get more than three outs. Is that just a reflection of the time of year? You need more from him now?
RON WASHINGTON: It worked that way tonight. We had to get more out of him. We had to get more out of most of the guys we put out there because of the way the ballgame went. Cruz had got us the home run to tie the ballgame.
After that, we had to use our mitt guys and get as much out of them as we possibly could. So we asked Neffy about giving us an extra inning. He said he could do it. There he is.

Q. Can you talk about Ogando's performance tonight and then you went to Gonzalez and then you came to Feliz. Can you talk about that transition?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, you know, we really had no intentions on trying to get two innings out of Ogando tonight. But we had to. We had to try to push it. Kelly doesn't hit very well against left-handers.
Gonzo has nails getting lefties out for us. Decided to go there. Kelly got a base hit. The thing is I bust out the dugout too quick not thinking, and -- because I was asking Mike is Neffy down there ready for Cabrera. He hits the double, I jump out of the dugout.
I could have let Mike Gonzalez walk Cabrera. But I wasn't going to face Cabrera. Neffy came in and got us out of the inning.

Q. Can you talk about what you're seeing from Cruz right you know? And also the fact that he got hit, how hurt was he at that time?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, he was scared, because he got hit in the wrist. It was black and blue. So he was a little scared.
But after the doctor checked him and told him he was fine, then Nelson got up. But what he done tonight he's capable of doing. He did it for us during the course of the year when he was healthy. It couldn't have come back to him at the right time.
We certainly needed everything he gave us tonight. He tied the ballgame and he won it.

Q. Wash, talk a little more about your decision there to loaded bases by walking Cabrera. It meant obviously Feliz could get a little wild at times, bases loaded, now you're facing a left-hander. That kind of goes against your book, doesn't it?
RON WASHINGTON: No, it didn't go against my book when you had to pick your poison there. You had to decide if you wanted to give Cabrera a chance to beat you, or you had to go with Martinez who can also beat you.
When this series started, we said we were not going to give Cabrera a chance to swing the bat and beat us, so Martinez had to do it. Neffy come in and get all kinds of hitters out. Lefties, righties and if there's any other different kind. It was just one of those things where you had to pick your poison. And we decided to go with Martinez and he got him.

Q. Wash, Nelson has been trying to get his stroke back. Did you feel good after he hit that opposite field double? And did you see some kind of performance like this coming?
RON WASHINGTON: When Nelson is putting the ball to the middle of the field, especially the opposite way, you know he's staying on the pitch. The home run he ended up hitting to win the ballgame, all he was trying to do was stay in the big part of the field and he reacted. That's what Nelson have to do. When he does that, good things happen. Certainly good things happened for us tonight twice.

Q. Ron, did you feel -- was your confidence lifted when you got past Jose Valverde those two innings and felt more confident that you could hit off the rest of the bullpen?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, I was very confident we could get Valverde. Especially when we had the bases loaded right there. All we needed to do was get a ball in the air firmly and it would have got done.
But this guy gets outs. He got out of it. He's used to getting out of it. He showed why he's been the best closer in the game today. Hasn't blown one yet. It didn't happen. But we were always confident. Even after he come out the next inning we were confident. But it didn't happen.
And then each and every one of us had to go to different parts of the bullpen tonight. Thank God Mike came in and got done what he had to get done and we walked them off the field.

Q. Will you keep Nelson in the seven spot in the lineup?
RON WASHINGTON: For right now. Nelson is starting to get it together. I think as we move forward you won't see him in the seventh slot.
But right now I think that works for us, and when I change it, everyone will know.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Ron. Travel safe.
RON WASHINGTON: You bet.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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