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MLB WORLD SERIES: RANGERS v CARDINALS

October 20, 2011

Ron Washington

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI: Game Two

Texas Rangers 2
St. Louis Cardinals 1

Q. Would you go through the whole strategy of the ninth inning there and the bunt and the steal and how everything built towards the sacrifice flies that won the game.
RON WASHINGTON: Well, Kinsler had a good at-bat and ended up dropping one in, and Motte is not very quick to the plate. I had Elvis bunting, just trying to get the run over to second base and give the middle of the order a chance to at least get us a run and stay in the ballgame. But it all worked out. Kinsler steals second and then Elvis gets the big base hit and takes second base on the throw. Sets us up pretty good. Hamilton comes up and get the sac fly and Michael fights for his at-bat and gets us another sac fly, and then we bring in Feliz, and he gets us three outs and here we are with a win.

Q. What does it mean for your 2 through 7 hitters, it was the 3 and 4 that got the sacrifice flies, but they struggled but to get those two key RBIs in the ninth. What does that do for them overall?
RON WASHINGTON: We've been a club that plays nine innings, and tonight we played nine innings. I think you've got to give credit to the pitching out there tonight. I knew there was a lot of talk about the starting pitching not being up to par, but I'll tell you, these last two series, I think the starting pitching has shown what they're capable of doing. You just have to keep grinding, keep grinding, keep grinding and good things started to happen, for us anyway.
We played nine innings, and tonight was proof of the type of team that we are. We've got a lot of character in that clubhouse.

Q. Obviously the best-of-seven series, things turn around quick. Can you talk about what you guys felt as a team, the momentum shift, by doing what you guys did in the ninth inning?
RON WASHINGTON: You know, there was good karma in our dugout the whole night. Once again, when you get pitchers out there executing their pitches, they'll make anyone look like they don't have it going on.
But you know, you've got to keep fighting, and we needed to get one here. And I think tonight was one of those great ballgames that I think you will continue to see against the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers. That's what you're in for, so I've got to say those of you that have bad hearts, watch yourself. (Laughter).

Q. Can you talk a little bit about your running game, not just a Kinsler steal but the ability for Elvis to go to second on a missed cutoff.
RON WASHINGTON: Well, you've got to run with your heads up. He got a base hit, Kinsler challenged Jay, Elvis hit a line drive and he was playing quite shallow. He was really surprised by how shallow he was playing, but he was, and the ball sort of short hopped. Kinsler went over and tried to make the play, Elvis read the throw and kept going, and it put us in a position to get what we did. Ham hit the sac fly. Schumacher made a strong throw to third base but got just under the throw there, and Mike did the rest, and then Neftali came in and got us the three outs.

Q. Before the game there were questions about whether or not Josh should even be in the lineup tonight. You said he would deliver big tonight, he came up with the sacrifice fly. What did you know that we didn't?
RON WASHINGTON: I know my player. You know, things are going around that Hamilton is dealing with some problems, and he is, but the nine guys that I put out there on the field tonight, those are the nine guys that got me here, and we're going to deal with them through good times and bad times. If he tells me he can play, I'm putting him in the field. All I can say is I know my players better than you guys.

Q. The Cardinals are really good obviously at shutting down a running game. What did you tell the players in your scouting meetings before the series started about that, about their aggression on the bases?
RON WASHINGTON: Be aggressive on the bases once the ball is put in play. We're going to continue to go 1st to 3rd. The only way we'll have an opportunity to steal a bag is if the pitcher gives us that opportunity, and tonight Motte gave us that opportunity. And we exposed it and took advantage of it.
You know, Molina came up and made one heck of a throw. Kinsler got underneath it, and from that point right there, we just started running the bases. Good things started happening. But I just told them not to force it because the guy can throw. We've got to run on the pitcher. If he gives us an opportunity, let's try to take advantage of it.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about Elvis' defensive play tonight, what it meant to you guys. Basically I thought it kept you in the game and I wanted to get your thoughts.
RON WASHINGTON: He saved us right there. He kept runs off the board, and that's exactly the type of play that he's capable of doing. You know, I had the bunt on in that ninth inning. He's one of the biggest guys in our lineup when it comes to getting clutch base hits, and he did a good job fighting Motte. You know, and got a base hit right there. But more than anything else, those two plays he made definitely saved runs. It kept runs off the board. Both teams are capable of doing that. I mean, we're equal in the way we play the game of baseball, and certainly going to be a lot of fun the rest of the way.

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