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MLB WORLD SERIES: RANGERS v CARDINALSOctober 21, 2011Kyle LohseARLINGTON, TEXAS: Workout Day Q. Going into a start where the series is tied, does that change anything for you, any part of your routine, or does it put any additional pressure on you? KYLE LOHSE: No, it doesn't change anything. It's not like I try any harder or less hard if we were up 2-0 or down 2-0. Regardless of what it is, it's an important start and I'm going to handle that way and prepare the same way I normally would. Q. There's always a lot of talk about how Yadier Molina is great at calling pitches and shutting down a running game. And I'd be curious if you had examples from the time you've worked with him about things he does well for you and how he puts your mind at ease on the running game. KYLE LOHSE: First of all, he calls a great game. We go over the hitters before the game with Duncan, and I think maybe I've shook him three times this year, and I think two of those I gave up hits. It's one of those things where he's great back there because he knows how you like to work and what we talked about doing, and if you need to make adjustments during the game, he's on top of it. You know, I think maybe three guys attempted steals on me, I'm not sure exactly, but it's a pretty low number, and to go through 30 starts with only three guys attempting, it makes it easier for you to concentrate on executing the pitch when you don't have to worry about being super quick to the plate, which I'm already quick, but when he's back there, you don't have to worry about it much. Q. How unforgiving is this ballpark, either as you walk around it today or your experience here? KYLE LOHSE: It's tough. I think the last time I pitched here was five or six years ago, and I don't -- I'm a different pitcher from then. I used to throw a lot of four-seam fastballs, now it's almost exclusively two-seamers. I've learned how to keep it down, so hopefully that takes the ballpark out of play if I keep the ball on the ground. It's a tough place to pitch, especially when you see those flags blowing in. It usually means that jet stream is going out to right-center. I think everyone in the league knows that. Coming in you've got to keep the ball down, especially against this lineup. Q. When you look at the Rangers' lineup, 1 through 9 it's a pretty even lineup. What are some of the things when you scout these guys that you point out mostly? KYLE LOHSE: We try to keep it simple with our game plans. I'm not going to get too much into it, but you've got to keep it down. They've got power throughout their lineup in a ballpark that's going to be real crucial for me to keep it down and keep out of those big innings. For my game, game plan, I'm not a flame thrower, so I've got to locate and hit my spots and keep them off balance. I just really try to keep it simple. Q. When we spoke in the spring you talked a lot about how you got to be reacquainted with some of your pitches again after the surgery, but not only just being able to throw them again but being able to locate them. I am wondering how similar to what you're doing now with the slider and sinker is what you felt coming out of spring, if that finger now being so far removed from it, if you have that same kind of use of the pitches? KYLE LOHSE: Yeah, I think it's made me appreciate what I've gone through the last two years ago, year and a half ago, dealing with the inability to make the ball spin the way I wanted to. Since Spring Training I haven't had any problems with the forearm. The surgery has done its job. I had a little finger issue in the second half, and that kind of -- for a couple starts there it made it tough to throw the slider. But since then I've been able to put all the spin and pressure on my fingertips and do everything that I've needed to do. And I think right now I feel as good as I did at the beginning of the spring. Q. Does it change much for you that you won't be hitting? Does it change how you pass the time, what you do? Does it mean anything for how deep you can get into a game? KYLE LOHSE: No, you know, I came up in the American League, so I'm used to sitting there and not worrying about when my spot was coming up. So it's not a big adjustment. I don't remember if I made one or two Interleague starts this year, but it doesn't change a whole lot. Just means I don't get to go out and hit BP during batting practice. Q. You know this ballpark obviously from your American League days and you mentioned it's going to be a huge factor, can you tell us how you adjust your strategy when you come to a ballpark like this. KYLE LOHSE: I've pitched in hitters' ballparks before. I was in Cincinnati and Philly for about a year and a half. Nothing really changes a whole lot. You just pay for your mistakes a little more often if you leave the ball up. I'm not going to try to be pitching up in the zone. Every once in a while you have a case where you try to sneak one by somebody up there if you think they'll chase, but the strategy for myself has always been keep it down and on the corners, and that's not really going to change here. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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