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AL DIVISION SERIES: RAYS v RED SOXOctober 3, 2013Matt MooreBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Practice Day Q. Even though you debuted in Baltimore, I think your second ever appearance was here in the Fenway Park out of the bullpen. What do you remember about that? Was that a big moment in your young stages of your career? MATT MOORE:  Yeah, it was. You know, Joe actually gave me an opportunity to go either way. I think I wound up walking the first two guys, and typically that's an early hook right there out of the bullpen. I wound up wiggling out of it and getting three outs without anybody scoring. In my eyes I see that as a big moment and gaining some confidence and showing Joe what could happen. Q. How do you view the Red Sox? What's the secret of pitching to that team? MATT MOORE:   You know, I don't know if there is a secret. I've had a good game against them this year and I've had an average game. So I think the majority of the time, in my experience with Boston, is that I have to prove I'm going to throw some strikes. Be aggressive in the strike zone with my pitches, and show that I'm going to throw off‑speed pitches for strikes, as well. So I think just overall command, that kind of helps the game go a little bit smoother. Q. When you've started on the road, 16 times this year, the Rays are 14‑2, but they're ten games under .500 when anyone else is starting on the road. What has made you so comfortable and so successful pitching in opponents' ballparks? MATT MOORE:  I think it's ‑‑ I can't really speak to what we do when I'm not on the mound. I think for me going into a game on the road, I try to take that as a little bit more of a challenge than when you're at home and you have the 10th man, so to speak, with your fans and things like that. There's nothing better than winning on the road in an environment like this. It's definitely an opportunity for us to step up and do something special. Q. Can you put into words what it is like to see what David and Alex did the last couple of nights? I know you always talk to us about trying to one up each other, do as well. What does that feel like for you going out to the mound tomorrow seeing what they did? MATT MOORE:  It feels great, to be able to see what they've done on the road, and we've had times where we've had to wait in the clubhouse to see where we're going and play the next day. So to be able to see them keep their focus and maintain the routine that they do to get them ready and have solid games like they had in those elimination games, I think it gives all of our staff confidence that things are still going normal. Even though we're not in our standard routine as we would be going into cities, and seeing for a few days. Things are still normal, and it's a good sign for us when we're rattling off good starts. Q. Does it give you confidence to pitch as well as they did? MATT MOORE:  Absolutely. It's kind of like when you see somebody do something bad or a pitcher struggling, or whatever it is, it's just kind of ugly, you try not to look away. In these moments when these guys are dominating games and taking over, that's where you want to have your eyes most open. So to be able to see that, that's a great visual for a mentality, for sure. Q. When you guys left for New York to start this road trip ages ago, were you surprised that you are here now, everything that you've gone through, up and down the country? This is kind of typical RaysÂ’ baseball. MATT MOORE:  I didn't think we were going to have a stop in Texas, but I did see us in this particular matchup. Not saying that we looked over any wildcard game or anything like that, but obviously we're confident and we have goals. The way the Toronto series wound up, we obviously didn't plan on being in Texas for Game 163. But I think it helps us a little bit, gives us a little bit of an edge that we have had a pretty tough road to here. I think it shows resilience. Q. Joe said he thought you were at your best when you were effectively wild. Can you speak of that? Do you agree with that? He said sometimes when your command is great, you leave too many pitches in the zone. MATT MOORE:  I would agree with that to a certain extent, absolutely. It's kind of hard to have a game plan of making me establish pitches when I'm not necessarily in the zone every pitch or around the zone every pitch. So I think that some random, erratic misses kind of maybe can make me have to prove something else and get me in some better counts and I'm getting ahead early. Q. You've only been around a couple of years, but from what you've heard from the other guys, where would you rank the rivalry with the Red Sox? And how intense is it when you're playing Boston? MATT MOORE:  For me right now, this is the biggest series, as far as rivalries go. This is a great place for us to win on the road. I haven't felt this good going on the field celebrating. I know our record against them this year is not too shiny. But it's definitely a very good feeling celebrating, you know, shaking hands in the middle of the field here, it's nice. Q. Is there a different feeling now, two years later, than when you got the ball as a 22‑year‑old to start the AL DS? Are you more aware of the opportunity that's in front of you now? MATT MOORE:  I think I'm a little more ‑‑ yeah, I would say that. I'm a little more aware of the lineup. I think that the whole Major League level, the experience, that stuff kind of leveled off with that a little bit to where it's not as new. I think a lot of that helped me back in 2011, just not having the expectations for myself that year and just being in the situation kind of helped me be in the moment. Q. After the Pittsburgh‑Cincinnati game, players from both sides talked about the energy of the crowd and how loud it was, how it impacted the game. When you're in that type of environment, do you feed off of that energy or do you do the opposite and just shut everything out? MATT MOORE:  I tried not to let ‑‑ those situations where the crowd gets real loud and real wild is usually when something is going their way. So I try not to feed off of the things that are fueling them, but I think just the quietness, what Alex was able to do last night against Cleveland, that place was rocking. I've heard stories about it, and it was true. And same thing with Texas and David's start. So to hear how loud it could be, and then to hear how quiet it could be, as well, I think that's really something that fuels me a little bit more is to try to block them out and hopefully nothing too bad happens to make them cheer too much. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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