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AL DIVISION SERIES: TIGERS v ATHLETICSOctober 4, 2013Bob MelvinOAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: Game One DETROIT – 3 THE MODERATOR: Questions for Bob Melvin. Q. Bob, what do you see that was going on with Bartolo, especially at the start of the game? BOB MELVIN: Well, it looked like balls were up, couple of balls not hit hard, a couple of balls hit hard. We said often, too the starting pitcher is the most vulnerable early in the game. But he settled down and pitched well. Q. What made Scherzer look so tough tonight? BOB MELVIN: He's always tough. He won 21 games. He has a gap between his fastball and his two off‑speed. He can pitch up and down, which he did. If you don't see him that often, his fastball gets on you a bit quicker because of the velocity. He has such good extension. Q. Bob, Barton is one of your best defensive players. Were you surprised he missed those? BOB MELVIN: He does usually get to balls. Whenever he doesn't get to one, you're in between on, he doesn't do that too often.  He's a good defender. Q. Your view of the Reddick assist at the plate? BOB MELVIN: We've seen it a bunch, always gives the catcher a good feed, whether it's a one‑hopper or in the air. We've seen him do it often, so it doesn't surprise you. But each and every time he does it, it's one of the reasons he won a Golden Glove last year. Q. Was the offensive a function of how well the three Detroit pitchers pitched tonight or something else going on? BOB MELVIN: Yeah, they had three pretty good pitchers and their go‑to guys to finish out games at least with Smyly and Benoit. Would have been nice to get them going earlier in the game and try and get Scherzer's pitch count up. Yet maybe not our best offensive night, but they pitched well, too. Q. And Yoenis Cespedes had some good swings tonight? BOB MELVIN: Yeah, very good. First time up, put a good swing on it, home run put a good swing on it. His shoulder feels good. Q. 14 strikeouts for your guys. Justin Verlander coming up next. Do you have to concentrate on cutting swings down or you just accept the strikeouts? BOB MELVIN: We tend to strikeout some. We've been a little bit on and off with that over the course of the season. But Scherzer is a strikeout guy, he's a swing‑and‑miss guy, and they have several pitchers that get their share of strikeouts. But early in the count, you take some bigger swings, maybe later in the count, you cut it down, try to put it in play. But Scherzer and Benoit strike out a lot of guys. Q. Seemed like Bartolo was out of sorts with the extra time they allow for commercials during the postseason. Is that a problem? BOB MELVIN: I don't think so. He typically is out there quick and gets his pitch count in quickly regardless if it's a little bit longer, so, no, I don't think that affected him. Q. Speaking of Bartolo Colon, did he make adjustments? BOB MELVIN: No, he got out of sync. You saw balls up in the zone, which you normally don't see from him. Hits a batter, so it took him an inning to get back into his rhythm. Q. Your thoughts on Otero's poise as he came into the game and how he performed. BOB MELVIN: We've seen him do that for us and he's had a great season for us since he's gotten here. He closed games all year long in triple A, so he has that ninth inning dynamic. And we'll use him in close games like we did tonight. Q. Any lineup changes planned for tomorrow? BOB MELVIN: I'm not sure yet. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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