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NL DIVISION SERIES: PIRATES v CARDINALSOctober 5, 2013Joe KellyMike MathenyPITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA: Workout Day Q. Mike, do you think it's a case of small sample size, a fluke or something a little bit more that you can address the struggles that the team has had here or the performance they have had here and the results, I guess, the way they have had here at PNC Park? MIKE MATHENY: We really don't put a whole lot of stock in it. Only because we've played in a lot of different parks this year. We've played well on the road. There's been times when this team has played well here in the past. So then when you get to this time of year you kind of throw all that stuff out of the window. Right now we're just making sure everybody is focused on doing what we can do, what we control.  And excited about getting back at it tomorrow. Q. Mike, we've asked a lot about Mujica a lot in the last couple of weeks. Seeing him have the type inning he had yesterday, what can that do for him confidence‑wise and was his stuff a little better? MIKE MATHENY: We needed him to throw a clean inning. We were going through our pen. Was it was nice to see the kind of swings he had. That's the kind of swings he's had against all season long. He's had such a strong year. It was something we were hoping to be able to get him out there and feel good about himself because we don't know how it's going to play out moving forward. Q. Your numbers here are really good. Liriano's good. It plays different for lefties than righties. I'm curious why you've been so successful at PNC? JOE KELLY: I haven't heard the scouting reports here. I like pitching here. I take the ball and I go with it. I just try to attack the hitters here. These guys are ultra‑aggressive. I try to get quick outs and get my team back to the dugout. Q. Mike, is there anything you learned from the first three times out against Liriano? What has made him so effective? Do you think there's some things you can do to, I don't know, maybe get better results against him? MIKE MATHENY: Yeah. If we‑‑ every time we face somebody if we haven't learned something or put together a better propose, than shame on us. The guys have worked hard to try and get ahead of it and try and figure out ways and we're going to continue to do so. We have a game plan we'll take into tomorrow. We understand he's a good pitcher. We also realize we have a very good lineup. Just a matter of us staying within what our game plan is and it comes down to execution. His side or our side. Q. Mike, one of the calling cards of your club is its ability to maintain an even keel. Is that difficult when you go from a good win in Game 1 to a difficult loss in Game 2? MIKE MATHENY: We've had this all year. The team has bounced back well from having some tough losses. Every club does through a long season. I've been very proud of how the guys haven't worn a loss longer than what they need to. They feed to wear it for a little time, let it sit and fester, and everybody needs to realize that's not what we're looking for. Make the adjustments and get right back at it the next day. I think our guys have taken a very professional approach in that regard. Q. Mike, if you're ready to give our lineup for tomorrow, that would be great. Are you considering any changes? How do you look at having a left‑handed rookie clean‑up hitter going against Liriano in this ballpark? MIKE MATHENY: No, I'm not giving the lineup right now. We'll do that tomorrow. And I like how a few of our lefties have competed against left‑handed pitching. So we'll give that tomorrow as we put out the lineup. But we've been excited about really you can look against some of their relievers. Our lefties have been taking tough at‑bats. And you're specifically asking about Matt Adams who has been put into tough spots against left‑handers and has done a good job for us. Q. It's weird that the numbers between you between you guys are even. The games there haven't been one run or two run games. There have been like yesterday and Thursday. Do you look at that as an anomaly and at some point as you get deeper into the series you're going to get into a tighter situation? MIKE MATHENY: We have had extra inning games. We have had some tough long ones. We know this club comes out to play for a nine innings. That's the kind of club we are. Those teams have the knockdown dragouts. I anticipate our guys could. Even the other day when we had the lead, we wanted to keep the throttle down and know that that team would keep coming. And I know‑‑ I sense in their dugout they believe the same thing. Our offenses both have the ability to explode, which makes any game a close game. Q. Joe, do you think PNC plays similar to your home ballpark, Busch Stadium? And if so, do you think it caters to a pitch to contact approach? JOE KELLY: I mean, I haven't pitched a ton of games here. Obviously the dimensions are different. It's not like the NBA where every park is the same, every court is the same. It's hard to tell. Small sample size, like you said. I mean, it doesn't change in any way different than I pitch here than at home. I'm going to try to go after these guys and get as many quick outs as I can. Q. Joe, you're often called unfazed about anything. When you think about what this atmosphere is going to be like tomorrow, do you kind of look forward to pitching in this type of environment? I'm guessing it won't phase you either? JOE KELLY: Yeah. It's going to be fun. That's what playoff baseball is about. You dream about as a little kid. It's going to be a great time. The atmosphere is going to be electric, obviously. And I think our side is looking forward to it. And their side is obviously going to look forward to it. And we're going to go out there and have a good ballgame. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, guys. Very much. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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