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AL DIVISION SERIES: RAYS v RED SOXOctober 8, 2013Craig BreslowShane VictorinoTAMPA, FLORIDA: Game Four Boston – 3= Q. You look at this point like you need to recover more than you need to celebrate. Pretty worn down at that point? SHANE VICTORINO: It all feels good. Obviously moving on. We knew it was going to be a tough series for us. This is a part of baseball that you look forward to, you train every off‑season for, you go to Spring Training, you look forward to these kind of times. Again, this is one step. We have two more to go. But it's always nice to be able to move on. Q. Can you take us through that inning by Bogaerts and you got the game winning hit. A.It was ‑‑ I knew it was going to be a tough at‑bat with Peralta in the game. I haven't had much success against him. Whatever it took, obviously that first pitch, I saw Jacoby take off. We were able to get ‑‑ Jacoby was able to get to third. I was telling myself, hey, put this ball in play whatever way you can. Just try to make something happen. I came out on the good end. With a broken bat infield hit. I was able to beat it out. That's the kind of things you look back on, and talk about executing and doing the little things, and doing whatever it takes to win, and we were able to do it and expand and get one more extra one by Pedroia. That extra run was big for us. It's part of how it is. And we came up with a good inning. Q. What's the feeling up and down the lineup when another manager is throwing all those pitchers at you guys, you never know who you're going to get next? SHANE VICTORINO: We prepared all year long, from day one in Spring Training, every day we prepare. We speak as a team, our players in the dugout. We talk about what you saw, your at‑bat, how he might be pitching you, what he might be throwing today, what he's throwing no strikes, what he's not throwing for strikes. That's one thing our team has done all along, we pass on the information. Whatever it takes, on the bases, at the plate.  From a pitching standpoint. So that's part of the game. Hey, it's do or die, whatever it takes. And obviously Joe was prepared for that. Obviously early in the game by pulling Hellickson. We didn't score any and they executed, but again we were able to pull the win off. Q. As you're going down the line did you know in your head that you had the throw beaten, and also the number of times you've been hit here, any rhyme or reason to what's happening? SHANE VICTORINO: Obviously when that ball ‑‑ I put that ball in play I knew I had to go ‑‑ I knew it was going to be a tough play with Escobar. I knew it wasn't hit hard enough. I knew Longoria couldn't get to it. It was a matter of me beating Escobar for making the play. And I was able to do that. Part of getting hit is part of the game. People say I'm close to the plate, I crowd the plate. Hey, it is what it is. And I know those guys aren't doing it for any apparent reason, they're trying to make their pitches and execute their pitches. So be it that I'm getting hit. It's one of those things. And depend, I'm going to go out there and try to be ready to hit. And if it hits me ‑‑ I don't want to get hit, trust me, it doesn't feel good. Whatever it takes to win a ballgame. It's being the guy at the top of the lineup for the rest of the guys. Q. Craig, can you take us through the four straight strikeouts and have you ever done that before, in any competition? CRAIG BRESLOW: If I have, I think it was a while ago. My goal was just to get guys out. It wasn't to strike guys out. Coming in with two outs, knowing if I get the hitter out. And knowing where we were in the lineup when I went back out for that second inning, it was the heart of the order, pretty dangerous guys. Trying to keep the ball on the ground as much as I could. And for whatever reason tonight I was able to get ahead. And before the ball was put in play I was able to get in strikeouts. Q. Everyone is talking about the relievers, but your starter put up 0 as well, you guys weren't scoring either? CRAIG BRESLOW: Absolutely. It would be a shame if Jake's start was overlooked. He was in total control, dominated at‑bats. Got ahead, was unbelievably efficient. Probably had a chance to go very deep in that game. Really important for him to match zeroes with kind of the army of guys that they were running out on the other side. Jake's been a big game pitcher his whole career. Emotionally driven. And we knew we were going to get everything he had. And he probably had some more. Q. As a team you guys have held Tampa Bay to a relatively low batting average. Is there anything that you would attribute to what's been successful against those hitters? CRAIG BRESLOW: You know, we've had good starting pitching. We're as good as our starting pitching is. We've been able to keep our guys close and offense has been able to grind out at‑bats and put some runs on the board. They're a good team. They've got some dangerous guys in that lineup. They pitch well. They play solid defense. All around a solid team. We knew this wasn't going to be a simple series. We were able to win those two games at home and come down here and just need to win one. This is not a friendly place to play. I think we're fortunate not to have the series go all five games. Q. Last year the team won 69 games and this year you won 97 games and now in the LCS next round. What have been two or three major reasons for the turnaround? CRAIG BRESLOW: I think at this point it really doesn't do any good to kind of look at where we were. I think independent of kind of where we were, when we had guys come to Spring Training, everybody bought in. There's accountability, and 25 guys who prioritize winning baseball games, beyond any kind of individual achievement or accolade. Like I said, the accountability in that clubhouse is pretty amazing. The resiliency is a word that continues to come up. Last night was a tough loss in a good, well‑played baseball game. And we came out tonight, we grinded through at‑bats, we came back from a one‑run deficit. And that's been the trend all season. On any given night it could be a different guy who contributes, and tonight I would say it was 25 guys who contributed. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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