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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: TIGERS v RED SOXOctober 15, 2013Jim LeylandDETROIT, MICHIGAN: Game Three Boston – 1 Q. Talk about the eighth inning having Cabrera and Fielder step up there. I'm sure you liked the position you were going into those at‑bats. JIM LEYLAND: Sure. That's part of the game. You don't do it every time. Give their pitcher credit, and he won the battle. Q. I know it's just baseball, but any explanation for how cold the bats have been at times during this postseason? JIM LEYLAND: Good pitching. We swung the bats pretty good in Game 2. Today I thought Lackey and Saltalamacchia were absolutely terrific, game calling, pitch making. Avila and Verlander were exactly the same. It was just tremendous pitching and both guys called a great game. And that pretty much sums it up. Q. I wonder if you can imagine your three starters pitching as well as they have, and yet somehow you're behind in this series, what do you think about that? JIM LEYLAND: Well, Lester and Lackey pitched extremely well, too. The runs are pretty stingy. This is what it's about in postseason is good pitching. Their bullpen came out and did a great job. Our bullpen did a good job today. It's just terrific pitching and pitch making. I thought Lackey changed speeds, made pitches all day long. He was terrific, actually. And so was Verlander. But I credit this one certainly and most of this series to really good pitching. Q. Talk about Verlander's night and what stood out about it. JIM LEYLAND: He was obviously locked in. He had that look, and so did their guy. One swing of the bat and they hit one over the fence and we didn't. But we had a couple of opportunities, and they shut us down in a couple of big moments. But that's part of the game. Q. Can you give an update on Victor, looked like he might have tweaked something on that last at‑bat. JIM LEYLAND: I'm not sure about that one. I'll have to check that when I go back to the clubhouse. I usually wait and come down here first before I check around. I'm not really sure about that one right now. Q. Going back to the offense for a second. Do you chalk it up to good pitching or do you have to look at juggling of the lineup or something different? JIM LEYLAND: Well, we did juggle the lineup a couple of times in the series already. Dirks today and Iglesias is going to play tomorrow. I don't think you really do anything with the lineup. You're certainly not going to take Cabrera out of the 3 hole and Fielder. And if he had something down at the bottom that was really hot, you might think about pushing them up on top, but that's not the case. Q. Are there concerns about the fact that Austin is still struggling at the spot or are there any concerns about whether or not you should make a move? JIM LEYLAND: The only thing you could think about would possibly play Donny in center field. I would think that would be the only move you could think about. Thought about that one time in the series. But I'm not really sure that's the answer. I'll have to think about that one, sleep on it tonight. Torii got a hit with him up today. He got the big hit late in the game. There's only a couple of really options that you have. I'm not sure ‑‑ when you see guys from any team struggling they don't necessarily change their lineup. So I think sometimes you've just got to live with it unless you really come up with something you really think makes sense. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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