AL DIVISION SERIES: TWINS VS ASTROS

October 10, 2023

Dusty Baker

Target Field

Houston Astros

Postgame 3 Press Conference

Astros - 9, Twins - 1

Q. Dusty, when did Abreu -- when did he flip the switch for you guys this year? He started hitting about a month ago really.

DUSTY BAKER: He broke our September record for RBIs, and his batting average wasn't really indicative, but he was driving in some big runs for us. He drove in 28, 29 runs in September, and he drove in -- what did he drive in, 5 today?

You need those RBI guys, especially in the middle, batting behind Tucker and Alvarez. Alvarez was outstanding today. He had a great day. Javier got in some trouble. We had to make a decision on whether to leave him in there or go to somebody else. He came through. He can smell a victory, or he can smell when I'm about to take him out. That's happened four or five times.

It was just good to come here and win this game today.

Q. Dusty, can you talk about Javier's outing today, your thoughts on Javier.

DUSTY BAKER: He was good. He was very good. He had a good breaking ball. Maldy directed him through the game, and that put speed on his fastball if you're getting that breaking ball over the plate.

That was much needed for us. The runs that we got for him and for us were much needed. You like to see your offense clicking like that, especially against a quality pitcher like Sonny Gray.

Sonny wasn't -- we saw him in April, and I think we saw him in May again, but he wasn't as sharp with his fastball or his control as he was back then. So we just took advantage of that, and we got some hits when we needed them.

Q. Obviously they had to feel good about where they were coming home and with Sonny going today and the situation they're in after getting Game 2. What is it about your squad that just you guys come in confident regardless of where it is and the situation, and you just don't ever seem to be fazed?

DUSTY BAKER: That's the kind of club we have. It's a very confident club, not a cocky club. We don't showboat too much. We just play. The guys have a knack of picking each other up. From day to day, it could be a number of heroes, like today, or somebody carries us on that particular day.

Our pitching was good. Our pitching was very good.

Q. Dubon starting that double play, do you see that quite often from him? Is that the way he plays shortstop?

DUSTY BAKER: Yeah, that's the way he plays shortstop. That was a big double play he got on Jeffers because, if he gets through, first to third, and then things start happening. That's a pitcher's best friend. Any time you can turn that double play, especially on that second and third out to get out of trouble and make them start all over again.

I mean, defense is something we really, really take pride in. We work on it daily. You win on offense, but you can lose on defense. Very rarely do we have too many miscues on defense.

Q. Rocco said he thought they pitched Yordan pretty well. You've seen what he does with anything you throw at him. What about him is just so good?

DUSTY BAKER: He thrives on the big moment, and they did pitch him well. But if you can hit, you can hit. There aren't a whole bunch of hitters around, but he's one of the top hitters in baseball, and he has a tremendous amount of concentration. He has a very short stroke to be such a big man. I mean, most big men have longer swings. He's very quiet and confident.

Q. Do you have any idea who will start Game 4?

DUSTY BAKER: Yes, Urquidy will start Game 4.