|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NL DIVISION SERIES: DODGERS v BRAVESOctober 4, 2013Brian McCannATLANTA, GEORGIA: Game Two Q. Now that you've had time to evaluate what happened last night, is there anything that stands out from last night's game? BRIAN MCCANN: For me, with Medlen, it's about control; it's about working inside‑outside, up and down. His changeup is his best pitch, and last night he hung it a little more than usual. I mean, I said last night, his location, that was the difference last night, I thought. Q. You guys have had a lot of times this year where you lost three, four, five in a row and then people started to go, oh, here we go again, then you reel off eight wins in a row, ten wins in a row, 14 wins in a row. Could that work in your favor? BRIAN MCCANN: I think when you get to this point in the season, in the playoffs, all that stuff is out the window. You're battling last night Kershaw, now we're going to battle Greinke. Last night I thought we did a good job off Kershaw. His pitch count was up. I looked up there in the fifth inning and it seemed like we had more hits and more runs than we actually did. We made him work, we just didn't get the big hit when we needed it. We've got Greinke tonight, and hopefully we can put some runs on the board. Q. Knowing the scouting reports on the Dodgers' lineup and knowing what Mike Minor needs to do on the hill, what conversations have you had with him in terms of the best way to attack their hitters? BRIAN MCCANN: I don't know if I'm going to get into what our scouting are reports are going to be or not going to be for tonight's game. We're going to have to work the ball in and out, up and down. We're going to have to make them look both sides of the plate, and he's going to have to put them away. If we get two strikes, he's going to have to make the pitch to strike them out. When you get into the postseason, when you get first and second, one out, strikeouts are huge in the postseason. When you can overpower somebody, that's the name of the game. I think he's definitely got the stuff to do that. That's what we're looking to do. Q. I know you said you wanted to avoid talking about your future, but as you're driving in today, does it at least kind of hit you thinking about maybe this could be the last time? BRIAN MCCANN: I mean, when I think about it, it's definitely there. But at the same time, I mean, this is what we're doing here today is way more important than what's going to happen to me after the season. You know, I'm just focused on today's game. We've got to get the series 1‑1 and go to LA and make this thing a series. Q. Going back to what you said about strikeouts in the postseason, obviously they're important any time, but why do you think they're more important in this situation than the regular season? BRIAN MCCANN: Because every pitch matters. I mean, every play matters. You hang on every pitch that's thrown, every ball that's hit in play. You manage for 162 games, and it's just all or nothing. It's one game. You have to‑‑ if you get bases loaded, one out, you're going for the punch‑out. Every run matters, and I think that's what postseason baseball is. Q. With all the hype and anticipation coming into the postseason, it takes a while sometimes to settle in. Are you glad Game 1 is out of the way? BRIAN MCCANN: I wish we would have won, but like I said, we're professional around here, and some of us have been in this position before. We're just down one game. They threw Kershaw at us; he took it to us. Tip your hat and move on. Tonight's a big game. We need to come out, swing the bats. We have all the confidence in Mike that he's going to come out and throw a gem and make this thing a series. Q. The bullpen has been one of the strengths of the team all year long. To see them come out by and large last night and pitch well, does that kind of help set the tone and calm everybody down? BRIAN MCCANN: Yeah, we're very confident in those guys down there. You get late into the game, we like our chances. Hand the ball to Kimbrel, we like our chances. They've been steady‑‑ our whole pitching staff all year long has been steady. I think we led the national‑‑ I don't know the numbers, but we were at the top in the National League in ERA and our bullpen was at the top. So obviously that's the strength of this team. Q. I know it's a one‑game‑at‑a‑time type of situation here, but you guys won 96 games, got home‑field advantage and then lost it with Kershaw last night. Does that change anything? BRIAN MCCANN: We need to get a win. That's the sense of urgency. We're looking to get this series tied 1‑1, and that's all that's on our mind. Q. Since you've been with the team, you haven't won a first postseason game. Has there been any pattern in that? And just how difficult does that make it when you lost the first game, whether it's at home or on the road? BRIAN MCCANN: This is my ninth year here and this is the third time making the postseason, fourth if you want to count the wildcard game. You don't get these chances very often, and when you do get them it's special. The feeling you get when you walk on the field for a postseason baseball game is like nothing you'll ever experience. Everything is out the window. You try to win the ballgame and do the best you can, and whatever happens, happens. That's kind of what we do. We show up. We prepare. The ball just didn't bounce our way last night, so we've got to regroup and come back out tonight and get 'em. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|