Seattle removes three players from 40-man roster, Ryon Healy elects free agency. 

SEATTLE, Wash. – Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today the following roster moves:

• Anthony Bass, RHP, claimed off waivers by Toronto.
• Keon Broxton, OF, declined outright to Triple-A Tacoma and elected free agency.
• Matt Wisler, RHP, claimed off waivers by Minnesota.
• Ryon Healy, INF, elected free agency after declining yesterday’s outright to Triple-A Tacoma.

Seattle’s 40-man roster is now at 37 players.

Bass, 31 (turns 32 on Friday), finished the season 2-4 with 5 saves (10 opportunities) and 6 holds, posting a 3.56 ERA (19 ER, 48.0 IP) with a 2.53 SO/BB rate (43/17) over 44 relief appearances with the Mariners. Among Seattle relievers with at least 45.0 innings pitched, Bass’ 3.56 ERA ranked third behind Cory Gearrin (3.20) and Erik Swanson (3.28), while his opponents’ batting average of .179 (30×168) led the bullpen.

Bass has appeared in parts of 8 Major League seasons with the Padres (2011-13), Astros (2014), Rangers (2015, ‘17), Cubs (2018) and Mariners (2019). He was signed by the Mariners on May 21 after being released by Cincinnati the day before. Made his Mariners debut on May 22 at Texas, throwing 0.2 scoreless innings.

Broxton, 29, hit .115 (6×52) with 5 runs, 2 home runs, 5 RBI, 8 walks, and 2 stolen bases in 29 games with the Mariners last season. He was claimed off waivers from Baltimore on July 27 after he was designated for assignment by the Orioles on July 21. He started the season with New York-NL, and was acquired by Baltimore in exchange for international bonus pool money on May 22. Overall, he hit .167 (34×204) with 24 runs, 4 doubles, 6 home runs, 16 RBI, 10 stolen bases, and 20 walks in 100 games with New York-NL (34 G), Baltimore (37 G), and Seattle (29 G).

Broxton was selected by the Diamondbacks in the 3rd round of the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Santa Fe Community College. He has appeared in parts of 5 Major League seasons with Pittsburgh (2015), Milwaukee (2016-18), New York-NL (2019), Baltimore (2019) and Seattle (2019).

Wisler, 27, went 1-2 with 4 holds over 23 games (8 starts) with Seattle, posting a 6.04 ERA (15 ER, 22.1 IP) with 29 strikeouts to just six walks. He began the season with San Diego, making 21 relief appearances and going 2-2 with a 5.28 ERA (17 ER, 29.0 IP) with four holds and 34 strikeouts.

Wisler has appeared in parts of 5 Major League seasons with the Braves (2015-18), Reds (2018), Padres (2019) and Mariners (2019). He was acquired by the Mariners on July 4 from the Padres for cash considerations after being designated for assignment on June 29.

Healy, 27 (turns 28 on January 10), was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma yesterday. Today he declined the outright and has elected free agency.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS (8-2-3 – 19 Points) vs. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (6-5-2 – 14 Points)

OCTOBER 29, 2019 ▪ 7:00 PM EST SCOTIABANK ARENA (TORONTO, ON)

▪ TV: TSN4 ▪ RADIO: TSN 1050 MAPLE LEAFS

HISTORY versus WASHINGTON

ALL-TIME RECORD: 63-71-10-4 (148 Games)

ALL-TIME AT HOME: 38-27-6-1 (72 Games) 2019-20: 0-1-0

LAST FIVE: 2-3-0 LAST 10: 4-5-1

MAPLE LEAFS CAREER LEADERS versus WASHINGTON

GAMES PLAYED: Jason Spezza (40), John Tavares (38), Morgan Rielly (19)

GOALS: John Tavares (17), Jason Spezza (14), Mitch Marner (3), Auston Matthews (3) ASSISTS: Jason Spezza (24), John Tavares (16), Morgan Rielly (10)

POINTS: Jason Spezza (38), John Tavares (33), Morgan Rielly (11)

PENALTY MINUTES: Jason Spezza (16), Morgan Rielly (8), John Tavares (8)

MAPLE LEAFS – CAPITALS TEAM STATS

TORONTO WASHINGTON GOALS FOR (Rank): 46 (2nd) 49 (1st)

GOALS AGAINST (Rank): 44 (28th) 43 (t-26th)

POWER PLAY [%] (Rank): 8/38 [21.1%] (16th) 11/44 [25.0%] (t-8th)

PENALTY KILL [%] (Rank): 32/41 [78.0%] (22nd) 39/46 [84.8%] (8th)

SHOTS (Rank): 425 (3rd) 394 (7th)

5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPTS FOR (Rank): 574 (1st) 494 (5th) 5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT % (Rank): 52.7% (7th) 50.5% (13th)

FACEOFF % (Rank): 52.8% (4th) 50.1% (t-14th)

MAPLE LEAFS – CAPITALS NOTES

FIRST MATCHUP BETWEEN CLUBS: Oct. 10, 1974 at WSH (Toronto 4, Washington 3)

ALL-TIME RECORD: 63-71-10-4 (148 Games)

ALL-TIME RECORD AT HOME: 38-27-6-1 (72 Games)

ALL-TIME RECORD ON THE ROAD: 25-43-4-3 (76 Games)

LAST WIN VS. OPPONENT AT HOME: Jan. 23, 2019 (Toronto 6, Washington 3)

MAPLE LEAFS MILESTONES vs. CAPITALS Frederik Andersen 300th career NHL game (Feb. 21, 2019 vs. WSH) William Nylander 100th career NHL game (April 4, 2017 vs. WSH) John Tavares 100th career NHL goal (March 9, 2013 (NYI) vs. WSH) 600th career NHL game (Nov. 2, 2017 (NYI) at WSH)

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS CATEGORY LEADER GOALS 9 (Matthews) ASSISTS 12 (Marner) POINTS 15 (Marner)

POWER PLAY POINTS 6 (Marner) SHORTHANDED POINTS 2 (Kapanen) PIMs 12 (Johnsson, Kerfoot) SHOTS 52 (Matthews) FACEOFF WIN% 60.8% (Shore) 5-on-5 SHOT ATTEMPT % 62.5% (Petan) BLOCKED SHOTS 27 (Ceci) TAKEAWAYS 16 (Marner) HITS 30 (Moore) TOI PER GAME 24:46 (Rielly) PP TOI PER GAME 2:58 (Rielly) SH TOI PER GAME 3:21 (Ceci)

MAPLE LEAFS NOTABLES

– Frederik Andersen has made eight career appearances against Washington and has posted a 5-2-1 record with a 2.82 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. – Tyson Barrie has recorded all four of his assists and 22 of his 34 shots on goal at home this season. He is tied for fifth among NHL defencemen in shots on goal (34).

– Cody Ceci is tied for eighth in the NHL in blocked shots (27). He is seventh among NHL skaters in total shorthanded time on ice (43:32).

– Frederik Gauthier is tied for 10th among all NHL skaters in defensive zone faceoff wins (48), winning 59.3 percent of his defensive zone draws (48 won, 33 lost).

– Michael Hutchinson has made 138 saves at this season, which is the sixth-most among goaltenders who have appeared in five or fewer games.

– Andreas Johnsson has registered seven (2 goals, 5 assists) of his eight points on home ice this season. He has a goal and an assist in three career games against the Capitals.

– Kasperi Kapanen has five career points against Washington (2 goals, 3 assists), which is his secondhighest point total against a single opponent (Detroit – 5-2-7).

– Alex Kerfoot is one of two Maple Leafs (Auston Matthews) to have taken at least 100 faceoffs (128) while registered at least 20 shots on goal (20). His 1.24 goals per 60-minute average is the secondhighest average among Toronto skaters (Matthews).

– Mitch Marner is tied for eighth among NHLers in points (3-12-15) and is tied for fifth among NHL skaters in assists (12). His nine primary assists are tied for the fith-most in the NHL. He ranks second in the NHL in takeaways (16)

– Auston Matthews is tied for third in the NHL in goals (9) and is tied for second in the NHL in even-strength goals (7) through 13 games in 2019-20. He is tied for third among NHL skaters in shots on goal (52). He is one of 10 NHLers to average at least four shots on goal per game (4.0).

– Ilya Mikheyev is tied for the lead in points among rookie skaters (4-6-10). He leads all rookie forwards in shorthanded ice time (30:47), shifts per game (23.3) and shots on goal (32). – Trevor Moore is one of two NHL rookies to have registered at least 20 hits (26) and 20 shots on goal (23). He is the only NHL rookie to average at least 1:00 per game in power play ice time (1:25) and 1:00 per game in shorthanded ice time (1:48).

– Jake Muzzin is averaging 30.3 shifts per game, which is the highest average among all NHL skaters. He has been on the ice for the most 5-on-5 shot attempts-for (244) and the most 5-on-5 unblocked shot attempts-for (174) among all NHL skaters.

– William Nylander has taken his shots from an average distance of 23.1 feet from goal, which is the 10th-closest mark among NHL skaters who have recorded at least 25 shots on goal (28). He has drawn four penalties, which is tied for the most among Toronto skaters.

– Morgan Rielly is tied for second among NHL defencemen in points (3-10-13). His 24:46 TOI per game average is the 10th-highest mark in the NHL He is fifth in the NHL in shifts per game (29.9). He has started 73 shifts in the defensive zone, which is tied for the eighth-most defensive zone starts in the NHL.

– Nick Shore has the second highest even-strength faceoff win percentage (66.1% – 39 won, 20 lost) among NHL skaters who have won 30 even-strength draws. He has started the fifth-most shifts in the defensive zone in the NHL (75).

CURRENT POINT STREAKS

Mitch Marner Has assists (3) in two consecutive games.

Auston Matthews Has points (1-1-2) in two consecutive games.

Ilya Mikheyev Has assists (2) and points (1-2-3) in two consecutive games

. Jake Muzzin Has goals (2) in two consecutive games. Morgan Rielly Has points (1-1-2) in two consecutive games.

RECENT MILESTONES

Kevin Gravel First game as a Maple Leaf (Oct. 22 at BOS)

UPCOMING MILESTONES

Tyson Barrie Three games from 500 NHL games played.

Michael Hutchinson Four wins from 50 career NHL wins

. Andreas Johnsson Five games from 100 career NHL games played.

Auston Matthews Three assists from 100 career NHL assists

. INJURY REPORT

Travis Dermott (Shoulder) On injured reserve.

Zach Hyman (Knee) On injured reserve

. John Tavares (Finger) Sustained broken finger on Oct. 16 at WSH. Man Games Lost: 31

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

None

(1-2) ORLANDO MAGIC, 95 VS. (3-1) TORONTO RAPTORS, 104

SCOTIABANK ARENA MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2019 TORONTO RAPTORS QUOTES

NICK NURSE (HEAD COACH): Did you see any longer stretches of good play from your guys tonight? Yea, a little bit. Again I think the defence was really solid almost all night long. That is about three games in a row now really, that is has been pretty tough so that is good. I’d probably put us at the 30 minute mark right about now, played pretty good basketball for about 30 minutes and we need to extend that out.

On OG Anunoby … OG was great tonight. He did a really good job again with his on-ball … how many steals did he have? He had five steals, two blocks. That’s a line right there. Again he was doing everything right, communicating the switches, helping on the weak side, made a couple of great rotations when we blitzed (Terrence) Ross and he has the basket. He went down there and plugged the basket a few times. He did a nice job.

On Pascal Siakam’s matchup with Jonathan Isaac… Well, a lot better that he did in the regular season. I think again, he is a good defender and he is long and he gives Pascal some problems. The biggest thing is I thought that Pascal made a couple of huge moves when we needed them and after he was bottled up a couple of times he still kind of kept taking it at him, got his body at him and was able to score. It was a pretty solid game for Pascal. Are you surprised at how could Kyle Lowry has looked to start the season considering he missed time due to surgery? Nothing really surprises me about him to be honest with you. He is just such an experienced guy and he is such a gamer man, you know. I like it, his shot volume is up and we say keep shooting them. He only took 11 threes tonight, so ten is the number that we are going for, so he is getting there.

On the team’s response after Orlando took the lead late in the fourth quarter: Good team, we knew that it was going to be a good test. I thought it would be an interesting psychological battle considering we just played them. Then they took the lead there and our guys did a great job. It was a fairly calm timeout right, we had just handed back and eight or nine point deficit and fell behind. We just kind of said that the ball wasn’t bouncing our way and other things weren’t going our way for a stretch and we just had to keep playing. We came right out I think and got an and-one right out of that and took the lead right back. So that’s a sign of us hanging in there real strong.

PASCAL SIAKAM (24 points, nine rebounds) On what you’ve seen from OG Anunoby the first four games... I think he is really engaged on defence. He really wants to learn, he takes pride in playing defence, having fun out there and playing the game the right way. It’s definitely good to see him (after) the tough year last year and coming in this year and getting some minutes and playing the way he’s playing, with confidence and it’s really good to see. We just hope he continues that and anyway that we can help him, we are going to do that.

Are the foul calls you are getting a product of the role you are playing? I don’t know. I think something had to be done, either I gotta be better or, I don’t know, something has to be done. Like I said, a lot games where I’ve got to be careful, can’t be in foul trouble and it’s been four games in a row. I just have to do a better job, there is no excuse

. KYLE LOWRY (26 points, six assists, five rebounds) What has stood out about the defensive play of OG Anunoby? He’s just being solid. He reaches a few too many times that I’d like, but he’s a really good defender when he locks in on the ball and he can be one of the best. Why was the pick and roll with Pascal Siakam so successful? You have two good basketball players that have great spacing and getting help off of Marc (Gasol), OG and Fred (VanVleet), so you have to pick your poison with that one. Pascal made a jump shot and made another one, I got a three, couple free throws and we kind of pick and chose our spots where we needed to get on the floor. Kept it simple.

FINAL SCORE: TORONTO RAPTORS 104, ORLANDO MAGIC 95

DATE: October 28, 2019 ATTENDANCE: 19,800 (Sellout)

Tonight marked Toronto’s 239th consecutive sellout (including playoffs) dating to Nov. 11, 2014 – the longest streak in franchise history.

FINAL SCORE RECORD HIGH POINTS HIGH REBOUNDS HIGH ASSISTS

Orlando 95 1-2 Isaac – 24 Vucevic – 12 Gordon/Fultz – 5

Toronto 104 3-1 Lowry – 26 Gasol/Ibaka – 10 Lowry/VanVleet – 6

KEY RUN Trailing 91-90 with 3:45 remaining, Toronto scored seven straight points to lead by six with 1:57 left … The Raptors outscored Orlando 14-4 over the final 3:45 of play to clinch the victory.

KEY STAT The Raptors shot .933 (28-for-30) from the free throw line, including a perfect 13-for-13 in the fourth quarter … Toronto preserved the win at the foul line converting nine free throws in the final 2:35 of play.

RAPTORS NOTES:

• With the victory, Toronto improved to 3-1 this season and 2-0 at home.

• The Raptors have won seven of their last nine regular season meetings with Orlando. • Toronto has held its opponent to fewer than 100 points in consecutive games – something that happened three times last season (Last: Dec. 16-19, 2018).

• Kyle Lowry led all scorers with 26 points (7-18 FG, 3-11 3PT, 9-10), including 10 in the fourth quarter … He added a game high tying six assists and five rebounds in 38 minutes … Lowry has scored 20 or more in three of the first four games; averaging 22.0 points.

• Fred VanVleet finished with 14 points and a game high-tying six assists in 38 minutes … VanVleet has recorded at least six assists in each of the first four games; averaging 6.3 assists.

• The Raptors had all five starters score in double figures – Lowry (26), Pascal Siakam (24), VanVleet (14), OG Anunoby (12) and Marc Gasol (10) … The starting unit combined for 86 points … Anunoby set a career high with five steals … Gasol added 10 rebounds in 26 minutes for his first double-double of the season.

MAGIC NOTES:

• With the loss, Orlando falls to 1-2 on the season and 0-2 on the road. • The Magic’s reserves outscored Toronto’s bench 36-18.

• Orlando trailed by as many as 14 points early in the fourth before taking the lead with 4:18 remaining

– its first lead since early in the first quarter. • Jonathan Isaac scored a career-high 24 points (7-10 FG, 5-7 3PT, 5-5 FT) in 33 minutes of action … His five three-point field goals were a career best … Isaac totaled 11 points in the Magic’s first two games of the regular season.

• The Magic had five players score in double digits – Isaac (24), Evan Fournier (18), Markelle Fultz (13), Terrence Ross (11) and D.J. Augustin (10).

October 28, 2019

Kurt Suzuki

Houston, Texas – Workout Day

Q. First, Kurt, how is the hip feeling and what do you think your chances are to be in the lineup tomorrow? And missing the games the last two nights, what were you able to do in terms of helping break down the video and advice to teammates?
KURT SUZUKI: It feels better, obviously. I got some treatment and stuff like that, and it’s progressing. So we’ll see.

Going to do some stuff today and we’ll figure out more tonight after we get into Houston about tomorrow. Everything is looking good so far.

As for watching a couple of games, it was Games 3, 4, and 5, I’ve done pretty much all my homework the first couple of games, just a matter of changing up your sequences and your patterns and things like that, because obviously they’re good hitters over there, they make adjustments, as well. So we just have to change it up and at times go with your pitcher’s strengths. So we’ll see. It should be interesting.

Q. Watching the last couple of games, and obviously there’s been a lot of attention on the strike zone, how pitches are being called. Do you have any particular thoughts, not criticizing, but are the pitches that we see sometimes on the huge screen that might make a fan go crazy, like how did you miss that pitch? Are they always as apparent to your hitter or as a catcher?
KURT SUZUKI: Yeah, I think sometimes obviously if you’re a catcher you want more pitches. As a hitter you want the strike zone smaller. It’s definitely not easy, guys are throwing upwards 95, 100 miles an hour. You’re not going to be perfect. Obviously we understand that.

That being said, obviously you want the strike zone to be consistent. But these guys are human. They do their best, as we try our best to hit the ball or catch the ball. And nothing is ever going to be perfect. It’s part of the baseball game, you got to deal with it, and just move forward and try not to let it bother you.

And sometimes it can dictate a little different result. But at the same time, we’re all professions here and we all have to make adjustments and we all have to adjust to certain things that happen in the game. Like I said, it’s an imperfect game.

You can’t really blame the umpire for your wins and losses. It’s just part of the game. You have to move forward and keep playing baseball.

Q. Have you been able to do cardio, running, getting in the cage? And how much available were you the last two nights to pinch-hit?
KURT SUZUKI: Yeah, I was ready, ready to pinch-hit. I kept it in an emergency, obviously. But just kind of my thing and treatments obviously, not doing blocking drills like I would do in Spring Training. But just trying to stay sharp and be ready.

I think at this point in the season, you’re always going to be ready. So there’s nothing extra that I have to do at this point in the season to stay ready. We’re good to go. We’re ready.

Q. You guys have obviously faced elimination three times this month. You’ve come from behind to win games. You were involved in one of the biggest ones of the year. Why do you think this team is particularly good at dealing with those kind of situations?
KURT SUZUKI: I really don’t know. Pretty much everybody eliminated us from the season in May. So we’ve kind of been playing like every game was an elimination game since then.

But just basically you’ve just got to go out and play. You can’t worry about what’s at stake and this and that. You try to play it as much as possible as another baseball game. And we’ve been in this spot before earlier this postseason. And we’ve just got to go out there and play baseball, man. We can’t control the future. We just control what’s at present right now, and that’s going out there and competing.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Carlos Correa

October 27, 2019

Washington, D.C. – postgame 5

Houston 7, Washington 1

Q. The count was 0-2 and then you battled back. Describe the at-bat, what did you hit for the home run?
CARLOS CORREA: They were doing a great job of punting me in with the two-seamer, not leaving anything down the middle. And I got that one mistake and I was able to put a good swing on it to hit it for a home run. Joe is a tough pitcher who was commanding the strike zone very well. And that was one mistake he made to me, and I was able to take advantage of it.

Q. How much has it helped to see Doolittle and Hudson as much as you have? And how can that work to your advantage going forward?
CARLOS CORREA: It helps a lot. It helps a lot to see pitchers often especially in a series like this. You can see how the ball moves, their tendencies, what makes them good. And then you have a better approach next time you face them. So, yeah, it’s good that we get to face them.

Q. Alvarez had a great night tonight. When he was at his most frustrated we saw him break a bat, very unusual for him to show that kind of emotion. As his teammate, can you explain how frustrated he was before tonight and how he came out of it?
CARLOS CORREA: Yeah, I just told him that what great players do when they struggle is try to figure out a way to contribute to the game. He went to the cage. He spent time in the cage. He put in his work. And he told me that he was feeling great. I said, It’s your night, brother, let’s go. And he was able to contribute in a big way to the team.

The homer to get the early lead, three singles — the two singles; right? It’s huge to see him swing the bat like that because now we go back home and then he’s our DH at 22 years old for a reason. He’s young and he’s powerful and he’s a great hitter. So we believe in him and we know he’s going to keep doing it.

Q. I saw you and Jose after the game last night singing, clearly had your swagger all the way back. In your opinion, what was the biggest difference here versus what went wrong at home?
CARLOS CORREA: So on the way here from the plane I was talking to him and I was like, Jose, we need to get our swagger back. We’re getting hits and we’re not even getting hyped up. We’re scoring runs and it feels like a regular game. This is the World Series. This is the last series of the season. We need to play like it. We need to give everything we’ve got. Then after the series is over we’re going to be exhausted but we got three months to rest and then show up to Spring Training. Let’s get our swagger back. Let’s play hard. Let’s play with passion. Let’s play like we want it.

And I feel like this last three games we really play like we want this championship. We’ve got to win one more game. Obviously they’ve got a great team on the other side. We have a lot of respect for them and the group of guys they have over there. But we’ve got to go out there and take care of business in Houston.

Q. Specifically before the home run there was a two-strike curveball you took that was borderline. Were you confident in that take and do you think it helped set up your next swing?
CARLOS CORREA: Absolutely. That’s what you call a perfect pitch right there, a pitcher’s pitch. And I was able to lay it off. I thought it was a little off. I haven’t seen a replay of that pitch.

And after that he made a mistake. I feel like the at-bats against me he was throwing the ball wherever he wanted to throw it. After that pitch I could see on his face that he really wanted that pitch. And he was able to make a mistake and I took advantage to that one.

Q. This core has been together for a while and accomplished a lot. But when you see Urquidy having a good game last night and Alvarez, Tucker getting to play, what do you think about the future of this organization, beyond just the core stars?
CARLOS CORREA: I think the future is bright for this organization. I know Jeff is not only planning to be good for two or three years; he is planning for the team to be great for a long time.

That’s why we have so many great young players that has helped contribute throughout these playoffs. Alvarez, Tucker, Urquidy. I mean, Urquidy’s performance last night I think is the best performance from our pitching staff in this World Series. And young guy, Double-A, and then he’s pitching in the World Series, calm, collected, no pressure, just pounding the strike zone against a great lineup like the Nats. That was impressive. That was so much fun to watch. It was really fun to play behind him.

Q. 2017 you guys came back, in that series you win in Los Angeles. What would it mean to you, how do you think you would react if you take these three and potentially win in Houston?
CARLOS CORREA: Wow, obviously we’ve still got a lot of baseball to play. But to answer your question, if we win in front of our fans, it’s just going to be so special. I think I’ll black out for the first time in my life.

Q. Obviously you guys want to finish off this season first, but have you talked as a team, you had this core together, what it means to finish off this great three-year run, three 100-win seasons and two titles, what that would mean?
CARLOS CORREA: We’ve still got to win the title. They’ve got a great team over there. The at-bats they put together, it’s amazing to watch.

But we love each other so much. Like you said, the core of guys that we have in that clubhouse is so special. We’re family. We’ve been playing together so long, some of us since the Minor Leagues, Altuve has been here forever. The bond and the love we have for each other is unbelievable, that’s what makes it seem so special. That’s what makes the chemistry so special, the atmosphere in the clubhouse is unbelievable. When you guys walk in you can see it.

When we talk to our players, come, be a trade or something, they’re like, We’ve never seen anything like this. This is the culture that we want to create for the long run as a Houston Astro. We want to be able to be family in there, we want to be able to compete together, and win together.

Q. Speaking of that core, I think you and Springer have homered in the same postseason games more than any other teammates ever. Do you have any reaction or explanation for that and is that something you guys talk about?
CARLOS CORREA: I mean, that’s awesome. Springer is my boy. I saw him when I got drafted playing Double-A, like a 40-40 season. I was like, This guy is the greatest player ever. He’s unbelievable. When it matters the most in the playoffs, in the World Series, that’s when he comes through for the team. He’s such a special player and not only offensively but defensively as well. It’s awesome we get to do that. That’s great. I didn’t know that.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

October 27, 2019

AJ Hinch

Washington, D.C. – postgame 5

Houston 7, Washington 1

Q. Pregame you talked about Yordan, you thought he could give you a good at-bat or two. Talk about your confidence in him and him breaking through.
AJ HINCH: You want to talk about feeling like you did the right thing is just put Yordan in the game and have him have three incredible at-bats. The first one being the most impactful, just being able to hit a missile to center field or just off of center field to kick-start our offense tonight.

He’s done this the whole year, but this postseason as he’s tried to find his way it was nice to see him stay within himself. And then the dugout actually exploded more when he caught the line drive in left field.

Everybody was having a good time with him. He contributed great. Got to the 7th inning, three hits, put our defense in. But he was a big catalyst tonight.

Q. This team wasn’t shaken at all being down 2-0 it seemed. There was a lot of talk about it but in the clubhouse and the demeanor of the guys, what is it about this group that makes it that way?
AJ HINCH: It’s hard to pinpoint one thing but I love our feel for the moment and feel for this team. Everybody talks about culture and chemistry, and when you have it, you love it. When you see it on the other side you’re envious of it. And we just have a way of playing today.

And the confidence comes from the success that we’ve had. We feel like we’re in every game. We’ve had games where we’ve come from behind. We’ve had games where we’ve stretched the lead. We’ve had games like today where we just methodically kept going with big swings and we look up and we have a comfortable win.

I think the leadership in that room is impressive. I think the feel for the moment or the feel for the game is increased with every successful season. So our players are just really good about playing for today.

Q. When you guys came here on Thursday night there was a lot going on the field, off the field. How has your team and you been able to find your way through this and maybe block out everything that’s going on and focus on the baseball game between the lines?
AJ HINCH: When you take a step back in general — we’re in the World Series. We play the whole season to get to this point. And we took a pretty heavy punch in the gut when it came to the first two games. The Nats came out hot. They won a close game then they blew us out late.

And then you take a step back, and you’re like, We’re still in the World Series, and it’s still a race to four wins. You win that first win. I said that, I think the vibe was going to start to pick up a little bit and there was going to be some questions about this series once we win the first game. And then we win the second game here. And then today we come out and separate ourselves a little bit.

We play baseball. We’re in the clubhouse. We have a close-knit group. We’ve dealt with a lot in general over the year, even though on paper the season looked like it’s been six winning months and a franchise record number of wins, we’ve still had to fight through a few things. It’s been no different in the World Series.

Q. Down 0-2 and then coming back winning three away, how confident are you guys feeling going back now to Houston with only one win to go?
AJ HINCH: You know, we’ve got a win left. We know how quickly things can turn where momentum can shift in a series, especially in a series against a quality team like the Nats.

We’re not going to take anything for granted. It is nice to go home. I don’t really want to talk about a second game. I’d like to wrap this up as soon as possible. And we’ve got Justin Verlander on the mound, and that brings a lot of confidence to our clubhouse.

Their guy’s pretty good, too. We’re going to have to bring our best after a long flight. We have a day off tomorrow, we’ll be ready to play on Tuesday. But our confidence level is good. We’re going home to play in front of one of the best crowds in the playoffs and in the World Series, and hopefully get one more win.

Q. What was the difference tonight for Cole as opposed to Game 1?
AJ HINCH: I thought his execution was better, and I think when he dotted his pitches it was great. When he missed he was barely missing in the right areas. And I think his rhythm, his timing, his use of his pitches got better and better as the game went on.

I think the big inning when it was first and third and no outs, and they start to look like they’re going to put something together, he was able to get out of that unscathed. And when you have elite pitchers like that, if you don’t get them when you’re supposed to get them or when they’re vulnerable, you could really see him settle in after that and begin to dominate.

Q. You mentioned that you were going to stay the course after going down 0-2. But specifically what tweaks did you guys make to sort of turn things around? What went wrong in Houston that went right here?
AJ HINCH: I don’t think it was anything against us. I think we obviously started to swing the bats a little bit better. I think we saw — today was a good example of what our team has been. The last couple of games has been — I don’t know which guys you want to interview, but you could pick six of them or seven of them or eight of them and contributors on the pitching side or on the position player side.

We didn’t tweak anything. We just continued to play the series. We have experience in series, in seven-game series. We know on the front end you can’t assume anything when you’re ahead and on the other end you can’t assume when you’re down.

I don’t think we tweaked anything, but we started to bring our personality back, we started to bring our run production back. We started playing from ahead, that was the key for us, this three games in Washington. And subsequently we — our pitching staff decided not to give up very many runs. And combine those things and we come away with three wins.

Q. The 3-2 pitch to Robles in the 7th, do you feel like you caught a break? Obviously the Nats didn’t like it. Would you have taken Cole out of the game?
AJ HINCH: We’ll never know, will we? We’ll never know.

You know what, there’s so much emotion that goes on in these plays, and depending on which side you are on, you’re going to have that reaction of — I haven’t seen it on video. I know I saw their dugout reaction and I saw our dugout reaction on the Zimmerman pitch when he walked right before that. That’s why I went out to the mound to calm Gerrit and Martin down. They both had a reaction the other way.

Whichever side you’re on you’re going to sort of react that way. But we’ll never know and you’ll never know whether I was going to take Gerrit out or not. That’s the beauty of it.

Q. With Yordan did anything stand out about how he worked his way through the postseason struggles?
AJ HINCH: The couple hits early in Game 1 was encouraging when you’re facing Max Scherzer and he was able to put up some really good at-bats. Actually, the at-bat I go back to is the walk he had in his first at-bat I believe in Game 1 where he took a close pitch. He had been swinging at a lot of pitches out of the zone.

Now, he has a really good feel for the strike zone. When he was able to draw that walk, maybe that clicked in his timing and he had a little bit of success. You start getting a couple hits and off he goes.

He’s always looked comfortable in the box even through his struggles. He had a little bit of frustration throughout the postseason. But when we keeps his balance and he keeps his zone control, we see the damage he can do. Obviously tonight was a good example of that.

Q. With this being Cole’s last scheduled start, how do you assess his attention to detail and his performance for this season?
AJ HINCH: You know what, I think that’s for after the season. We’re wrapped up in this series trying to win the World Series. I haven’t even given a thought of — I’ve put it in perspective on the season.

I hope it’s his last outing. I know everybody is going to ask me if it gets to Game 7 if he’s available, but I want to finish this in 6.

But what he did tonight, the feel for the game, the importance of this game, the reaction to them having to change from Scherzer to Ross, he still set an excellent tone for us. And he provided the intensity that’s needed.

In a 2-2 series to get to 3-2, it’s not easy. It’s not easy finishing an outing the way that he did under the duress that he did. And that was — it’s very similar to how he pitched the entire season.

But I can’t really wrap up the whole season; we’re trying to wrap up a series.

Q. Jose has now 25 consecutive games in postseason getting on base. What can you say about that streak?
AJ HINCH: That’s incredible. I hope he makes it 26.

He’s such a good baseball player. And certainly he’s been dialed in this postseason. He’s been remarkable on both sides of the ball. But his bat-to-ball skills is elite. It gets shown on the big stage. He doesn’t overswing. He doesn’t try to do too much.

We’re used to him getting all these hits so it doesn’t surprise me he’s able to put together a streak like that. But I’m just glad he’s ours.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

October 27, 2019

Dave Martinez

Washington, D.C. – postgame 5

Houston – 7, Washington – 1

Q. What’s changed for the offense since you’ve been home and what, if anything, do you or your players need to do to fix it?
DAVE MARTINEZ: We actually hit some balls hard, we really did. We just can’t get nothing going these last three days. But we hit some balls hard.

You’re facing some pretty good pitching right now. We’ve just got to keep battling. These guys, they’re not going to quit, I can tell you that right now.

We got a day off tomorrow, come back Tuesday. And I truly believe these guys will get after it again Tuesday. I told them, I said, I know we’re going to go 1-0, but we’re going to play Game 7, I believe that. So keep pushing.

Q. Are those hard-hit balls luck or positioning?
DAVE MARTINEZ: They positioned themselves pretty well. But we hit some balls hard. Trea hit a couple balls hard today, actually three balls hard. We’ve just got to keep battling.

Q. There was a lot of strong reaction from each dugout in some of the calls from home plate, particularly from yours. Do you believe some of those may have changed the course of the game?
DAVE MARTINEZ: You know what, I will not ever sit here and criticize an umpire. I’ve known Lance for a very long time and he’s really good. And that’s all I’m going to say about it. I’m not going to sit here — I know there were some choice words but that’s just in the heat of the moment.

But like I said, they’re doing their job, and they do it really well. That’s why they’re an umpire in the World Series.

Q. (In Spanish.)
DAVE MARTINEZ: We won two games in Houston, we’re going back to Houston to play Game 6, and here we go. That’s all we’ve got to do is just worry about Game 6 right now.

Q. Considering the decades of anticipation for a World Series game in this city, I wonder what the level of frustration not to be able to give the fans something to celebrate here feels like right now?
DAVE MARTINEZ: I think in the ninth inning there were fans screaming behind me they’re with us. One guy, he said, I can’t be in Houston, but I’ll be there watching. He said, You guys can do this. That’s what’s good about these fans. They’re behind us.

We had our backs against the wall all year long, nobody thought we were going to be here. We’re here playing Game 6 of the World Series. We’re going to fight. We’re going to finish this thing.

Q. Astros admitted that they lost a little bit of their swagger when they went down 0-2. Is it fair to say that you guys feel somewhat the same way?
DAVE MARTINEZ: No, not these guys. Like I said, we fought all year long to get here. We played playoff games all year long to get here. But we have a lot in fight in us left. I know we do.

Like I said, tomorrow they get a day off, they’ll come in, get their treatment, some guys will work out. But we’ll come back ready to go on Tuesday.

Q. Do you think when you are pressured like that, when you do face situations like that, that it oddly loosens your guys up?
DAVE MARTINEZ: You know what, I honestly think that our guys — they just come out and play. They don’t even think about any game. You listen to them now when we walked in, and they’re saying, Hey, we’re going to go to Houston and win that first game and get to Game 7.

I told them the focus is Game 6. We’ve got Stephen Strasburg on the mound. I like our chances, you know, keeps us in the ball game. Who knows what can happen.

Q. You’ve always said you wanted to be in the middle of the field. Did the last swing look like that? And do you think some of the other guys also need to stay in the middle of the field?
DAVE MARTINEZ: Yeah, Juan hit a home run straight away center field, and that was awesome.

We’ve got to start, like I said, our at-bats with two strikes I thought were better today. Trea had some pretty good at-bats. So just put the ball in play but stay — good things happen when you put the ball in play.

Q. What have you seen from the Astros these three games here to be able to change this series, and specifically the job AJ has done to get the team back to where they want to be?
DAVE MARTINEZ: They didn’t win 106 games for nothing. They’ll really good. They’ve got a well-balanced lineup. Their pitching is good. Their bullpen gets out. We knew this coming in.

Like I said, it was pretty even this whole series. They’re a game up with two games left. So let’s just worry about Tuesday.

Q. Specifically on the 3-2 pitch to Robles, that seemed to be the one that got the dugout the most upset?
DAVE MARTINEZ: I haven’t looked at it yet. I thought it could have been a little bit up and out. Lance thought it was a strike. Like I said, I’m not going to sit here and criticize. Their job is not easy, it’s tough. I appreciate Lance very much. I’ve said that about all umpires. They’ve got a tough job, and they try to do the best they can. These guys are the best, that’s why they’re umpiring in the World Series.

Q. When you stick with Huddie for the 9th, how do you balance wanting to keep the game close and not overexpose him when you know you need him later?
DAVE MARTINEZ: We thought we could get him up to about 35 pitches, that would be his max. And he was right there.

Q. What was your assessment of Ross’s outing? When did you tell him he was actually going to pitch today?
DAVE MARTINEZ: We kind of gave him a heads up last night. And when he came in this morning we told him he was definitely going to start. I thought he did really well, I really did. I told him, Hey, we want to keep him right about 80 pitches and he gave us five good innings. And I said, Hey, you need to be ready to pitch in a few days again. I said, You did a great job.

Q. Is there any notion the way this series is gone once you get on the road you relax with fewer family and friends and room service?
DAVE MARTINEZ: It could be. I’m not a big room service guy. I like to go out and eat. Houston has got some pretty good restaurants that I like.

Hey, I enjoyed our fans here, I really did. It was awesome. And I know they’re going to be behind us when we go to Houston, I really do.

Q. Max had to have been in a lot of pain to not go tonight. What was his reaction when he found out he was not able to go?
DAVE MARTINEZ: He was upset. Max is very — he likes to talk. He’s very competitive. Today was the first time I think since I’ve known him that he didn’t say much. He was quiet. And I knew that he was in pain.

Q. And the possibility of him playing in a Game 7?
DAVE MARTINEZ: He’s going to figure something out. Right now I don’t know his status. I’ll find out when I go back in. But he’s going to try to and get himself ready.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

October 27, 2019

Justin Verlander

Washington, D.C. – pregame 5

Q. I’m sure you’ve heard the news but in the five years you played with Max, what would be your experience for him not to make a start?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: I mean, it’s got to be pretty bad. I don’t know. Obviously it’s all speculation on my end.

But I know that he was a competitor, always wanted to take the ball. Given the situation, I’m assuming it’s not good.

Q. Obviously if you guys win the World Series you’ll celebrate and all that kind of stuff. To what extent is it somewhat disappointing that Max can’t go and that we’re not seeing this great matchup tonight, Cole and Scherzer?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: I mean, I don’t know. I don’t think it should take anything away from the series. Things like this happen all the time. I remember playing against the Yankees in the playoffs when Jeter broke his ankle. We’re not robots, we’re humans, and things go wrong physically.

Teams deal with it all year through adversity. It’s just obviously on a bigger stage now so it gets more attention.

Q. As big as this stage is, how much different has it been for you being so close to home and having so many people from your childhood be able to just drive up the road and see you guys?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: Yeah, made the ticket situation a little harder.

But, yeah, it’s been pretty cool to be here and have some friends that otherwise wouldn’t be able to see this game, this atmosphere in the World Series and be able to experience it.

Q. How about the opportunity to be back in Minute Maid Park?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: Yeah, it’s exciting. I think after the first couple of games obviously our goal coming here was to be able to get back to Minute Maid. We’ve accomplished that. And obviously we want to win tonight.

But excited to get back home and play in front of our home crowd.

Q. You and Daniel Hudson were at ODU, not at the same time, but have you had a chance to talk to him during the series? And of course with Zimmerman, Doolittle, there’s four Virginia products in the World Series.
JUSTIN VERLANDER: Yeah, pretty cool. I actually haven’t had the time to speak to him. Go figure, World Series, we’re pretty busy doing other stuff.

But I actually made an effort to go see AnIbal yesterday during the game because I played with him. It wasn’t easy to get to him. All the media on the field and everything.

It’s pretty cool how well represented Virginia is as a whole. Growing up playing against Zimm, he gave me a sly little look the other day after I threw the ball off my shin when he was at first base, which was pretty funny.

I remember going all the back to my ODU days, him and I played golf together. From then to now, a lot has happened in both our lives, but pretty cool to have our lives interconnect like that and to end up on this stage.

Q. You were talking the other night about how when modern analytics individual pitcher wins aren’t as significant as before. Still, if Houston wins tonight, would it mean something to be able to get the first World Series win in a World Series clincher?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: I mean, yeah. I think wins matter. I think that was a little bit of a joke.

I mean, yeah, that would obviously be a moment that would be — that I would cherish in my career if that were able to happen.

Q. Is there anything you learned in your Game 2 start facing the Nationals and then in video that you’ve maybe watched since then that you’ve learned about this team as you prepare for your next start?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: I think their two-strike approach is really good. I think they prepare very well. I think they will adjust to that pitcher, that given day. Which is, funny enough, in today’s game you don’t see it that often. It seems easy to say, Wow, you make an adjustment, you go to a two-strike approach, but that’s found its way out of the game.

Honestly, it’s kind of refreshing to see a couple of teams that don’t swing and miss a ton, and change their approach based on the pitcher that’s pitching against them.

So I think the guys in the middle of that lineup get a ton of credit and a lot of the headlines, but really, 1 through 9, all those guys are really good hitters. And surprisingly so, I don’t think we see a lot of each other throughout the course of the season, NL and AL, besides some highlights on TV. So you’re not really studying to play against each other. Having faced them, they’re just extremely talented top to bottom.

Q. Including the 2017 run, I think this will be the fifth time you’ll have faced an opponent twice in a postseason series. How has your approach evolved over time and what have you learned about the process of trying to attack a lineup the second time?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: Yeah, it becomes more difficult. I think there’s adjustments both ways. But I think those opposing guys once they’ve seen you three, four at-bats, it’s a little bit easier for them to make adjustments, and having seen your off-speed stuff and tracked it. You just need to execute a little bit better.

Q. We discussed limited run support after your start in Houston. To what degree have you been encouraged that the bats seem to have improved the last couple of days?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: We talked about it right after that. These guys all season long, offense comes and goes, you have slumps, but when they’re clicking on all cylinders, it’s pretty special to watch.

Definitely nice to see a couple of guys to come up and come through in big moments. Offense is always welcome. I think hitting is contagious, and when these boys are feeling the way they are right now, it’s tough to get them out.

Q. What is your team sentiment on the president attending the game tonight? If you won the World Series would you want to go to the White House?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: I don’t know the team sentiment. We haven’t really discussed it all that much. We’re worried about winning a baseball game.

He’s the president of the United States. If he wants to attend a baseball game, I think he has every right to be here just as much as everybody else in the stadium.

Q. Would you want to go to the White House if you won the World Series?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: That’s kind of a superstitious, I can’t answer that question.

Q. Everybody have talked about your time at ODU, and the competitive drive was still there back then. Going back to that era, when you were preparing for a start of Tuesday’s magnitude, regardless of the result tonight, the difference mentally and the competitive juices thinking ahead, Hey, I have the chance to potentially win the World Series?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: Those are the moments that you dream about. As a kid, me and my dad in the backyard just drawing up these moments in our heads, Hey, Game 7 of the World Series, you’re on the mound, two outs, bottom of the 9th, bases loaded.

It’s just having the opportunity to be out there and be on the mound hopefully in a scenario where we can close it out, that’s everything I’ve dreamed of.

Q. Before the series we talked about Urquidy and what he meant for this team. After his performance yesterday, did you talk with him? What did you see yesterday in his performance?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: I mean, that was incredible. I saw a calmness. I saw great stuff. I saw attacking the zone. I saw the second Mexican-born player to win a World Series game since Fernando Valenzuela, which I was sure to mention to him after the game.

I think everybody was just so excited for him. All season long he’s come up in big spots. He’s done well for us. But to be able to do it on that stage and at that moment, it doesn’t fall short of anybody in our clubhouse and we made sure to let him know that.

Q. What would winning a second World Series championship mean to you?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: I mean, hard to put into words. I can’t even really — it’s one of those things that in the moment, right now while we’re grinding, trying to win it, you don’t really think about it. It probably wouldn’t even cross my mind or sink in until the offseason sometime.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

October 27, 2019

AJ Hinch

Washington, D.C. – pregame 5

Q. Just some thoughts about the Nationals having to make their switch and how it affects your team or doesn’t affect your team.
AJ HINCH: I think it just affects our preparation a little bit because we got a late notice that they scratched their starter. It’s happened before to us. So we’ve got to get to working on our game plan against Ross as opposed to what it was against Scherzer.

Obviously, I know there’s a lot of attention that comes with it. We know Max Scherzer, something must be going on with him if he’s going to miss this start. But it immediately goes into sort of game prep mode and get after it. We were prepared for Ross as a reliever. A little bit different when you go into a game as a team offense.

But I found out when you guys found out.

Q. I was going to ask you when you found out. But do you feel kind of a sense of relief, though, Max Scherzer one of the best pitchers in the game, and you’re not going to have to face him tonight?
AJ HINCH: I mean, it’s different. I don’t know “relief” is probably not the word I would use because we still need to go out and win a game. If we need any example of a young rookie stepping up and doing well in the World Series, we could rewind 24 hours and our guy did pretty good.

You can’t be overly confident. You can’t just assume that it’s going to be an easy game for you. It’s a different matchup. Different style.

Totally get the Max Scherzer shock of going from one of the top pitchers in baseball to a young kid, but we don’t — we’re not going to high five. We’re not going to have that moment where we feel like we have some sort of advantage. We need to go find a way to beat Joe Ross now.

Q. Gerrit’s start in Game 1 —
AJ HINCH: I found out from Alex Bregman, by the way, which is part of the story. I forget to answer the first part of your question. Go ahead.

Q. Bregman’s tapped into the Nats move?
AJ HINCH: He’s just closest to his phone whenever it started hitting the social media part. He came in and asked me if it was true. I did a little investigating, and turned out it was.

Q. I was just assuming you were watching MLB Network.
AJ HINCH: That’s right.

Q. Gerrit Cole in his Game 1 start had some trouble locating his breaking balls. Is there something he did between starts to rectify that?
AJ HINCH: Yeah, this has been a little bit more of a normal prep for him. I talked to him a little bit, and he probably wouldn’t want me to tell you this, there was just different prep for him. He was prepping for a potential Game 7, had an extra day. He’d kind of done his normal prep and then there wasn’t a Game 7. Thankfully we won in 6. Turned out he was going to be Game 1 of the World Series and he switched opponents.

He had an extra throwing session in there. I’m hoping that his normal prep, his normal routine, it’s the every five days that these guys are built and accustomed to, hopefully that gets him in a better spot to make his pitches from the very beginning of the game.

Now, he might not have been locating his off-speed pitches and he wasn’t at his best, but the Nationals did a really good job of attacking him in different ways. Zimmerman hits the fastball, Soto hit everything. They fought off some two-strike counts that teams just simply hadn’t done. Throughout the season he was getting a ton of punch-outs and getting through innings.

I think the Nats approach hurt Gerrit more than even his lack of execution. It was just the way they came out and hit all of his pitches at different points of the game that hurt him that night.

Q. Was there some frustration on your end as far as when you got the notice? Martinez said he tried to get a message to you at 4:00.
AJ HINCH: We knew it was delayed because we assumed it was Suzuki, because he had caught Max quite a bit. And any time you have an injury you kind of expect a later lineup. I have no problem with how they informed us.

Chip Hale and Joe Espada, the bench coaches, were both in contact the entire day, waiting for the lineup and the decision making. They were top end across the board. Exactly how you would expect them to let us know as soon as they knew.

I would imagine, and if I put myself in their shoes, I would wait until the very last minute until I absolutely knew that he couldn’t go. If they were deciding on Suzuki, as well, what his situation was. The Nats were great.

Q. In your years from player to executive to manager, can you think of too many cores of controllable players, elite players that compare to the core you guys have?
AJ HINCH: No, it’s one of the things that — you see some consistency in lineups over years of playoff teams. I think back to the Yankees in the late ’90s. I think back to the Braves back in the day of their double-digit years of dominance. But it’s nice nowadays to have that.

I tell our team after every year that every team is different. So you have to really enjoy the group that you’re with. Obviously you’re thinking one or two guys, maybe it’s a reliever, maybe it’s bench player, maybe it’s a backup catcher you change out, there’s change every year. But when you have this many players and you think, we could write this same lineup next year as a position player core. And we could have some top-end pitching, especially with McCullers coming back.

There’s a comfort. You can start to build that chemistry, that vibe, that culture that everybody talks about of familiarity, especially when you’re winning. When you’re winning, any team that I’ve seen put together three, five, seven, ten years of winning, you refer back to this core that everybody has, and right now we have it.

Q. Back during your playing career it was very notable how infrequently the team that had the best record in the regular season actually went on to win the World Series. That best team has now been in the World Series four times in a row, rarely happens. Why do you think this maybe has changed the playoffs?
AJ HINCH: I don’t know. That’s a good question. I can tell you one thing, winning is hard. Winning and getting through these series, just the opportunity of winning is really hard.

So as you can see in the different — you look at these series and I’ve been in a couple of them over the last few years, there’s always something that happens that surprises, right? In ’17 we faced a lot of elimination games. We always won these Game 7s. And those are really coin flips, you can go either way.

Last season we win Game 1 against the Red Sox in the ALCS. We have the lead in the fifth or sixth inning with Gerrit Cole on the mound in Game 2. We don’t win another game. And that was never expected.

So there’s so much randomness in the playoffs that it’s hard for me to pinpoint one era versus another era, other than you play 162 games for seeding only. And then once you get into the playoffs I’ve always felt like it’s kind of a start over with how you play.

I guess if you have the most surprised guys that step up and play, if you have your best players play at their best during these stretches then no matter what your record is at the end of the season you’re going to have a chance to win in the playoffs.

Q. What went into giving Alvarez the start today? And what have you seen from Brantley and Altuve? They seemed to be locked in right now.
AJ HINCH: To answer the first question on Alvarez, I targeted this day for two reasons: One, I’ve usually started Alvarez in the outfield when Gerrit Cole is pitching or when Wade Miley was pitching. One, because Gerrit would get so many strikeouts, there’s less balls in play and less opportunity for something crazy to happen in the outfield.

And with Wade it was more the ground balls and softer contact, certainly the first five months of the season.

Coming into this game I didn’t want to go three games without having his bat in the lineup for multiple at-bats. I knew I had to pinch-hit a bat a couple times, and I’ve used it the last two days.

Factor in Gerrit being on the mound and then when Max was going to start, he put up two really good at-bats against Scherzer in Game 1. So there was a dual reason for that.

So I’m completely comfortable with Alvarez in left field. I think he is limited in some ways in his range and in his experience, but he’s not a liability. He’s going to catch the balls he’s supposed to catch. He’s going to make the plays he’s supposed to make. If he can help us get the lead, I’ll probably get him out of there with either Jake or Redd or Tucker. I can steal a couple at-bats. If we put up the bats we put up yesterday, his third at-bat might happen in the middle of the game. That would be a great advantage to get two or three at-bats of his.

Second part of your question on Brantley and Altuve, is the quality of their bats, specifically in the World Series, has been second to none. I mean, just the covering different pitches, don’t try to do too much, and take what they give you. Watching Michael Brantley line virtually the same line drive like four or five times last night, he won two, he lost two. The consistency of their at-bats has just been remarkable.

Getting them on base, and certainly in tandem when they’re hitting next to each other, it’s really hard to get to our lineup. When Alex comes up with a big hit last night and you start piecing two and three and four hits together, right now Jose Altuve and Michael Brantley are going to be a part of it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

October 27, 2019

Stephen Strasburg

Washington, D.C. – pregame 5

Q. You’ve pitched a lot just through the season and never pitched kind of this deep and late into the season. How is your arm doing, and are you doing anything differently maintenance-wise in between starts?
STEPHEN STRASBURG: Yeah, it’s definitely uncharted territory. And I’m just trying to continue to do what I’ve tried to do all year, is just take it one day at a time and just listen to the body.

Q. Do you credit that to some of the changes about your routine or do you think it’s random that this year it all worked out health-wise? What do you think about the longevity you’ve had this season?
STEPHEN STRASBURG: Not really sure. I think mechanically I’ve been able to be a little bit more consistent when I go out there and pitch. Just made some minor tweaks in the offseason training program. I kind of put more emphasis on just strength, not so much endurance, and trying to get my weight up. And I was able to kind of ride that throughout the year.

Q. Have you had a chance to see Max today? If so, what’s his sort of state of mind and state of being right now?
STEPHEN STRASBURG: I haven’t seen him today.

Q. Were you aware yesterday that there was something going on with him physically?
STEPHEN STRASBURG: Yeah, I mean, guys were talking in the clubhouse. And I think everybody is dealing with the effects of a long season. So you really just kind of focus on what you can control. Sometimes things are out of your control.

Q. In a game like tomorrow where you know you’re facing a top pitcher like Verlander, does that cause you in any way to up your level or is it a point you do what you do and who’s on the mound for the other team makes no difference?
STEPHEN STRASBURG: Yeah, it’s an American League game. So he’s obviously not going to be getting in the box. What he does against us is really irrelevant to what I have to focus on, and that’s their lineup and finding a way to keep them at bay.

Q. Kind of keeping it with Verlander, this is your second straight start against him in the World Series. How big is that to you as a pitcher, as a player?
STEPHEN STRASBURG: I mean, I really don’t look at the opposing pitcher. Again, it’s who I’m facing, the hitters that I’m facing. That’s my job.

Again, pitching at this point in the season, it’s a tremendous honor, and I’m going to go out there and compete and give it everything I have.

Q. Were you able to say anything or is there anything that you think you can say to advise Joe in the position he is now to have to fill in as a spot starter with Max hurt, what kind of position he suddenly finds himself thrust in?
STEPHEN STRASBURG: I mean, Joe has kind of done a little bit of everything this year. He’s such a great competitor. He’s such a great athlete. I trust his ability to prepare. I think that’s one thing that having some of the struggles early on in the year with him, he really took another step as far as like preparation, doing his homework, and you just take notice of those things. That’s his own journey.

He knows I’m here for him but at the same time, you’ve just got to let him go out and do his thing.

Q. When did you get word that Max was officially scratched? I know it might have been a long shot, but would it have been at all conceivable for you to come back on short rest tonight?
STEPHEN STRASBURG: No, I don’t think it really was ever an idea. I threw a bullpen yesterday. Obviously found out when — a little while ago. But I’m kind of at that point where I’m preparing for Game 6.

Q. On a separate note, what is the team sentiment on the president attending the game tonight? Do you care at all or irrelevant to you?
STEPHEN STRASBURG: I think everybody is excited. It’s the president of the United States. So there’s obviously beefed up security. So usually the dogs that are sniffing in our clubhouse are these nice Labs that are super friendly. And today there was a German Shepherd that I didn’t really feel comfortable petting.

Q. Has that been the main difference to him coming compared to most games?
STEPHEN STRASBURG: Yeah, I mean, obviously there’s a lot of extra security around the ballpark, too.

Q. You go from facing the Astros lineup for the first time all season to facing them twice within a week as a pitcher. What’s the biggest challenge facing a team on such a short turnaround?
STEPHEN STRASBURG: Yeah, the schedule it seems like each year you’ll go, you’ll play the Phillies and then you’ll come around next week and you’ll play them again. Really, it comes down to execution of pitches. Their approaches might change a little bit, but the important thing is to go out there and pound away and trust your stuff.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports