Q. Just your reaction to that game and then the end of it? AARON BOONE: Just so many different emotions. Proud of all our guys. The ultimate pain you can feel in sports, just knowing all that so many put into it. And just know how good of a club we have, to get back into it and then it to end that way, it’s hard and our guys are hurting.
But I could not be more proud of them and the way they always compete. It will serve us well moving forward, when we get to the top of the mountain.
I want to say congratulations to AJ and the Astros. They have a great team, obviously. They made a couple more plays than we did.
Q. So much of your season was built around the strength of your bullpen, and in particular the guys who gave up the runs tonight. How tough was that just to see those guys? AARON BOONE: It’s going to happen. I thought Chappy hung a pitch and a great player got him. Tommy gave up a run, a little bit of a product of him probably being a little tired, too, at this point, having used him a lot here these last few days. Greeny gave up that home run early, but you kind of look at the pitch and it’s a great job by Gurriel. I think he was just uber-aggressive selling out on a fastball but in a certain spot, too, and somehow got to that and just hit it out.
And obviously a couple of those, that’s the difference in the ball game. Love how my guys compete always.
Q. With Marisnick on deck there, what is the thought to — AARON BOONE: Yeah, certainly not a walk, an intentional walk situation, but kind of pitching him aggressively like you’re ahead the whole time. And I think Chappy did, he just hung a breaking ball. That’s obviously a pitch he’s trying to not give in and probably get down and out of the zone, see if you get a chase or something and he hung it.
Q. DJ is up out there following those four pitches to get to that pitch, at the time it completely changed the game. AARON BOONE: Yeah, kind of embodies his season, that at-bat, so good. Off their closer, obviously. Just a really good battle and spoiled pitches, spoiled pitches, finally got one he could handle and ride out of there.
As that at-bat’s going on, just felt so good about him doing something. Knew he was going to put it in play hard somewhere, and sure enough he did. What more can you say about the season he’s had.
Q. You guys were the best in baseball during the regular season, hitting with runners in scoring position and then that continued against the Twins. Obviously a lot more struggles this week. How much is that their pitching? AARON BOONE: I think a lot of credit certainly goes to them. But a lot of times the teams that eventually go home it’s sometimes a result of not capitalizing enough when you have opportunities.
Another day today where even though we scored four runs, had a couple of big hits, obviously, we had a lot of guys out there; 12, 15 baserunners-ish, I’m guessing. And just weren’t able enough in this series to kind of break through to change it the other way. Unfortunately for us, that’s a little bit of the difference.
Q. Obviously the Astros stopped you guys two years ago before you got here. Did it again this year. It’s a very small gap, I guess, but what can you do to close the gap with a team that good? AARON BOONE: Continue to fight and work. I feel like we are on equal footing with them. Unfortunately, sports can be a little bit cruel for the team that goes home and such can happen in the series.
I think we’re a better team this year than we were last year. And we’ll work very hard in the winter in every phase, from the front office and the decisions we make with what players we bring in, what players we lose, things like that that are inevitable, continue to try to pour into our guys in the offseason about things to focus on to help them improve their game individually. I feel like we’ve made a lot of strides in that area.
But the work never ends. And we’ll continue to try and I guess close that gap or put ourselves in a position to get over the hump. I know everyone in our room believes we will and we’ll have a lot of battle scars when we do finally get to the top of that mountain.
Obviously, we got off to a good start. We struggled in the second with penalty trouble. I thought that really got us out of flow and gave a good power play good opportunities. In the end, that probably affected us. How many penalties did we take? [Four]. How many [power plays] did we get? [Zero]. I didn’t know that.
On Johnsson’s status:
I think he’s going to be fine. The X-Rays were negative. We’ll see in the morning. He might not practice tomorrow, but he’ll be back at it.
On the decision to play Marner on Matthews’ wing:
He wasn’t in Willy’s [Nylander] spot. We had talked about it two days ago. We kind of knew what we were going to do. We were going to play Willy with [Matthews] when he was in the offensive zone and that way it would set up when it was a matchup situation, we were going to play Mitchy. If we went with Matty in the O-zone, we wanted Mitchy to play with [Kerfoot] so we could match that up and then we were going to match up [Gauthier] in D-zone.
On if those matchups are limited to tonight:
We’ll just try to evaluate for the next game what we’re going to do. We’ll look at it tomorrow, get it figured out and then go from there. I mean, when we lost [Johnsson] we were a little short-staffed so we were moving guys around. I thought we had some guys who had strong, strong games. Mikheyev I thought had a real good game, I thought [Timashov] had a real good game, I thought [Gauthier] was outstanding. You go through and there were lots of guys that really contributed here.
On how valuable a tool the fourth line is:
You wouldn’t have trusted [Gauthier] in these situations before. You know, it’s no different than [Holl], you get better every year. Sometimes you don’t get to play, but you’re getting better. You’re around NHL practice every day, you’re training, you’re working, you’re getting better. Then when they make the step and they earn the confidence, then they really get better. Obviously, Goat has been important for us. Really important for us.
On Timashov scoring his first career goal:
I think he’s got four points or something. What I like about him is he’s nasty. He hits everything that moves and he’s heavy on the puck, he’s on the forecheck all the time, he provides speed for [Shore] and Goat.
On if he’d like to give Marner more time with Matthews in the long-term:
Not really. I’m tempted to have the best lineup we can and if that’s them together then I’d do that. John Tavares is a pretty good player too and that line, when we get Hyman back, that’s a pretty dominant, dominant line for us. Matty and [Johnsson] and Willy have been a good line for us as well. I don’t know what’s going to happen, I can’t predict that, I just know that you go day-to-day. You get to write about it after, I have to decide during. It’s not as easy to second-guess during. You’ve got to make those decisions in advance. Sometimes it goes good and you feel great. Sometimes it goes terrible and you wish you wouldn’t have done it.
On the impact a win like tonight can have:
I don’t know if it’s a statement game, but what I’d say to you is it was more important for our team than their team. It was important because John [Tavares] was out, to find a way to win it and it was probably even more important when we lost [Johnsson] that we got it done. I thought Freddie had a real good – it looks like he’s back. That’s an important part for us as well. I thought he had an unbelievable night for us.
FREDERIK ANDERSEN (43 SAVES)
On tonight’s game:
Yeah, outstanding hockey, right? It doesn’t get much better. It was fun.
On tonight’s intensity level:
I thought that was a fun game. I think we got off to a good start. We got some energy in the building. I think they carried it on all night. It was a fun, fun game to be part of.
On Matthews and Marner making plays with one another:
Yeah, they seem to find each other pretty well and, like you said, they have an unbelievable skill set and both guys can shoot it pretty good too.
ALEX KERFOOT (1 GOAL)
On how satisfying tonight’s win is:
Yeah, it felt good. I mean, obviously, the Washington game didn’t go the way we wanted it to and kind of gave up a leave there and gave up one in the third again, but we found a way to come back. Obviously, our best players made a play to win the game.
On Andersen’s play tonight:
He was outstanding. There were times in the game where we got hemmed in our D-zone, we had some late changes, got out there with some guys gassed and he made a bunch of great saves to keep us in it.
MITCH MARNER (2 ASSISTS)
On the game-winning goal:
Saw [Matthews] go around the back of the net and I didn’t want to get to close. I knew that if there were sticks in the way he couldn’t make the pass so tried to stay higher in the slot. I’m almost certain it hit [Rielly] and went in but it’s a good feeling getting that game over with and moving on.
On tonight’s line shuffling:
Yeah, we kind of got told in the morning that we were just going to watch and what the other team does with their lines and kind of go off that. I thought we played well together, had some chemistry out there. Defensively speaking I thought we played a really well-rounded game.
AUSTON MATTHEWS (1 ASSIST)
On playing alongside Marner for portions of the game tonight:
Yeah, it’s always exciting, we haven’t played with each other much but I think every time we get paired up together, we get pretty excited out there. We just try to make the most of it, make plays and try to create offense and obviously, keep the puck out of our net.
On setting up the game winning goal tonight:
I just tried to hold it and I think their guy slid on their first post and I tried to get around, find somebody open and got Mitch and I think it tapped [Rielly] and then went in, so that’s all that matters. That’s a big extra point for us, this was going to be a statement game. They’ve gotten off to a hot start so wanted to make sure we came out on time and played well.
MORGAN RIELLY (2 GOALS)
On if he’s willing to confirm the overtime goal went off him and in the net:
No… no.
On what he saw on the overtime goal.
Two really good players going back-and-forth with it. When they’re on the ice together, it’s great. You just kind of let them do the work.
On what this win means for the team:
Yeah, it’s big. A team within the division, not having John [Tavares]. Just kind of a point in our year where we want to get going and I think we answered the bell. Not as clean as we wanted to win, but we got it done anyways so we’ll take it.
DMYTRO TIMASHOV (FIRST CAREER NHL GOAL)
On if physicality is part of his game:
I like it, I think it’s fun to hit the guys. I think I played like that with the Marlies too. It’s fun for sure.
On scoring his first career NHL goal:
It’s a dream come true, always a dream to score my first goal. I didn’t think it would come this soon because I don’t score a lot of goals, I’m more of a passer, but I’m happy to score my first one.
TORONTO FC (5) – D.C. UNITED (1) POST GAME SUMMARY Toronto FC advances to play New York City FC on Wednesday, October 23rd in the MLS Eastern Conference Semifinal
SCORING SUMMARY TOR – Marky Delgado 32’ DC – Lucas Rodríguez 90’+3’ (Frédéric Brillant, Wayne Rooney) TOR – Richie Laryea 93’ (Nick DeLeon, Michael Bradley) TOR – Jonathan Osorio 95’ TOR – Jonathan Osorio 103’ (Alejandro Pozuelo) TOR – Nick DeLeon 105’+1’ (Jonathan Osorio)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY TOR – Jonathan Osorio 40’ (caution) TOR – Marky Delgado 72’ (caution) TOR – Justin Morrow 102’ (caution) DC – Leonardo Jara 109’ (caution) DC – Paulo Arriola 112’, 118’ (double caution)
LINEUPS TORONTO FC – Quentin Westberg; Auro Jr. (Drew Moor 90’+3’), Laurent Ciman, Chris Mavinga (Patrick Mullins 107’), Justin Morrow; Jonathan Osorio, Michael Bradley (C); Alejandro Pozuelo, Marky Delgado, Tsubasa Endoh (Nick DeLeon 73’); Nicolas Benezet (Richie Laryea 81’). Substitutes Not Used: Alex Bono, Liam Fraser, Erickson Gallardo
D.C. UNITED – Bill Hamid; Steven Birnbaum (C), Rusell Canouse, Joseph Mora (Emmanuel Boateng 87’), Frédéric Brillant; Felipe (Ola Kamara 44’), Junior Moreno; Ulises Segura (Luciano Acosta 78’), Paul Arriola, Lucas Rodriguez; Wayne Rooney (Leonardo Jara EHT). Substitutes Not Used: Quincy Amarikwa, Chris Seitz, Donovan Pines
GREG VANNEY, HEAD COACH – TORONTO FC
Why didn’t you finish that in regular time? That would have been nice. We had to see out one more corner kick and as it would, they score. Most importantly, our response after we give away a goal late was incredible, we had to re-setup the team, because really the sub at the end was just to try to get to the corner kick, to get a little bit bigger. We knew they were sending in the goalkeeper; we knew they were sending all the big guys, and we just wanted to get a little bigger than Auro. And try to just…because I feel like really if we see through that corner kick the game is done. So, we took that one, that opportunity, we give up one, I wouldn’t have done it, but I knew also if we happen to go to overtime, we have an extra sub. So, we can go back to an attacking shape if I needed to but unfortunately, we didn’t get ourselves through that one. But we re-grouped, really the guys regrouped mentally, we re-shaped ourselves based on the guys we had on the field. We just completely opened up the game, some of the attacking play, some of the finishing, all that stuff started to come out in droves. It was nice but just showed some real mental toughness I think in that final overtime.
What did you say to your guys before the overtime? Win the game…no. I just again re-shaped it and said let’s be aggressive. Let’s not fall back, we re-shaped into a 3-5-2, and I said I wanted the wide guys to go hard, I didn’t want them to sit in the back, I didn’t want it to look like a 5. I wanted us to play the ball forward and to just attack. Which is a format that we used in the past, mostly in 2016. Obviously, we still have Marky, Oso and Michael, who remember those days, and Justin, and the centre backs were comfortable with it. I just wanted us to be aggressive. We were going to go into the overtime, we wanted to change the mindset right off the bat. And we did it well, and we were able to like I said get some goals off of that, I would like to say made it comfortable in the end, but we also had a couple of guys that were a little banged up in the overtime, that unfortunately we are going to have to deal with that.
What is about big night’s like tonight, that bring out the best in Osorio? Yeah, I think that you know for him and a lot of guys, but I think for him he loves being here in front of his hometown. You know the bigger the games, I feel like this team always reaches down and finds a different level of concentration, intensity and fight in some ways. Sometimes I think in regular season games, we love to play and pass the ball and everything else. But in playoff games, and big games, bring out a different level of competition and scrappiness and fighting and the things that you have to do to just win playoff games or these games that are one offs. For Osorio that’s his wheelhouse, when he’s got a lot of sort of emotion and a lot of passion for what he does and when the game gets going like that it brings out the best of what he has to offer. Plus, on a day like today, we needed to him to hold possession and spin away from guys because we don’t have a Jozy up top to be able to hold the ball for us. We needed him and Poz, those guys to be reliable as much as possible on the ball, and they were great in that way for us. So pleased, happy…and again guys like him, and a lot of others just continue to build confidence through this stretch, and we look forward to the next challenge.
JONATHAN OSORIO, MIDFIELFDER – TORONTO FC
How did it feel tonight? Very good. It was a great response after giving up a last-minute goal. In extra time, to respond like that and to come out aggressive was great. It was great for the team; it gives us a lot of confidence and some could argue that the game finishing this way is better for us going into the next.
What was the mood of the team after they had tied it in regulation? I think at first upsetting for sure but we gathered ourselves together, we gathered in a group and we picked each other up saying that the game is not over, we have 30 minutes to win this and if we keep playing the way that we were playing we knew that we would come out on top.
Did this week’s game with Canada help you in today’s game? I mean, I put that in the past now. The Canada game happened, it was great, I’ll remember it forever for sure, but I put that in the past. The next day I was looking forward to this game and I’m just happy we got the win to go to the next round.
Thoughts on the quick turnaround to Wednesdays game: It doesn’t matter, it’s playoffs. All of that does not matter at all. We are going to do everything we can to recover and get ready and that won’t be an excuse.
NICK DELEON, MIDFIELDER – TORONTO FC
Congratulations on the big goal. Can you talk about for a bit? I had time and space and I tried to pick out the far corner. Before that the guys put in an incredible shift today. I just felt a little motivated in the overtime, especially since it was my man that scored in the regulation time. I was definitely prepared to do what I had to do to help the team win in overtime.
What was the key to you guys regrouping for overtime? For lack of a better word, there was a lot of pissed off guys going into overtime, so some very motivated guys and I think it showed.
How special was it for you to score against them? Yeah, it was special. It felt good for sure.
Nick what was it like playing your first playoff game at BMO Field? Awesome, incredible. It was a good atmosphere. I have always loved playing here. In the playoffs the atmosphere just goes up another level. It was an incredible atmosphere. I am glad to have at least played one here.
What does it say about the character of this team to give up a stoppage time goal then drop the hammer four times so quickly? Yeah, it says a lot. You always get knocked down. You are always going to have controversy, but it is how you respond and today we responded very well.
BEN OLSEN, HEAD COACH – D.C. UNITED
What are your emotions after the game? It’s hard to process that right? It’s a lot of emotion to tie it up there late and play what I thought was a pretty good game. Better chances in regular time, didn’t put them away, and then early in the overtime we give up two goals. Then the wheels come off and they make a bunch of plays. They just came back with maybe a better mentality out of the break. They punished us for it.
Wayne Rooney had three really good looks at goal that you would normally expect him to finish. You got Wayne’s three and (Ola Kamara’s) one v one. You know we didn’t over the course of the day didn’t make enough plays to win it in regular time. We threw so much at it in the end personnel wise, maybe that has something to do with it on the turn. Going into the overtime you know our personnel wasn’t right and we gave up some early goals. It’s disappointing. It’s an unfair score line when you look at the game itself in regular time. But they also scored five goals and we scored one.
The outcome was settled after the first fifteen minutes of extra time you decided to take Rooney off. What went into that decision? Get some legs in the centre of the park. He put a lot of miles in today. Nothing other than getting a fresh body in there.
This marks the end of Wayne Rooney’s ten year here, what goes through your mind with him? Well I enjoyed it very much. I think he gave a lot to the organisation from a team standpoint. On the field some wonderful moments. He was a great teammate. I think he was good to our fans and very appreciative of the support he got from our fan base but also the community, the D.C. are. Personally, it was a joy to work with him. I really enjoyed it. I think he’s made me a better coach. For the most part he was a pretty easy to manage. It’s an unfortunate way for him to finish here. I’m sure he would have wanted to hit the back of the net and push is into the next round but that’s not how it went today.
How do you feel personally now that you have three times in a row been bounced out in the first round? I haven’t thought much about that. I’m just disappointed that we couldn’t get through today. Again, I was proud of the effort and proud to get here. Frustrated and disappointed that we haven’t been able to get out of the first round. We’ll work to fix that.
PAUL ARRIOLA, MIDFIELDER – D.C. UNITED
Hard way to lose in the playoffs especially when it was tied after 90 minutes? Yeah definitely. Obviously the second goal comes from a difficult ball that was played in, a 50/50 ball that was neutral. You know Mike was first to react and they punished us. Our plan was to stay compact and ride the momentum we had, but it went differently once the extra time started.
You must have felt pretty good after scoring so late and having the momentum swing in your favour. Yeah of course we had a lot of momentum and it’s unfortunate that we give up the goal so early and make it difficult on ourselves. Credit to them, they put away their chances and kept going. You know as a team we can’t stop 2-1, 3-1, you’ve got to keep playing and we didn’t seem to do that.
I know that you and Wayne are close and being this was the last game you’ll play with him I wanted to know your thoughts of the time and what he’s meant to this club? I haven’t really thought about it being our last game. You know we weren’t hoping and expecting this to be our last game, but he’s helped this club in a lot of ways. You see us on an international scale and what he does on the field and the type of teammate he is. I can’t say enough good things about the type of player he is and the guy that he is off the field in the locker room. He’s a great friend, a great teammate and I wish we could have done more to continue this run.
OLA KAMARA, FORWARD – D.C. UNITED
Your feeling good going into extra time, what do you think changed the momentum at that point? It’s tough you know we put a lot of attackers out there to try and score a goal and I think maybe we had a lot of people out of position and maybe we pressed a little bit high for us. But also, if we went just defensive maybe they would of broke us down out wide. It’s just tough but I think as they don’t have Altidore as a striker, we might have been better to sit a little bit lower and let them have the ball. It’s probably marginal though, it’s tough.
You’ve only been around a couple of months, looking ahead now you’re obviously going to step into a bigger role with Wayne gone, how do you look at the future of this team in general. You saw at the end of the season that we done well. Of course, for me it was a bad, bad situation to get injured when you’re scoring 3 goals and you have momentum and everything. I wanted to play with good players and Wayne as well, but it is what it is and hopefully we’ll learn from this and get back into the playoffs next year and do even better.
Morgan Rielly put the Maple Leafs on the board at 5:55 of the first period and scored the winner at 3:54 of overtime goal. Rielly’s goals were his first of the season. Last season he established a new single-season career-high for goals (20). Tonight’s game is his third multi-point performance of the season.
Dmytro Timashov scored Toronto’s second goal of the night at 15:44 of the first period. Timashov’s goal is his first career NHL goal. He has four points (1-3-4) in six games to begin his NHL career.
Alex Kerfoot scored the third Maple Leafs goal of the game at 2:37 of the third period. Kerfoot has two goals over his last four games. The Maple Leafs are 2-0-1 when Kerfoot scores this season.
Mitch Marner registered the primary assist on Rielly’s first period goal and on the overtime-winning goal. Marner has six points (2-4-6) over his last five games. His 20 points (5 goals, 15 assists) in 13 career games against Boston is his career-high for points against a single opponent.
Andreas Johnsson had the secondary assist on Rielly’s first period goal. Johnsson has three points (1-2-3) over his last three games. All five (2-3-5) of his points have come on home ice
Frederik Gauthier recorded the lone assist on Timashov’s first period goal. Gauthier established a career-high for assists (11) in 2018-19.
Jake Muzzin registered the primary assist on Kerfoot’s third period goal. Muzzin has assists (2) in two consecutive games. He has five points (1-4-5) in seven games against Eastern Conference opponents.
Ilya Mikheyev collected the secondary assist on Kerfoot’s third period goal. Mikheyev has points (1-1-2) in two consecutive games. He has four points (2-2-4) over his last four games. The Maple Leafs are 3-1-1 when Mikheyev registers a point.
Auston Matthews recorded the primary assist on Marner’s overtime goal. He has four points (2-2-4) over his last five games. Eight (6-2-8) of his nine points this season have come on home ice.
Frederik Andersen stopped 42 shots to earn the victory tonight. Tonight’s game is his first 40-plus save performance of the season.
Toronto’s all-time record is 277-298-98-10 in 675 games against the Bruins and 173-110-51-3 in 338 games played in Toronto.
Toronto is 4-2-1 against the Eastern Conference this season and 3-1-1 against the Atlantic Division.
Tonight’s attendance was 19,394.
MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS
Shots
4 (Marner, Mikheyev, Rielly)
Shot Attempts
7 (Rielly)
Faceoff Wins
8 (Gauthier)
Faceoff Win Percentage
67% (Shore – 2 won, 1 lost)
Hits
9 (Timashov)
Blocked Shots
4 (Barrie, Rielly)
Takeaways
5 (Marner)
TOI
27:01 (Muzzin)
Power Play TOI
N/A
Shorthanded TOI
3:35 (Marner)
Shifts
33 (Rielly)
5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage
61.1% (Spezza – 11 for, 7 against)
RECORD WHEN…
The Maple Leafs were 2-for-3 on the penalty kill and 0-for-0 on the power play tonight. Toronto is 2-1-1 when allowing one power play goal this season and 2-2-0 when not scoring a power play goal.
Toronto is 2-1-0 when scoring the first goal of the game.
The Maple Leafs are 2-1-1 when leading after one period and 5-0-1 when leading after two periods.
Toronto is 1-1-1 when outshot by their opponent.
The Maple Leafs are 2-0-1 in Saturday games.
OF NOTE…
Toronto forwards Frederik Gauthier and Nick Shore were the lone Maple Leafs to not start a 5-on-5 shift in the offensive zone.
Frederik Gauthier was 7-for-10 (70%) in the faceoff circle when taking defensive zone draws and 5-for-8 (63%) when matched up with Boston centre Patrice Bergeron in the defensive zone.
Andreas Johnsson (leg) left tonight’s game and did not return.
Jake Muzzin was on the ice for a team-high 22 Toronto shot attempts-for at 5-on-5. Muzzin finished the game with a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 51.2 percent (22 for, 21 against).
Dmytro Timashov’s nine hits in tonight’s game puts him in a tie for the 11th most hits in a game in franchise history. The franchise’s single-game record (12) has been reached four times.
UPCOMING GAMES:
Monday, October 21, 7:00 p.m. vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (Sportsnet Ontario, FAN 590)
Tuesday, October 22, 7:00 p.m. at Boston Bruins (TSN4, TSN 1050)
Friday, October 25, 7:00 p.m. vs. San Jose Sharks (Sportsnet Ontario, FAN 590)
Saturday, October 26, 7:00 p.m. at Montreal Canadiens (Sportsnet, TSN 1050)
Tuesday, October 29, 7:00 p.m. vs. Washington Capitals (TSN4, TSN 1050)
Q. With the Astros going with a bullpen day as well, what are some of the challenges and how does the preparation change going into a game like tonight? AARON BOONE: The challenges are you’re not getting a lot of looks at one guy. They’re putting in pitchers in parts of the lineup that are designed for them to be successful. So therein lies the challenge of it.
I think our guys from a game-planning standpoint have some comfort in the fact that they’re used to it. We’ve face this quite a bit. So guys know kind of how to prepare and get ready.
But it certainly creates its challenges because they’re matching up pitchers in areas that they have the best chance to be successful in their part of the lineup.
Q. Any chance you would use Tanaka? AARON BOONE: Probably not. I kind of view Masa more in play tomorrow. Probably not today.
Q. Would you use Severino in an emergency? AARON BOONE: We’ll see. We’ll talk about that in the hours leading up here.
Q. What made you decide to go with Edwin Encarnacion DH’ing instead of Giancarlo Stanton? AARON BOONE: One of those that I toiled over last night and into this morning. Feel good about both guys. Not quite ready to feel like I’m ready to G out in the field. So it’s now the DH conversation.
And still, even though Edwin has had some tough games, still feel like he’s got a chance to really impact things. Felt like I wanted him in there today and wanted to keep the infield alignment the same. So it was really just deciding between two really good players.
And in G’s case, first game back from the injury that he’s still battling with, late game, getting in in the middle of the night and stuff. So it was a decision for me, feel like there’s potentially a big spot for him off the bench still. And the good thing is that it’s a tough decision because I’ve got two really good players.
Q. Starting Chad was pretty elementary. Did that require a lot of thought? AARON BOONE: We debated a little bit but it all came back to Greeny. So obviously it’s something he’s done quite a bit this year, he’s comfortable with it. Feel like he’s throwing the ball well. So hopefully he can get us going on a good note.
Q. With Green, do you have a certain number in your mind pitch count-wise as far as how far you would push him or is it a matter of just watching and seeing how strong he is? AARON BOONE: Not necessarily a pitch count, no. Kind of a baseline of hopefully where in the order he can get through. But if he looks strong and cruising along then we’ll ride with him a little further. He’s not built up to go too, too long but hopefully he can give us a little bit of length to start things off.
Q. Aaron Hicks missed a lot of time, had a monster at-bat in Game 5. What’s impressed you about how he’s been able to see the ball since coming back in the short span? AARON BOONE: The fact that he’s looked like himself and the good portion that Aaron brings. Ultimate strike zone control.
I feel like since his first at-bat when he pinch-hit here when we were here last time, I think it was Game 2, and then carried it right into now, the games that he started, I feel like the quality his at-bats have been there. And I feel like physically he’s moving around well. I feel like he’s moving well in the outfield, and I think clearly a guy that likes playing in these games that mean a little bit more.
Q. What are the biggest challenges of managing a bullpen game especially on a night where there’s so much urgency as tonight? AARON BOONE: Just knowing you’re going to use a lot of guys and trying to get guys in parts of the lineup where they have a chance to be the most successful, period. We feel good about our guys and if they throw the ball the way they’re capable of, that they can go out and be successful.
But the biggest challenge is trying as best you can to be disciplined to getting them into the part of the game where you want them in and not necessarily where you need them in.
Q. You and AJ Hinch know each other pretty well. And this is kind of a unique situation, both of you guys are doing the same thing in this game. Is there a part of you when you’re making decisions, I know what he’s thinking, he knows what I’m thinking, that kind of back and forth? AARON BOONE: Honestly, I don’t really get that involved in it like that or think about it that way. Kind of consumed with what we’re doing. I mean, you’ve got to be certainly aware of, Hey, might they hit for this guy in this situation? So you try and think along in that regard based on what you’re doing and the moves we’re making.
But I don’t think it gets too deep as far as — because of our relationship.
Q. You’ve obviously spent a lifetime in the game, in a very traditional baseball upbringing. The idea of two teams doing a bullpen game with such high stakes just a few years ago would have been just about unthinkable. Do you think it’s better for the game, more interesting, more efficient way to win or do you ever think, how did we evolve this game to this point? AARON BOONE: Right. It certainly can be. Both teams are doing it because we think it gives us a better chance to win. Obviously some of it’s out of need where we’ve had some guys that have started for us this year that aren’t available.
So I don’t get too caught up — I’m on the side of things where we’re trying to win. We’ve seen firsthand going back to when Tampa started doing this last year how effective it can be and how much of a challenge it can be. And we feel like we have the pieces that have a chance to have a lot of success with it and hopefully we can tonight.
Q. Is your team nervous, anxious, are you nervous, anxious? How would you portray what you’re feeling and how you feel your team is feeling? AARON BOONE: I think our guys are good. We wanted to make sure we got on that plane last night; we did. And I’m confident we’ll come in here and go play our game and enjoy doing it.
As far as nervous, the leadup is always anxious and a little uptight. I finally, once the game gets going, there’s some comfort in that. It’s kind of the best time of the day, frankly, when you’re in the game now and watching our guys go out and compete. You feel like all the prep work now is, Now we go. And there’s some comfort in that.
Q. Did the loss of CC impact the matchups you see for Happ in that you might move him into some of the spots where you’d see a matchup for CC? Or is Happ still kind of in his own little lane there? AARON BOONE: No, I think we — there’s some similarities between the two that we saw in this series as far as the occasional one off where they’re facing one-hitter, one lefty hitter, but also there are some lanes where they can give us some length. Probably feel like J.A. can go more hitters at this point from where CC was before he got hurt.
But viewed them both a little bit similarly.
Q. So that doesn’t change or limit Happ’s length that you might ask him — AARON BOONE: No, no, we feel like there’s some spots for Happer tonight that he can go in and be effective for us.
Q. A lot of your guys, including Aaron Judge, have described this season if you don’t make it to the World Series it’s a failure. Is it? AARON BOONE: I hate that question. Not because you asked, not like that. I mean, we’re — I know as an organization myself, our players, we’re chasing a championship and we’re doing everything we can. We want to be champions. So that’s the goal. That’s the focus.
Putting a label, success, fail, all that, I don’t really have time for it, honestly. We’ve got to go get a win tonight and that’s the focus. I’m proud to go compete with those guys every day. I reject it a little bit but I don’t really get caught up in the question, either. It’s full steam ahead, let’s go.
Q. With the Astros starting Peacock tonight, any advantage for you guys, since you saw him just about 20 hours ago? AARON BOONE: Well, I hope so. Look, we know he’s a good pitcher, he’s a guy that’s pitched well in the postseason for them in the past. Obviously has dealt with some injuries this year. Hopefully a little bit of the familiarity of a few of our guys seeing him helps a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that plays in.
Bottom line is it’s about execution and your being disciplined as a hitter and him on the mound making pitches. That will kind of determine it, if we take advantage of mistakes or if he executes pitches, that usually determines who’s going to come out on top.
• made his first postseason appearance in Game 5 of the ALCS…tossed a scoreless 8th inning with 1 strikeout on 8 pitches.
• is on the Astros ALCS roster after not making the ALDS roster…did not make the Astros postseason rosters in 2018, but was a key factor in Houston’s 2017 World Series run…pitched in 7 games (1 start) in the 2017 postseason.
• pitched in 4 games in the 2017 World Series, posting a 2.45 ERA (2ER/7.1IP) with 8 strikeouts…tossed a 3.2-inning save (no hits allowed) in Game 3, the longest save in the World Series since Madison Bumgarner’s 5-inning save in 2014.
• over his career (including postseason) has held righties to a .198 (211×1065) batting average…held right-handed hitters to a .179 (32×179) batting average and a .553 OPS (.251 OBP/.302 SLG) this season.
The view from left field 