October 14, 2019

Dave Martinez

Washington D.C. – pregame 3

Q. Davey, what did you have to see from Victor either yesterday or this morning to make sure he could get back in there today?
DAVE MARTINEZ: He ran the bases today and ran them full tilt. So he looked really good. We wanted him to hit on the field. He couldn’t do that, obviously, because it started pouring down rain, but he hit in the cage, took some good swings. He’s raring to go. Excited to be back on the field.

Q. During the season, you talked a lot about managing guys’ workloads, whether it was Howie, Zim, some of the older guys. In the postseason, how much of a focus is it to put your best players in the best spots no matter what. Is that how you’re approaching it?
DAVE MARTINEZ: Right now, yeah. The biggest thing is the days off. We’ve had days off in between. Moving forward, we’ve got three games in a row, and this is all based on conversations with Howie, Zim. Right now, they’re playing well. They’re healthy. We’re just going to keep it going.

Q. You’ve also frequently mentioned conversations you have day-to-day with those guys. How much does strength staff come in, medical? Do you map out plans with them as well, or is it just the players?
DAVE MARTINEZ: Absolutely, absolutely. The biggest thing with Victor — Michael’s played really, really well, but with Victor, it’s getting him loose and in the game and letting him play as opposed to keeping him on the bench, trying to get him loose again. I talked to the training staff about that and felt that he should just get loose and get in the game. If something happens, Michael is ready to play.

Q. Like you said, this is the first time you might be playing three days in a row in the postseason. So when it comes to your bullpen, do you have to approach these any differently and not know that you can ride Doolittle and Hudson quite to the extent you have at this point?
DAVE MARTINEZ: We’ll just have to see how the game plays out today, tomorrow. These guys, this is based on — they come in every day, they throw, and after that, I have a conversation with them to see where they’re at. They know what we’re playing for, so these games are different than the regular season. If they’re available and we have a chance to close out a game, I’m sure they’re going to want the ball.

Q. Davey, along the lines of Jesse’s question, you have six guys on the bench tonight that have all made postseason starts before this year. How have you gotten those guys to buy in to a team-first mentality?
DAVE MARTINEZ: That didn’t take much. They’re all about the team. They really are. You listen to these guys pulling for each other day in and day out, they’ve done that all year. When they’re called upon, they’re ready.

Matt Adams the other day, huge pinch-hit. Hasn’t really played much or done much, but he gets it, and he went in there and had a big hit for us.

Q. Davey, you were a major league hitter. Stephen Strasburg’s change-up, how would you approach that, that one pitch? Has it ever made you sit in the dugout and go, what was that?
DAVE MARTINEZ: I often say to myself when he throws it, I’m glad I’m not playing anymore because it would be frustrating to hit, but it’s tough. I look at it, he’s got two different ones. One breaks into righties and one just goes straight down. It’s really tough. He throws it — what makes a good change-up is your arm action, and he’s got really good arm action.

Q. Davey, obviously, this staff is unique in terms of its makeup, but when you go back and think about the first 50 games and how bad it was, how worse would it have been without these — without your four starters being able to go the way that they’ve gone all year?
DAVE MARTINEZ: Honestly, I don’t want to think about it. We’re fortunate that these guys are really good, four of those guys, and even when we had to mix in a fifth starter, those guys pitched big games for us — Joe, Fedde, Voth — they all did what we needed them to do. So life without them would definitely not be as fun. I’m just glad they’re part of this and I’m part of them.

Q. You’ve also said — I mean, you haven’t said this, but we’ve seen bullpenning become a thing the last couple years on several staffs. This staff kind of goes against the grain. Is it simply the talent level of these guys, or do you think it’s more this is what this organization simply thinks about starters vis-a-vis the bullpen?
DAVE MARTINEZ: I think our starters, as you know, we went out and got another starter last year with Corbin. We believe in starting pitching. That’s where it all starts. Rizz did a great job of getting the guys we have now. They keep us in ball games. That’s how it all starts. Hopefully today, Stephen goes out today and does what he’s been doing all year and gives us a quality start.

Q. Davey, you’ve talked about liking how Tanner Rainey is throwing the last month or so. It seems like his command is getting a litter better. What would you attribute this last month that he’s on?
DAVE MARTINEZ: One is confidence, and one is really not — we talk a lot about him going out and just toning back his — he’s one of those guys that likes full-fledged energy, psychs himself out kind of deal. We wanted him to tone it back a litte bit. For him, 75 percent is 125 percent when he goes out. We just tell him, hey, strike one is your biggest pitch. You’ve got to throw strike one. Once he does that, it seems like he settles in a little bit.

But he’s done that over the last month or so, and he’s been really, really effective.

Q. Davey, you’ve talked a lot about guys kind of controlling their heartbeats, but with Anthony Rendon, some of his teammates have said that he plays like he has no pulse.
DAVE MARTINEZ: Yeah, he has no heart. I shouldn’t say that. He’s got a big heart. We just talked about this. I just watched that guy go up there in big moments and yawn during an at-bat. I mean, what does that say about him? He’s just one of those guys that you see no emotion regardless of if he hits a grand slam to win the game or he makes a great play or anything. He just plays.

You could talk to him, and he’ll tell you, all right, whatever, he gives you that, but I know he enjoys playing. And believe me, when he doesn’t do good, he gets really frustrated, he does. But I just love watching him play every day. He brings it every day. Even though, like I said, it looks like he has no pulse, but he does, and I know his teammates appreciate him very much.

Q. In the off-season, you lost one of your top players, Bryce Harper, to free agency. How did you overcome something like that? And are the Nationals today better today without him than they were with him?
DAVE MARTINEZ: We’ve had a long season. What I believe in is it takes more than one person to win the championship, and that’s been the message since Spring Training. Everybody’s got to participate. It takes more than 25 guys, honestly, to win the championship. Everybody we brought up at some capacity helped us win a game or two. So I’m proud of these guys sticking together. The biggest thing is that they play together.

We did things differently. We used different guys. If you look at all the people that played first base, all the people that played second base, when we lost Trea there for a while, guys that played shortstop, our outfielders, they all contributed, and I think that’s what it takes to win a championship.

Q. You were part of one of the most famous ends of a drought for a championship in major league history. This game tonight is going to be the first one in this city that’s this deep into the postseason in 86 years. Do you think that baseball history in the city of Washington maybe has not been talked about in terms of what this run for your team could mean for the city overall?
DAVE MARTINEZ: I think, one, this organization for years has been really, really good. And they’ve always been talked about as being one of the top teams in the division and they should go far. I think this year we kind of went under the radar because of the way we started, and now that we’re where we’re at, I think the fans, the city, appreciate how hard that we all worked to get to where we’re at and that the players keep pushing to get better every day, and they do that.

I expect them to go out there today and compete. That’s what we talk a lot about, just go out there and compete. Don’t try to do too much. Just go out there and have fun and compete.

Q. Stephen has a 1.32 career ERA in the postseason. Small sample size, but in a couple outings this year, have you noticed any special ability for him to ratchet up a notch or focus more?
DAVE MARTINEZ: I think he goes out there and just tries to compete. He doesn’t try to do anything different. What I love about these guys is everybody sees them every fifth day. I get to watch them every day and what they do behind the scenes. All our starters, they work harder than anybody to get ready for that fifth day, and I think that’s a testament to how good they are and what they want to do and what it means to them to win a championship.

Q. Davey, do players think about the historical significance of Washington getting into the World Series? Do the Cubs think about it given the 100-year drought?
DAVE MARTINEZ: I think right now, our players are not thinking a whole lot about anything except winning today. I really do. We got to this point. We celebrated the Wild Card. We celebrated Game 5, and it was a celebration, and they were like, okay, let’s go 1-0 next day. I think their focus is on just trying to go out there and go 1-0 today.

I just want to say one thing. I want to congratulate the Mystics for winning a championship. I think that’s pretty awesome for the city, as well. So congratulations.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

October 14, 2019

Aaron Boone

Houston, Texas – postgame 2

Houston – 3, New York – 2 (11)

Q. Just discuss lifting Paxton so early and the decisions that created for the rest of the game?
AARON BOONE: Just felt like we were covered as far as today with getting some length and having guys rested. Obviously going into an off day tomorrow we’re just going to be aggressive. Thought he was struggling with his command. And it ends up — doesn’t end well.

But I thought as far as pitching-wise we did a good job of holding them down.

Q. Between pulling Paxton early, you had the infield in in the second inning, as well, is that a sense of urgency because Verlander is on the mound or is there some other calculus involved there?
AARON BOONE: We usually play it like that most all the time. Certainly Verlander being on the hill, runs are going to be tough to come by. More often than not I’m going to play that really aggressively.

Q. What do you see out of Ottavino right now, and how important is it for you guys moving forward to get him back on track?
AARON BOONE: He got ambushed on a first pitch strike slider and then after that weak contact and a punch-out that gets by that gets on. So no real issue.

I thought he was aggressively attacking the strike zone tonight. I thought he threw the ball well. He’s going to be very important for us in this series, especially with all their right-handed hitters. I think you look at how he threw the ball tonight, I thought he threw it well.

Q. Do you consider at all, even though it went well, once you remove a starter that early it could start a chain of events where if you got to extra innings you’re not using your traditional leverage guys?
AARON BOONE: You’re playing it to win the game. You’re not playing it to — what if we go 13, you know? You’re playing it to what gives us the best chance to win here. And the bottom line is we end up giving up a third run in the 11th inning. I’d say from a run prevention standpoint it went pretty well.

Q. The play at the plate where Correa throws out LeMahieu, what did you think of the play he made?
AARON BOONE: I thought it skipped off further, and I was an absolute send from where I was standing, I’m right behind third base there. Great heads up play by Correa, to be in that position, to catch it clean, and then obviously with his arm to throw a strike home. So I had no issue with the play at all.

Q. Just with your lineup in general and Gary, specifically?
AARON BOONE: I mean, it was a struggle tonight. They are the Houston Astros and they’re tough to score runs off, especially on a night when Verlander is out there.

So they held us down tonight and that’s going to happen. We know this isn’t going to be an easy series by any means. But over time I’ll take our guys and their approach, and tonight they just did a better job of holding us down.

As far as Gary goes, especially on that last at-bat, I thought he battled and had a lot of good swings within the at-bat, probably got rung up on a pitch. But I felt like he had some quality swings tonight, just not getting a lot of results right now.

Q. Paxton had an issue with tipping his pitches earlier against the Astros. Is that something that surfaced again tonight?
AARON BOONE: I mean, I don’t think so. We’re pretty vigilant on that stuff.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

October 14, 2019

Justin Verlander

Carlos Correa

Houston, Texas – postgame 2

Houston – 3, New York – 2 (11)

Q. Since you joined this team you’ve been in several of these games, Game 2 of the World Series, Game 5 of the World Series, Game 2 of the ALCS against the Yankees a couple years ago. What’s it like when you’re a part of this, you’re pitching, and then watching and it gets that tight and then all of a sudden it’s over?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: I think it’s taken years off my life, that’s for sure. These moments are — I mean, just to — I think every championship run when you look back, at least from my experience, there’s always moments throughout the course of a ball game or series or how did we win that game, what happened.

And I think tonight is nothing short of that. I think from what our bullpen was able to do to the play that Carlos made on the hard hit ball from Gardner that bounced off him, picking that up bare-handed, and throwing a strike to home and shutting down the run there, and to him hitting the walk-off homer.

This was an incredible baseball game. It’s nerve-racking. For me being in it, I feel much more calm. And the second I’m out of it, it’s a completely different atmosphere; I’m pacing, I can’t hardly watch. It’s tough.

Q. Just a follow-up on Carlos’s throw home. Obviously you were very excited about that. Just from your vantage point, when you saw that ball clank over toward him, what was your reaction?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: I mean, the gut instinct was, Crap. And then I saw Carlos coming over. I know how tremendous his arm is. So I’ve seen him — I mean, your timing, your instincts in this game, as long as we’ve played this game, you kind of know when something is going to be tight or when the guy is going to be safe or the guy is going to be out. And I’ve seen him cut down guys in certain situations with his arm where I think it’s going to be a close call or I think the guy is going to be safe.

The second I saw him coming over and make a clean catch of the ball and come up and ready to throw, honestly I thought he was out. It went from, Crap, to, We got this guy, we got an extra out. It was just incredible.

Q. What does it mean to you all to have those fans still staying here that late, going over into the next day to celebrate this victory?
CARLOS CORREA: It means the world to us to see all the guys out there, all the fans out there staying late. It was Sunday, they’ve got to go to work tomorrow. It really means a lot to us. The energy they bring to us day-in and day-out has been unbelievable. We’ve never seen anything like it. It’s even better than ’17.

We’re very grateful and we hope to get going and seeing them out there.

Q. Carlos, we talked before the game you were confident about getting your offensive rhythm back. What does it mean to go out and contribute in such a big way?
CARLOS CORREA: I’m glad you remembered.

Yesterday I felt like my timing was getting back to where it should be. And then my cage work today was amazing. And I was very confident going into the game that today was the day where I was going to break out. I had some good at-bats.

And going into that last inning I thought, I got this. I feel like I got this. And I had the right approach against him, I’ve been successful against him going the other way. And that’s what I try to do, I saw a good pitch down the middle and I drove the other way.

Q. Can you just expand on that a little, just seeing that last pitch, exactly what you saw, the emotion after you hit it, did you know right away?
CARLOS CORREA: Yeah, as soon as I hit it I knew it was going to go over the fence. The adrenaline started pumping like crazy. I don’t even know what I did. I’ve got to go watch the video. But I know I was so hyped.

Seeing my teammates running out of the dugout to the home plate while I was still standing there was pretty awesome. Obviously it’s a moment that’s going to live with me forever.

Q. Justin, is this the best team you ever played in your life? Carlos, in English, and please answer in Spanish: Is this the most important hit of your life?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: Played against or with? That’s a tough question. I’ve been a part of some pretty special ball clubs. I guess you can’t really answer that question until it’s all said and done. If we come away with what we’re hoping to accomplish then maybe, yeah.

CARLOS CORREA: (Answering in Spanish.)

Q. Can you talk about just having the kind of defense that you had behind you, the kind of confidence that gives you going through a game with these guys?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: Yeah, I mean, it’s incredible. I texted these guys the other night and just wanted to let them know how special I think they are and what confidence they instill in me. You make a mistake and more often than not they’re able to make a tremendous play, whether it’s Carlos ranging a hole with his arm or Altuve laying out and showing his range or Bregman going deep in the gap and turning and making some jump throw. It’s crazy. Almost night-in and night-out you see some incredible defensive play, and I’m just talking about our infielders. Our outfielders are really special athletes, as well.

Yes, to answer your question, it gives me tremendous confidence.

Q. Carlos, can you take us through that play where you threw the runner out at home, what you saw, what your responsibility is on a play like that?
CARLOS CORREA: Yes, of course as an infielder I know how tough it is to catch a ball that’s a line drive right at you in between. So as soon as I knew that it was going to crash in between I was creeping over. When it hit him and I saw the ball go my way I just went after it. And I grabbed it and when I looked up and I saw he was sending the runner, I thought, Oh, I got this guy. So I threw him out. I don’t know why he send him, but, thank you.

Q. Could you go through the last at-bat on the homer and also the ball you hit in the 5th looked like it had a great shot to go out. Did you think that ball was out off the bat?
CARLOS CORREA: Yeah, when I hit that ball I thought it was going to go. But I guess I’m not strong enough to go to that part of the ballpark. The last at-bat I had to take it to right field, it’s a lot closer.

Q. How big is it for you guys to win this game, knowing that you go to New York and have Gerrit on the mound next game?
CARLOS CORREA: It’s huge. It’s huge. We came to the ballpark knowing we had to win this game, no matter how we had to win this game. JV on the mound and I knew our lineup was going to do what we do throughout the whole year, and that’s put great at-bats together as a team. And we were able to do that today and we got the win.

Q. Carlos, what has this year been like for you? You came off last year, which was frustrating, you had the injuries, you wanted to play in two games, you weren’t able to, you had injuries, you’ve been questioned, and now you just had a huge walk-off for this team? How have you been able to continue to believe in yourself and reach this moment?
CARLOS CORREA: It’s just the confidence I have in myself. I know what kind of player I am when I’m healthy. It’s been a roller coaster of a year with the injuries and stuff. But that doesn’t stop me from keep working hard, keep doing everything I have to do to stay on the field, to play with my teammates.

Moments like this like tonight make everything worth it. Nights of hard work, doing my rehab, not missing anything, it’s all worth it when you look at moments like this.

Q. A lot of guys said they were telling you in the dugout that you were going to be the hero. How does it feel to have that confidence — that they have that confidence? But also what’s going through your mind as you’re doing that jog around the bases? Because you seemed pretty pumped and had all kind of different moves there.
CARLOS CORREA: Yeah, I guess I told every hitter in the line that I was feeling great today and that my swing was back and everything. It was a positive day today in the cage, like I said before, so I was very confident going into the game.

In the last inning, everybody was telling me, You’re going to hit it, you’re going to hit a home run. Alex Cintron, our hitting coach, said, Hey, look for a fast one in the middle and take it deep.

So, you know, when I was running the bases I wasn’t even thinking, to be honest. I was just enjoying the moment, listening to the fans and how loud they were. It was a special moment.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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October 12, 2019

Justin Verlander

Houston, Texas – pregame 1

Q. You made your first playoff start against the Yankees in 2006. What do you remember about that day? And are there any starts you’ve made against them in postseason that stand out above any others?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: That one stands out. I remember the rain situation, with kind of having the game delayed after I was out there warming up, and they were nowhere to be found. I remember going out there the day before the start, and this was old Yankee Stadium, and standing on the mound, because I had never pitched there, standing on the mound and just kind of taking it all in, which was honestly a pretty cool experience.

And then, I mean, I remember Johnny Damon hitting a three-run homer off of me. I remember kind of running out of gas. At that point in the year, my rookie year, I was running on fumes. I gave it everything I had. And I remember I was winning the ball game, which was important winning one in Yankee Stadium.

Q. Just to piggyback off that question, knowing what you know now in 2019, what would you tell the Verlander of 2006 about pitching in the postseason?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: Good question. I mean, I think to be aggressive, trust your stuff. You know, honestly there’s nothing I could have really told myself that year. I mean, I really didn’t have anything left in the tank. I’d kind of given everything I had.

I guess the thing I would tell myself then is this isn’t your only shot and keep your head up.

Q. The Yankees have so many different weapons offensively. What sticks out the most to you when you look at their lineup 1 through 9?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: I think the power, 1 through 9 is prodigious, and we all know that. They have a bunch of different ways to hurt you. They have speed, they have guys that are really aggressive, they have guys that aren’t. I mean, it’s just a good mix. You have to have a unique game plan for every single guy, and you have to be able to adjust quickly, because they do, as well.

Q. How cool is this for you at the stage of your career, being in this position again, eight wins away from winning it all, four wins away from going to the World Series, and here you are pitching in Game 2?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: Very cool. Very happy to be here.

Q. You’ve been outspoken before about the changes to the ball this year and there’s some data that shows it was the reverse direction in the postseason. Have you noticed that at all? Have you talked to the guys at all?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: I haven’t. I haven’t personally noticed it. I haven’t really talked to guys about it, especially because when all those reports came back, it was right before Game 5, and I didn’t want the hitters to be talking about that; they had other things on their mind.

I think MLB just came out with a report they haven’t changed, right? I guess we’ve got to believe that, right? I don’t know. Who knows?

Like I said, I said this before, I mean, I think that the players should be involved if the ball is going to change. Who knows if they are or are not. But at the end of the day we are all using the same baseball when we step on the field. As long as it’s an even playing field at this point in the game, that’s all we can ask for.

Q. You talked about the Yankee lineup. You faced a lot of them before, and a lot of good ones. Have you noticed a particular difference? You may not have faced everybody, but LeMahieu and Encarnacion seem to be adding something different to that lineup. Have you noticed anything about the depth of that lineup, and those two specifically?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: Yes, specifically I think LeMahieu has just been incredible for them. He’s somebody that gets on base at an incredible clip. He hit right around .330 this year and just does so many things so well. And when you can have a lineup behind him with a lot of guys that hit a lot of homers, if he’s on base that much, it just creates that much more damage.

Q. Just as a fan of baseball, if Major League Baseball is able to get to the point where they are able to consciously put specifications on the ball that control how far it flies and that kind of thing, it’s going to have to be a discussion what kind of game do we want to see. Just as a fan, and I know you come at this as a pitcher, but do you have a brand of baseball that you like to see?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: I mean, yeah, I don’t think — I think the ball incredibly dictates the game that’s being played on the field that fans witness. I think this year is a great example of this. Stolen base opportunities were down, moving the guy over. All the risks that you would take, unnecessary risks you would view now to have a baserunner get out on a base path, trying to go from first to third, trying to stretch a single to a double they slowly work their way out of the game this season, those small victories that you see throughout the course of a ball game. Because every single batter in the lineup can go deep the next pitch.

When you’re playing in a game where there’s more extra base hits than there were singles, why would you risk that? I understand that.

So for me personally, I would kind of like — I would like to see some of that small ball come back into play. I don’t want to call it small ball, that’s the wrong terminology. Everybody thinks of small ball they think of bunting. I think of the little things; taking the extra bases, using athleticism as a team to get extra runs.

You look at the course of an inning, we’re almost like playing an ADD version of baseball right now, where it’s these huge elation moments, Home run, home run, yeah, yeah. And then you’re just kind of sitting there waiting for the next moment with a bunch of strikeouts in between. If you’re not a fan of strikeouts, then what are you watching?

You think of getting a guy on first base, the next guy hitting ball to right field, that guy going from first to third, that’s a great moment to cheer. The next guy hitting a sac fly, that’s another good moment to cheer.

There’s so many different ways to love this baseball game that I think have kind of fallen by the wayside a little bit, and rightfully so.

Q. Over the course of your career how much do you think the role of the pitching coach has changed and how much more are you coached to prepare now than maybe you were five years ago or six years ago?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: I think it’s changed a lot. I think you have to be willing to change with the times. You have to be willing to adapt. And you have to be able to embrace some analytics and the numbers. There’s so much data out there now, not just when it comes to scouting, but when it comes to pitching mechanics and tracking the body and how it’s moving and release points and all of this different stuff. You kind of have to be able to blend it all and at the same time remember the pitching side of it.

We’re not robots. The best pitching coaches I think are able to take the new wave and combine it with the old. I think that’s the best recipe for success.

Q. You’ve become a thorn in the Yankees side during your postseason career. Is there anything about pitching against them that causes you to elevate your performance?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: No. No. I don’t think so. I’d like to say yes but I think I just have put together some good performances in the past.

Q. Just to piggyback off of the pitching coach question, with Zack Greinke coming over on the trade deadline what have you learned from him and vice versa, what do you think he’s learned from you since coming to Houston?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: You’d have to ask him what he learned from me. I think for me — the second he got here I wanted to study how he prepares himself, how he does his scouting reports, what he does in between starts, really everything. And there’s remarkably a lot of similarities is kind of what we’ve learned through our tenure in baseball. But also he looked at some different things that could help me in my scouting reports and I would think vice versa.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

October 12, 2019

Masahiro Tanaka

Houston, Texas – postgame 1

New York – 7, Houston – 0

Q. 67 pitches over six innings, what was the key to being so efficient?
MASAHIRO TANAKA: Just going into the game with a plan, obviously having a plan going into the game and really focusing on each pitch, executing your pitches, that’s kind of where it all comes down to. I think the other big factor about tonight was our defense. I think they made some really solid plays and that led to the W tonight.

Q. What was the plan?
MASAHIRO TANAKA: I can’t say that, sorry.

Q. Aaron said he considered sending you back out for the 7th. What would you think about coming out after 68 pitches?
MASAHIRO TANAKA: At this point in time I don’t think you really consider the number of pitches that much. For me it wasn’t much of a surprise being pulled out after the sixth inning.

Q. 1.32 career ERA for your postseason seven starts, you’ve never allowed more than two runs in any of those starts. I know you’re all about the team, but do you have an appreciation for what you’ve been doing for a few years in October?
MASAHIRO TANAKA: Yeah, obviously the number’s there and I guess I’m flattered. But the happiest thing for me is us being able to get the W. And knowing that you went out there and you gave everything you had, that’s the feeling that you’re looking for. And so that’s kind of where I’m at with that.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

October 13, 2019

Gleyber Torres

Houston, Texas – postgame 1

New York – 7, Houston – 0

Q. (Question in Spanish.)
GLEYBER TORRES: (Answer in Spanish.)

Q. What do you think has been the key to your success so far this postseason and what does it mean to you to help your team so much in the playoffs?
GLEYBER TORRES: The key is just I got to — I get really good plan to go to home plate. I mean, how I can feel comfortable because I got really good guys behind me, like LV, and Gary, Stanton, those guys.

I mean, I just go to the home plate believing what I can do. And each opportunity I got I just believe in myself and I just like to help and be confident.

Q. Are you surprised at what you’ve been able to do at such a young age?
GLEYBER TORRES: I mean, not really. During my career in the minor league I prepared really well myself for every situation last year. I take all the experience and now I just put all the experience in my game. Prepare really well to be here and help my team. So now I got opportunity. I just be patient and just go to the ballpark, play hard, and try to win all the games.

Q. After having such a great game tonight how do you get yourself mentally prepared to play against Verlander tomorrow?
GLEYBER TORRES: Tonight’s play already, we won, we celebration, but we focus on tomorrow. I mean I know Verlander pitches pretty well. Always when he faced Yankees he pitched super good. So, I mean, the same for tomorrow, try to attack early, try to make some runs and try to win games. We’ve got a really good team. We believe in what we can do so we compete tomorrow.

Q. How did you feel being in a different spot in the lineup, being up in the order today, do you think that helped you or how do you think it worked out?
GLEYBER TORRES: I mean during last year and this year I hit every position. Really I think I feel comfortable. Is so great to play with the Yankees and I get the opportunity to play every day. So for me I’m just being focused, each position I just try to help and make some opportunities to me and try to help my team.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (3-2-1 – 7 Points) 5

DETROIT RED WINGS (3-2-0 – 6 Points) 2

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2019

	1	2	3	OT	FINAL
TORONTO	1	1	3	–	5
DETROIT	1	0	1	–	2

GAME SUMMARY         |           EVENT SUMMARY        |           FACEOFF SUMMARY

ON THE SCORESHEET

• Nick Shore put the Maple Leafs on the board at 9:57 of the first period and later had the secondary assist on Muzzin’s third period goal. Shore’s goal was his first goal and point as a Maple Leaf. Tonight’s game is his sixth career multi-point game.
• Ilya Mikheyev scored the second Toronto goal of the night at 19:30 of the second period and later had the lone assist on Kerfoot’s third period goal. Mikheyev has two goals and three assists through the first six games of his NHL career. Tonight’s game is his second multi-point performance of the season.
• Alex Kerfoot scored the third Maple Leafs goal of the game at 9:11 of the third period. Kerfoot has four points (2-2-4) over his last four games.
• Jake Muzzin scored the fourth Toronto goal of the game at 13:34 of the third period. Muzzin’s goal is his first goal and third point of the season. He had five goals in 30 games with the Maple Leafs in 2018-19.
• Trevor Moore scored the fifth Maple Leafs goal of the night into an empty net at 17:47 of the third period. Moore has three goals through the first six games of the season.
• Dmytro Timashov registered the lone assist on Shore’s first period goal and later had the primary assist on Muzzin’s third period goal. Timashov has three assists in three games played this season. Tonight’s game is his first career multi-point and multi-assist game.
• Kasperi Kapanen had the lone assist on Mikheyev’s second period goal. Kapanen has assists (2) in two consecutive games.
• John Tavares had the lone assist on Moore’s empty net goal in the third period. Tavares has points (1-1-2) in two consecutive games.
• Frederik Andersen stopped 25 shots to earn the victory. He is 8-0-1 in his career vs. Detroit.

SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets)

	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	TOTAL
TORONTO	13 (11)	11 (11)	17 (14)	–	41 (36)
DETROIT	9 (6)	8 (6)	10 (10)	–	27 (22)

SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets)

	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	TOTAL
TORONTO	22 (19)	26 (26)	26 (22)	–	74 (67)
DETROIT	15 (11)	16 (12)	15 (15)	–	46 (38)

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

• The Maple Leafs are 2-0-0 on the road this season.

• Toronto’s all-time record is 291-281-93-5 in 670 games against the Red Wings and 117-173-46-2 in 338 games played in Detroit.
• Toronto is 3-1-1 against the Eastern Conference this season and 2-1-1 against the Atlantic Division.

MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS

Shots	6 (Johnsson)
Shot Attempts	9 (Johnsson)
Faceoff Wins	8 (Tavares)
Faceoff Win Percentage	100% (Gauthier – 7 won, 0 lost)
Hits	3 (Moore, Timashov)
Blocked Shots	2 (Ceci, Muzzin, Rielly)
Takeaways	1 (Marner, Mikheyev, Tavares)
TOI	24:53 (Rielly)
Power Play TOI	3:22 (Matthews)
Shorthanded TOI	1:30 (Ceci, Rielly)
Shifts	31 (Muzzin)
5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage	72.0% (Gauthier – 18 for, 7 against)

RECORD WHEN…

• The Maple Leafs were 1-for-1 on the penalty kill and 0-for-3 on the power play tonight. Toronto is 2-1-0 when not allowing a power play goal this season and 1-1-0 when not scoring a power play goal.
• Toronto is 2-2-1 when their opponent scores the first goal of the game.
• The Maple Leafs are 1-1-0 when tied after one period and 3-0-1 when leading after two periods.

• Toronto is 2-1-0 when outshooting their opponent.
• The Maple Leafs are 1-0-1 in Saturday games.

OF NOTE…

• Toronto forwards Frederik Gauthier and Dmytro Timashov were the lone Maple Leafs to not start a 5-on-5 shift in the offensive zone.
• Cody Ceci was on the ice for a team-high 27 Toronto shot attempts-for at 5-on-5. Ceci finished the game with a 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 57.5 percent (27 for, 20 against).
• Frederik Gauthier was 5-for-5 (100%) in the faceoff circle when taking defensive zone draws.
• Auston Matthews won 67 percent (4 won, 2 lost) of his faceoffs when matched up with Detroit centre Jacob de la Rose.
• Nick Shore was 4-for-5 (80%) in the faceoff circle when matched up with Detroit centre Dylan Larkin.

UPCOMING GAMES:

• Tuesday, October 15, 7:00 p.m. vs. Minnesota Wild (TSN4, FAN 590)
• Wednesday, October 16, 7:00 p.m. at Washington Capitals (Sportsnet, TSN 1050)
• Saturday, October 19, 7:00 p.m. vs. Boston Bruins (Sportsnet, FAN 590)
• 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)