Q. Stephen, what were the conversations like internally after assessing how things went yesterday and then constructing today's lineup?
STEPHEN VOGT: You know, again, it's to beat the starter, and we don't know what their move is going to be. That's how we've operated all year long. And so for us it's how do we beat Olson, whether he throws six pitches or 60 pitches. That's how we've constructed our lineup, and we know we have the moves to make to counteract anything they're going to do.
Q. Stephen, it's often said that managing is trying to find the balance between the art and the science. I'm curious, when you're looking at both parts of the gut feeling or the analytics when making decisions, do you tend to lean one way or the other? Are you more of a numbers guy? Are you more of a feel guy?
STEPHEN VOGT: I believe that the analytics and gut feel kind of go hand in hand about 90 percent of the time, and then there's the 10 percent where you have to go one way or the other and just kind of cash all in on gut or cash all in on numbers.
But the majority of the time the game is going to tell what you to do. And we talk about every possible move before the game even starts. Nothing catches us off guard. We're prepared for everything. And there was very specific moments in yesterday's game that had to happen in order for us to pitch it early, and they both happened. So the game told us what to do.
And I think that's where having the knowledge of the analytics and having that but also having the gut feel of baseball and knowing your people, and I think that's the most important piece is knowing our guys, what are they capable of, what are their strengths and trying to put people in positions to succeed.
Q. I think it's easy for the narrative to be pressure when it comes to facing a potential elimination game, but is there also like a mentality that goes along with a day like today that it's like this is what we've played for all year, this is the type environment that everyone craves, it's do or die?
STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah, I think pressure comes from yourself. It's the pressure you put on yourself. The outside is just noise. It's all about what you tell yourself, the narrative that you tell yourself going into every game, and for us, this is who we are. This has been us all year long.
For those of you who have covered, this is the team you've covered all year long. And we've been at our best when we have nothing to lose. For us it's go out, have some fun tonight, enjoy playing playoff baseball, play carefree, play loose, go be yourself. That's been the rhetoric all year long, and it's going to continue to be tonight.
Q. Stephen, do you think that the pressure was a factor in maybe the last couple of games at all?
STEPHEN VOGT: I don't think so. I mean, I think we've played two very good baseball games against a good team, and both of the last two games could have gone either way at any time. And we were one big hit away from being right back in that game or even taking the lead at some point yesterday.
So I don't think pressure has played a role in this. I think you've seen two very good baseball teams going at it, and they've scored more runs than us the last two games. That's the only story.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports