Rays - 7, Guardians - 3
Q. Just to watch Nick and Freddy go out there today and give you the ability to have an even series again tomorrow, what does that mean to you?
DREW RASMUSSEN: I mean, their efforts were huge. And I don't think they should be overlooked, especially Freddy coming back, what, today, is today day three for him?
So it was awesome. I mean, Nick -- did we expect anything less? It's what he's done for us all year.
Just watching his preparation and how he goes about attacking hitters and just his understanding of the game, it truly has been special all season.
Q. Starting pitchers are creatures of habit, but there really is no habit in the postseason. And you had the rainout last night. How do you handle the uncertainty of knowing when you're going to pitch next more than so in a regular season?
DREW RASMUSSEN: You do your best to stay on a five-day routine. I mean, I threw a couple off the slope today just to make sure it was familiar. But I mean, that's kind of the fun of this time of year; it is so different.
Just to the best of our abilities, everyone is trying to stay as sharp as possible because you never know when your name is going to be called or when you're going to be asked to get outs.
Q. When it comes to the moment of Game 5, obviously in a series tied, just what is the emotional factor of getting to go out there, having the potential to take it back with a series lead?
DREW RASMUSSEN: I mean, in every single game, I try and do my best. It's still just baseball. I think that's led to a couple of successful outings up to this point. But just try and not make it anything bigger than what it actually is.
It's you. It's preparation, and it's execution. Those are really the only things I'm concerned with.
Q. You guys are, as a rotation, have covered 61 percent of the team's innings so far as the postseasons, one of the top amongst postseason teams. How do you see the role of the rotation helping the rest of the club by covering so many innings?
DREW RASMUSSEN: Yeah, it's an honor. We get the opportunity to go out and compete. If it's going well, you get the opportunity to help your team win. And I think that's something we take pride in.
We have all the confidence in the world in our bullpen, but we'd really like to give them a ball with the opportunity to win games.
Like I said, we do have pride when it comes to how we go about business.
Q. You've gone up against the Guardians a few times now. Just what makes this lineup so difficult to navigate?
DREW RASMUSSEN: What doesn't? They're good decision makers. If you're a good decision-maker, I don't care how much you swing and miss, I don't care how hard you impact the baseball, if you're a good decision-maker, you're instantly a good hitter in my mind.
On top of that, their bat-to-ball ability is elite. When they get base runners on, they can all run. So they're very similar to us. They can beat you in multiple ways. They have impact. They have speed. Like I already mentioned, they make good decisions at the plate and they force you to be in the strike zone a lot. They scrap together. Every single hitter in that lineup.
It's exhausting facing a lineup like this. It's just what it is. But I do think that's why the series is where it is, because you're looking at two lineups and two pitching staffs that do stuff so similar to each other.
Q. The obvious here, best record at home. So you force it. You see the Trop again. Just what are you feeling there?
DREW RASMUSSEN: It would be nice to take a lead back there. But, no, it's been home for us all year. We're obviously happy to be back in that building. I think it's shown over the course of this entire season.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports