Rays - 3, Guardians - 1
Q. What did you make of Messick's outing tonight, and what do you think contributed to the short start?
STEPHEN VOGT: Well, I think give a lot of credit to them. They worked some really good at-bats. They shot him the other way. They did a really nice job of not trying to do too much off of him. Made him throw a lot of pitches and worked some walks.
Command, again, wasn't outstanding. But I thought, again, the velo is there. The ball's moving the way he wants it to. Just not enough strikes, and they really made him work.
Q. What did you think of the bullpen -- you had to go into scramble mode, it looked like early.
STEPHEN VOGT: We didn't anticipate going into the bullpen in the third. But with Parker at 60 pitches through two, didn't feel right to put him back out there.
So credit to our bullpen, holy cow, seven innings, one run, kept us in the game the whole way. We got the tying run up how many times? I mean, credit to our hitters for battling. Rasmussen was really good tonight. We fought and battled, just couldn't get the big hit.
Q. You've been in these situation, elimination-game situations before. So what's the approach to tomorrow and Tuesday?
STEPHEN VOGT: Let's go. We don't have another choice. We don't like being in this position, but, like we said the last series, our backs were against the wall. They've been against the wall for a long time. This is when this team thrives.
We know we've got our work cut out for us. It's a really good team and a really good team when they play at home, especially. So we know this is going to be tough but if there's a group I'm betting on to get this done, it's our guys.
Q. What's the pitching plan for Game 6?
STEPHEN VOGT: We don't know yet. We have to look at everything after today. We'll have a plan, but we're not sure who's going to take the ball first.
Q. Could Gavin Williams go on short rest?
STEPHEN VOGT: No, that's not an option.
Q. Not a lot of hard-hit balls tonight off Rasmussen. Why was he so effective at keeping your guys off balance?
STEPHEN VOGT: Three fastballs and a really good change-up. I thought we worked some good counts against him. I thought we laid off some tough pitches. But it's really hard to square up with three fastballs like that. And he had them all working.
The cutter was moving more than it was the other night. And the sinker was coming back. And he was hitting the top rail with the four-seam really well. So tip your cap to him. He threw the ball excellent tonight.
Q. Defense has been so important for you guys this series. Just what did you make of Steven Kwan's throw and then also the play at the wall?
STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah, I mean that game could have looked a lot different without our defense tonight. And, again, we've had a couple games early in this series where the defense wasn't outstanding, unlike ourselves.
So pitching and defense is how we're built. And that kept us in this game tonight.
Q. Do you think, you were up 2-1, do you think you missed a chance here to wrap this thing up here? What did you feel when you were up, when you had the advantage?
STEPHEN VOGT: Again, we had ourselves in a really good position, and unfortunately dropped two games in a row. Just haven't gotten enough going offensively the past two nights.
We need to rebound tomorrow. I know we're going to have a tough match-up tomorrow. But we need to get guys on base and we need to score runs. And we just haven't done that enough over the last two days.
Q. Is it a hard decision to go to Cade and some of your top relievers in a game when you're trailing, knowing you still have two more? And just how do you manage through that?
STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah, it was difficult. That's why we didn't do it last night. Then tonight, you felt like the rest of the bullpen was taxed.
It's two nights in row we had to go to the bullpen early. And when you do that, you've got to keep everybody as fresh as possible.
Credit to our leverage guys, none of them, we overextended all of them, and they all kept their pitch counts low. So they'll be ready to go tomorrow.
These guys know that it's all hands on deck for two more days. It's a dangerous game when you start chasing down games, but we needed to tonight.
Q. What makes Yandy such a difficult at-bat, especially for tonight?
STEPHEN VOGT: I mean, where do I start? One of the best hitters in the big leagues. He uses the other side of the field with the fastball and then he pulls off-speed. Doesn't get big. Hits the ball hard, has a good eye. He's one of the best all-around hitters in our league for a long time.
Q. Do you think the workload has kind of taxed Messick at this point in the season, being a rookie?
STEPHEN VOGT: I think everybody who is still playing baseball is taxed, and their workload is heavy. I think Parker -- we won't know. We won't know. He feels good. His stuff is still there.
This is more innings than he's ever thrown in his life by almost 70 now. Of course, I think that might be playing a part in it.
But just look at the way that kid competed and battled for two innings. Those two innings could have gotten away from him, but that's who Parker is. He finds a way to limit the damage. And, again, I hope he gets to throw another time this year.
Q. You mentioned how you guys on the offensive end have always scrapped together hits. It felt like Taylor Walls, every time there was a chance, he kind of took it away at shortstop. What did you make of his performance?
STEPHEN VOGT: Taylor Walls is one of the best shortstops on the planet. That's why he's in there. He makes every play. If you hit it to him, he catches it; you're out. And they've played some really good defense. Ben Williamson had a couple nice plays at second base tonight as well.
This is a very good team, just like we are. This is going to be a really fun battle when we get to Tampa. Back's against the wall, so let's go.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports