Rays - 3, Guardians - 1
Q. What was working so well for you tonight? I know in the first inning you gave up that single to Chase DeLauter and then you didn't allow another base hit until Steven Kwan in the sixth. What was going so well for you out there today?
DREW RASMUSSEN: I thought our game plan coming in, not necessarily better, but it was actually the same game plan we wanted to use in Game 1. But my feel for the change-up wasn't great. And I just wasn't commanding it. It wasn't moving properly.
I feel like that's a good place to start. We were able to attack with the change-up a lot more tonight than we did, like I said, in Game 1. The ability to drive the cutter to the top I thought was also another strength.
Q. We've talked so much about the outfield defense over the series, but obviously the shortstop being able to come and make plays and the second baseman as well, just to have a middle infield to take away outs, how does that help you?
DREW RASMUSSEN: And Johnny Aranda, right, at first. He killed it over there. It makes life a lot easier. You're not sitting there stressed about every ball that's hit up the middle. And our outfield can really go run it down, which makes life a lot less stressful.
Q. How much does the early run support help you as well knowing that they got on the board in the first three innings?
DREW RASMUSSEN: Yeah, I think it allows you to be more aggressive earlier in the game. And I think that's truly all it is, right? It allows you to go on the attack and kind of just kind of hit the gas pedal from the very beginning.
Q. The guys talk about the confidence they have when you're on mound. Converse of that, you're confident in knowing they're going to get you some runs or going to save you some outs?
DREW RASMUSSEN: Yeah, I mean, for sure, especially, defensively, we are unbelievable. It makes life so much easier. Then just the multitude of ways we can score, it definitely makes life -- it's got to be frustrating.
That's what this group does against us right now. Like, they can score. They've got impact. They've got the ability to put the ball in play. They make good decisions. They steal bases.
And on the flipside, you say the exact same thing about our offense. And I can tell you from a pitching standpoint it's stressful.
Q. You mentioned the change-up being so big for you. Considering that pitch didn't really exist in its current form a year ago, what does that say about the development and the confidence you have in it?
DREW RASMUSSEN: I wouldn't say it's my confidence. I'd say it's the organization. It's just one of those things, this is what the organization does. They bring an idea to you.
Yeah, there might be some hiccups in the development process, but you know ultimately, at the end of the day, what they're asking you to do is going to pay big dividends in the end.
So just the countless ideas and thoughts that Snydes and the entire analytic team has sent to me, it's helped it get to the point it's at now. And it's definitely, it's probably been the single greatest addition I've made to my repertoire in the entirety of my career.
Q. You talked about the work that you guys have put in all year going back to Spring Training -- how do you balance that with (inaudible).
DREW RASMUSSEN: I honestly think it's poison to try to count down how many games it is. We've got to show up and we've got to play our best from the very beginning tomorrow. We'll worry about everything after.
We've got to come out, we've got to be aggressive, we've got to play baseball the way we can. And ultimately, do I believe it can take us where we want to go? Of course. But it's one of those things that the most important day is tomorrow.
Q. Cash said Freddy is going to pitch tomorrow. What have you thought of what he's done and knowing he'll be pitching at home? And what's made him so effective?
DREW RASMUSSEN: Yeah, and what he's done at home, holy smokes. I thought he got back to being an athlete with us and not quite so robotic. And it really freed him up to be exactly who we thought he was going to be when we got him at the deadline.
And kudos to him. Getting traded at the deadline and being so accepting of advice or tweaks or changes, and having the confidence and the ability to put it to work immediately. That's not necessarily the most comfortable possible in early August -- hey, we're going to kind of make some mechanical adjustments.
Like I said, kudos to him. He's been awesome to have around as a human being. He's incredible, and he's just so much fun to watch. I'm excited to watch what he does tomorrow.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports