Red Sox - 3, Yankees - 1
Q. I might just do a two-fer. Alex, I know he is sitting right next to you, but if you speak to the performance that Garrett gave tonight. Garrett, speak to the confidence your manager showed leaving you out there for as long as he did tonight.
ALEX BREGMAN: Every time he takes the mound, we feel like we have a chance to win. He competes his tail off. Thought that he was executing all of his pitches tonight to both sides of the plate.
He was aggressive. You could see it in his eyes before the game that he wanted it bad. And every time he takes the mound, we love going out there and playing defense behind him. Just a performance that big-time pitchers make, and that's who he is, and I am super proud of him.
GARRETT CROCHET: With them leaving me in there, I wanted to honor that decision. I felt like he's put a lot of faith in me this year, and I haven't let him down yet. So I was going to be damn sure this wasn't the first time.
Q. Garrett, performance aside, how did this match up to your expectations in terms of the experience of pitching, starting a postseason game?
GARRETT CROCHET: To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect, especially not having played a postseason game here. It was an electric atmosphere all night long. I feel like we rose to the occasion. Even in the ninth inning there, I felt like there was never a doubt with Chapman on the mound.
Q. Garrett, to your right, that moment with you and Lucas in the dugout wasn't just two guys commemorating a game. What was that all about? Obviously you have a history going back to Chicago and all of that. Can you speak to that a little bit, please?
GARRETT CROCHET: I felt like he was just proud of me. You know, he has known me since I was a kid. To be able to answer that challenge today, and just go as deep in the ball game as I could and try to give us the best chance I could, I felt like he was proud of me.
Q. Alex was telling a story a few minutes ago about how yesterday in the dugout he was calling staff in the bullpen, and you told him you are only going to need the phone once tomorrow. What made you think of that?
GARRETT CROCHET: Just being arrogant, to be honest. I didn't actually expect that to be the case. When he sent me back out there, he was determined to leave it that way.
Q. Do you ever wish you were one of these old-time throwback pitchers in another era and you could throw 130-pitch complete games every five days?
GARRETT CROCHET: I don't know if it is sustainable with my velocity. I am not sure how hard they were throwing back then. I like to think I am prepared to do that even in today's game.
Q. Alex, we have asked you so many times throughout the season about playing with this young group of guys. Obviously it was a big game for a lot of them. This is your 100th postseason game. How did you think the guys handled it and kind of rose to the occasion?
ALEX BREGMAN: I thought it was great. I thought nobody tried to do too much. Everybody stayed within themselves, tried to just compete and be in the moment and play their game.
And I think everyone trusted their own abilities. That's what we talked about before the game, and I thought the guys did a good job of that.
Q. Alex, how did you feel today, and how much better did you feel than yesterday?
ALEX BREGMAN: A lot better today than yesterday, for sure. I feel like every day has been better. Just trying to kick this virus and keep going.
Q. First for Garrett. They had a couple singles in the first inning. Volpe home run in the second inning. You retired I think 17 in a row. Did anything change there that allowed you to get into a groove?
GARRETT CROCHET: Just determined to keep the lead where it was at 1. Just wanted to do everything I could to give my team a fighting chance to get back into it. Nothing really changed mindset-wise. Maybe a little more aggressive in the zone. But I think that was just me finding my rhythm as the game went on.
Q. For both of you guys, the winner of Game 1 in these Wild Card Series have won every time, all 12 times across the past few years. Why do you think that is, and how do you like your chances the next 24 to 48 hours?
ALEX BREGMAN: I think it is next-pitch mentality. I think you take it one game at a time, one pitch at a time. When the clock strikes midnight tonight, it is on to the next game and think about the next pitch and stay focused on execution.
Q. Garrett, take us through the mindset that after you have the home run, this place is going wild. Huge start for you. You are the ace. You seemed to just get so much better. And then that last pitch, 100 miles per hour. I don't know if you looked back and saw it.
GARRETT CROCHET: I did.
Q. You did. What was the mindset after the home run and this place was going wild?
GARRETT CROCHET: Next pitch. The last thing I want is the guys playing behind me to think I am going to give in to the moment, and like I said, it was just a lot of determination to keep the game where it was and let us have a chance to claw our way back into it.
Q. Garrett, you said you felt good with Chapman. Is that still the case with the bases loaded and nobody out there in the bottom of the ninth?
GARRETT CROCHET: He is the best reliever in the American League. I don't think it is too big of a leap to say something like that, especially with a huge insurance run there in the ninth. We get a double play, they score one, and it's one out to go. I feel really good about that.
Q. You have been now with Garrett, before with Verlander, Cole. What does having a pitcher like that do to your mindset on the field?
ALEX BREGMAN: It is huge. They are very similar, very confident, aggressive, prepared, focused, determined, like he said tonight, and it brings a confidence to your team that is so important, especially in postseason baseball.
I have played with some of the best pitchers ever to do it, and Garrett is right up there. It is awesome to take the field with him. I don't know how old is, 25? 26? He is super mature and super prepared and focused and has the same mentality those guys have.
Q. Alex, you have been an aggressive base-running team all season. With Aaron Judge knowing he has an injured arm, are you guys ready to come to the series, ready to challenge him whenever possible?
ALEX BREGMAN: He is one of the best outfielders in baseball offensively and defensively. I feel like you kind of just have to play the game with -- feel for the situation, timing of the game, outs, situation, when to be aggressive, when not to be aggressive, kind of just trust your instincts.
Q. A guy who played 100 playoff games, how much does that one base, those kind of plays, how much of a difference can that make in October at -- not midnight, but October?
ALEX BREGMAN: It can make a difference, one base here, one base there. I thought the guys did a good job of being aggressive and smart. I feel like you want to be both.
Q. For Garrett, last year at the trade deadline, there was a lot said about your desire to secure an extension if you were going to pitch deep into the playoffs. When that happened, there were maybe whispers around the game questioning you and that decision and maybe even your toughness. Was that something you took to heart at the time, something you thought about that you let motivate you, or did it not even -- did you pay it any mind?
GARRETT CROCHET: I don't think I would be where I am if I let outside noise affect my own drive and motivation. For me it was just a commitment to play for the team that, you know, I owed something to. At the time it was the White Sox, now it is the Red Sox. I am going to do everything I can to give us a chance to win every time I grab the ball.
Q. In terms of pitching over 110 in a playoff game, did you feel different? Did you feel tired? Did you feel any kind of unique exhaustion with it being a playoff game? Did you have to pitch differently carrying that amount of load?
GARRETT CROCHET: I feel like in this environment it is hard to feel any sort of fatigue beyond mental. Up until that point I was incredibly locked into the game, especially right after we took the lead. Just wanted to go out there and secure a shut-down inning. There was a lot at stake, so it kept me locked in and engaged the whole time.
Q. Alex playing as many playoffs games as you have, how many times does it come down to guys like Nick Sogard? What has impressed you as you've watched him?
ALEX BREGMAN: He is awesome, defensively, offensively, runs the bases, plays multiple positions. Plays his tail off. Showed tonight. A.C. said at the beginning of Spring Training, he said it is going to take every single person in the room if we want to get to where we want to get to. Sogy was so big tonight.
Q. Alex, you played a ton of playoff games here in the past. Where did this one in terms of intensity and energy -- does it compare to the ones you played with Houston given the Boston-New York history?
ALEX BREGMAN: For sure, unbelievable playoff atmosphere from the first pitch to end of the game. Got to love the game of baseball. That's what it is all about.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports