Q. Aaron, clearly a lot of pressure on Carlos Rodón tonight in the win-or-go-home scenario. He had a ton of success over the regular season. What does he need to do this evening to continue that success he had in the regular season?
AARON BOONE: Comes down to execution. He has done that at a really high level. And done it a lot of different ways this year too. He is a more complete pitcher, more ways of beating you now. Game to game can do it different ways.
So hopefully, you know, gets off to a good start and roll through, and got a ton of confidence giving him the ball tonight.
Q. With Bello on the mound, Jazz Chisholm Jr. back in the starting lineup, he did not seem particularly pleased in the postgame yesterday about the scenario of not being in there. Did you see that, and did you have a conversation about that at all?
AARON BOONE: I did see that. Every player is not going to agree with every decision that I make. I try and help make them understand my thought process and what I am thinking.
I did that with Jazz. He is a guy that wears his emotions on his sleeve. So wasn't necessarily how I handled it, but I don't need him to put a happy face on. I need him to go out and play his butt off for us tonight. That's what I expect to happen.
Q. When you talk about the different ways that Rodón can beat you, can you elaborate on that?
AARON BOONE: For the bulk of his career, he was that fastball-slider guy, big four-seam fastball up in the zone with the wipeout slider.
As he has navigated these last couple of years and obviously had a lot of success for us the last couple of years, he's evolved that arsenal a little bit. He's made some adjustments as he got older too.
He still has a four-seam slider that's bread and butter for him. Now he is incorporating the sinker. The changeup is a really good pitch for him now. He can slow you down and spin it in there.
He has a lot of different ways to go about it now. There's been a lot of different games where something different has been featured and really been that go-to pitch for him. Add it all up and it has been a really strong year.
Q. Regardless of what happens in the series and today, you have got Cam lined up to go tomorrow. What have you learned about him this year, and does it feel like you have a rotation piece for years to come?
AARON BOONE: It does feel that way. Been super impressed with, first and foremost, his stuff. I mean, he's got -- you guys have seen big stuff. It is big fastball. The cutter and this curveball are really good pitches for him. Really good competitor.
Like how he has handled every situation he has found himself in this year, starting with coming over and pitching a big Spring Training game for us late in spring, and I thought handled it and navigated it.
You saw the right competitive edge to him. Super coachable, accountable. I feel like he has done a really good job developing over the years. He has put together back-to-back really impressive Minor League seasons to earn his opportunity towards the end of the year. He gave us a shot in the arm when he became another stabilizing force in our rotation. He will handle it well regardless of result or whatever, like I don't think it will be too big for him, and he will be ready to roll.
THE MODERATOR: Okay, Booney, thank you.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports