Q. Jake, since early September, you've really been on a tear. What's turned things around for you these last four, six weeks, do you think?
JAKE BAUERS: My shoulder getting healthy was definitely a part of it. Having some time to reflect on the mental side of the game while I was out. Maybe gaining a little more understanding of the way my body works, certain positions I need to be in to be successful. And putting a little bit more of the emphasis on that as opposed to tinkering with mechanics day in and day out.
Q. In the postseason, you're going to face great pitching, goes without saying. Can you think of a stretch of the regular season in which you faced a comparable foursome of starting pitchers like you're likely to see in the first four games of this series?
JAKE BAUERS: I don't think there is a comparison. That's an elite rotation they're throwing at us. And it's on us to bear down, prepare as best we can and try to string good at-bats together.
Q. Joey, Snell had his way, and you got to the bullpen. Is one strategy to get Yamamoto's pitch count up and maybe work through the bullpen again?
JOEY ORTIZ: I think the strategy is the same every day. You've got to be ready to hit when you get a good pitch to hit. And I think Snell did a good job last night.
But it's a new day today, a new day to attack whoever is on the mound today and be ready to go through nine.
Q. The idea of getting the starter's pitch count up so you can get to their bullpen, which has been gotten to a little bit. You did last night.
JAKE BAUERS: I think it's a little bit of a balancing act. You want to get the starter's pitch count up. You want to have them thinking about what bullpen moves they need to make. But at the same time, a little bit of aggression can put a starter on their heels a little bit and not allow them to get so settled into a game.
It's something that we've talked about before early in the season. And I'm sure it's something that we're going to talk about again.
So, I think it's a balancing act. You obviously want to swing at the right pitches. But you also don't want the starting pitcher to feel like they can do whatever they want.
Q. The two of you didn't get an at-bat against Yamamoto the last time. What are the things that you guys can go to when you're preparing to see someone like him for the first time. And you guys got to him as a team. Are there things you can draw from from the previous game plan?
JAKE BAUERS: Yeah, for sure, I think that was a good blueprint for us. You're going to kind of lean on the guys that were in the lineup that day to tell you what it felt like, what it looked like.
And then it's going to be a lot of video work on maybe guys that have similar profiles to you, to see how you might get attacked, what have they, as a team, done to you in the past. So it's that cat-and-mouse game of trying to figure out what's the game plan for them and how am I going to respond to that.
Q. Joey, when Freddy's on the mound and you're the shortstop, what are the cues that it's going to be one of those good days? Is there something you see early that cues you into that?
JOEY ORTIZ: Usually when Freddy's on the mound it's a good day probably 98, 99 percent of the time. He's usually attacking the zone and getting hitters out.
But I think the main thing is when he attacks the zone, his stuff is extremely hard to hit, even in zone. So I think he's just got to attack the guys, 1 through 9, the same.
And I think the tempo keeps the defense ready to go every pitch. As long as he's attacking and got good tempo, I think we'll be ready to play good defense behind him.
Q. Jake, your role was uncertain day to day whether you're going to be in the lineup, not in the lineup. But you've had good postseason success here the past two years. How do you go about preparing yourself when you don't know whether you're going to be in the lineup and you're not getting those regular at-bats?
JAKE BAUERS: Yeah, I mean, it's a good question. It's something that I don't necessarily have a direct answer for besides I try when I wake up in the morning to make a decision. A lot of times I feel like it's one of two rows. You can go to the negative side of, oh, I wish I was in there, I wish I was playing; or you can go to the positive side of, if I'm playing, I got it, I'm ready.
Same way on the other side. You can tell yourself, I'm not ready, I'm not seeing the ball well, whatever it is.
So I try and wake up in the morning and, as often as possible, make a conscious decision to choose the side that's going to give me the best chance, and that's tell myself I'm seeing the ball well, tell myself I feel good, tell myself I'm ready regardless of when my last at-bat was.
And, so, I think that's something that really sets the tone for the day and puts me in a good spot.
Q. During the regular season, you were one of the best teams in baseball in games following a loss. Why do you think that was? And how does that, whatever it is, translate to the postseason?
JOEY ORTIZ: I'd probably say take every game day-by-day. The loss yesterday doesn't mean anything today. We should be ready to go first pitch. I think if you kind of have that, not forgot the last day, but just be ready for the day-to-day mentality, I think it keeps you locked in for every game.
JAKE BAUERS: I'll second that. Also, I think our clubhouse, after a loss, is different than most places that I've been. There's not too many times throughout the course of the last two seasons that I can think where there was a number of guys hanging their head or feeling down or feeling sorry for ourselves or anything like that.
It's more, dang, that was crazy; what a crazy game; let's get after it tomorrow.
I think that short memory is something that's talked about a lot in the game of baseball. It's something that's hard to practice. And I think we have a group of guys who are really good at doing that.
Q. Joey, did you go back and look at the replay of that double play at all? If you did, I'm curious whether you saw anything that maybe you didn't notice live that really stood out to you and impressed you or whatever?
JOEY ORTIZ: Sal did make a pretty funny face. That's all over the social media right now, mid-play. But, no, I've never seen a play like that. It was a pretty crazy play to be involved in.
I think we executed it well. I was able to get two outs. But I don't think I've ever seen it in play like that. It's pretty crazy.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports