Q. With working with Yoshinobu, what have you learned from him and what has to be the key for you guys to navigate their lineup tonight?
BEN RORTVEDT: Yoshi has been really fun to catch this past month. I think the main thing is just being solid in our game planning and just really staying on attack. He does an extremely good job of throwing it in the zone and getting ahead of hitters. And that makes it easier when we are able to accomplish that.
Q. I know we've talked about how this has been a whirlwind of a experience, but for you personally, what does it mean to have these opportunities in the postseason being behind the plate for these first the first two games of the Wild Card?
BEN RORTVEDT: I got this question asked yesterday. I'm going to stick with the same answer. It's really cool. I'll take some time to reflect after it's all said and done, but this is way bigger than myself. We're playing for what's on the front, not on the back. We're playing for everybody in that clubhouse, the city. It's a lot easier when you have a group like that that you're all pulling for.
Q. This organization have had a lot of success in bringing guys in and helping them realize their potential and take them to the next level. Has this organization done that for you? If so, how?
BEN RORTVEDT: They've instilled confidence in me on what they like seeing in me and things I can improve early on, and instilled a lot of confidence, had a lot of direction in my game. So that's been really cool to get that kind of feedback.
Also with the type of personnel you have in the clubhouse, it's really easy to watch, learn and get a lot of experience from those guys.
Q. Your offensive numbers have doubled from Tampa Bay to here. What's been the biggest difference for you at the plate?
BEN RORTVEDT: The beginning of the season was really tough for me. I think I was trying to be someone I wasn't. Just taking that time to reset and really see what kind of player I want to be and take it out on the field. And not try to do too much, and just really try to play my job, do my role and turn the baton over to the next guy.
Q. Have you had a scouting report on Zack Littell you've been able to share with the guys in there?
BEN RORTVEDT: Yeah, we get a lot of information day in and day out. There's a lot of stuff that you already get to see, but just knowing Zack, he's going to pitch to his strengths, he's going to go for weak contact and get chase when he gets hit. We just have to stay within ourselves. Can't chase him around the zone. He's got three fastballs, so it's going to be a good one tonight.
Q. About six weeks ago you didn't think you'd be here today. It's kind of cool. But you're learning the pitchers now. And you talked about game planning, going into a game with a plan. But when things start to go off the rails a little bit, with you still getting to learn some of these pitchers, what's that process like where you try to get them to calm down and they try to show confidence in you? Is it a difficult balance still?
BEN RORTVEDT: Yes, it's an interesting one. But I think the main thing is that the guys in that clubhouse have such good stuff that we should be leaning on strength more than anything. We're confident in who we are and those guys are confident in what they have. You shouldn't shy away from that.
Q. This is going to be a variation on this question. I'm sure you're used to it by now, but getting up to speed quickly with a pitching staff, getting used to guys and learning what works for some guys and doesn't work for others, what's the key to being able to do that and to get up to speed as quickly as you have?
RORTVEDT: I mean, it's trial and error. When things are going well, it's easy. I think when stuff hits the fan, it's tough. But also you learn a lot. So it's good for you to kind of go through those times, trial and errors. You learn a lot from them. You take things out of the failures; you take things out of the wins, but I think you learn from more the chaos and being in it. You learn about who you are, kind of what it takes and what you need to get out of that stuff.
Q. Over the time that you've been with this team, you kind of have seen them round into form a little, finishing out September strong. Was there something that you noticed just that kind of allowed the focus to be better or the quality of play to improve?
BEN RORTVEDT: I think everyone just kind of feels in the air, October is coming; everyone is excited, wants to play baseball, rallying around each other. It's fun to see.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports