ALCS Game 5: Tanaka postgame interview

Q. What do you take from this outing and being able to deliver this performance on this stage?
MASAHIRO TANAKA: Yeah, I'm really glad how everything turned out. But I can't forget that it's not over yet. We'll see what happens moving forward, but I will start preparing myself for tomorrow.
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Q. Does anything surprise you about how well you've pitched, yourself, in the postseason?
MASAHIRO TANAKA: No, not necessarily. All I'm trying to do out there is just try to do my best and that's pretty much it. So, no, not necessarily.
Q. What did you think of some of the at-bats of your teammates, given the history against Keuchel in the postseason?
MASAHIRO TANAKA: Obviously Keuchel is a tough -- he's been a very tough pitcher on us. And needless to say, how hard it is to get runs off of him. But I think our offense collectively did a great job of scoring some runs and it was really fun to watch that.
Q. Joe Girardi said he feels you raised your game to another level this postseason. How did you do that?
MASAHIRO TANAKA: I feel like I'm just keeping it really simple. You go out there and you fight and you empty the tank. I think I'm just really clear of what I need to do out there and I'm just executing that.
Q. The bullpen has been the strength all year. To go out there for that seventh inning like that, how important was that for you to finish your start that way?
MASAHIRO TANAKA: Obviously our bullpen, we have a great bullpen. And you rely on that bullpen. But as a starting pitcher, you want to stay in the game as long as possible. If you're able to do that you're basically able to get some rest for those guys, too. So that's how I kind of look at it.