Oct. 10 Trevor Bauer pregame interview

October 10th, 2016

Q. Obviously with the rainout, how much of a difference does it make being on normal rest now as opposed to the prospect of pitching on short rest that you were looking at before?

TREVOR BAUER: It's normal. So anytime I can stay on routine that's good. I think I would like pitching on short rest, maybe at some point I'll get to do that. But as it stands right now, looking forward to tomorrow on a regular routine.
Q. I'm sure you'd rather not pitch at all tomorrow if the team goes ahead and wins. How do you balance getting ready and that anticipation that maybe the team will have clinched tonight and not need you?

TREVOR BAUER: I think it's the same as any start that you get ready for. You do your same preparation, same work, do the same routine, so I'm ready to go tomorrow. And then depending on what happens today, you adjust from there. I was ready to pitch today. Obviously with the rain, now I'm pitching tomorrow. So made a slight adjustment. So it's the same thing. It really doesn't change a whole lot.
Q. A bunch of guys in the clubhouse say if anybody is going to pitch on short rest, they said it would be you. You said you want to pitch on short rest. Why?

TREVOR BAUER: I like pitching. So the more I can pitch the better. I feel like I prepare myself in a certain way that lends itself to being able to come back on short rest. My arm never hurts. I feel good, strong, healthy. Frankly, I'd like to pitch every game, if possible, just because I like to compete. I like to be out there more and I feel like I can do it.
Q. If you do have to pitch tomorrow what kind of adjustments do you have to make? Is it more based on how you pitch or is it more based on them seeing you a second time around?

TREVOR BAUER: I don't know. There's obviously things I did in the first game that I can do better. I think I threw the ball pretty well, actually. I got behind in a couple of counts and I think Benintendi hit a home run off of me. But other than that I was pretty satisfied with how I pitched. So if I can go out there and execute the same way I'll be fine.
Q. That was essentially my question, so I'm going to ad lib to another. When you're facing a team the second time in a row and the fact that it's a playoff game, does the emphasis on scouting report versus feel change at all? Feel of individual pitches, I mean, of course.

TREVOR BAUER: I think it's a game time adjustment to be made. If you go in with an idea, a plan, and then you see how you're executing and how the hitters are reacting to it and then you adjust off that. Which is the same for every game, honestly, you always have a plan going in. But if the hitters seem to be on that plan and they seem to be reacting differently than what you expected, then you have to make an adjustment, obviously.
Q. How much of a difference is it facing this team at their park as opposed to when you're facing them at yours, just the way the ballpark plays and the way the lineup seems to fit this?

TREVOR BAUER: I'm not sure. I haven't faced these guys here enough to really know. Obviously they play very well at home. They have a very talented lineup. And the park does make a difference in the game. But I honestly don't make a whole lot of adjustments given the park that I'm pitching in. I try to do the same thing that I do for every start, look at what the hitters are doing, looking at what I'm capable of doing, what's the best way for me to attack the lineup and then go out and execute pitches. And if the park influences the result of -- the outcome of certain pitches that I throw, then that's going to happen regardless.
So I can control my competitiveness, my attitude on the mound and the work I put in in between, and then once the pitch leaves my hand, it's going to be whatever it's going to be. And I can't really worry about that or control it.