Oct. 18 Bruce Bochy postgame interview

Q.  When Tim walked Carpenter on four pitches there, by then did you already have a sense that you might not be seeing the Lincecum that you saw in those relief appearances in the series?

BRUCE BOCHY:  Well, early he was cutting himself off there a little bit.  Had trouble getting the ball where he wanted it.  He settled down and actually threw the ball fairly well.  He just was having a tough time getting in sync there because of, like I said, cutting himself off.

He's done a great job for us.  We brought him back a little early.  He gave us all he had out there.  That was his last inning and he was close to getting out of that inning.  He made a great effort on that ball and good throw.  We had him at home plate and still 2‑1.  That's a big play in the game.

But Timmy, he's done a nice job with all that we've asked of him.  He was keeping us in the game there.  A big play there for them and they scored on that ball.

Q.  Just to follow up on that, not to put everything on Timmy, but what kind of differences did you see from when he had been pitching out of the bullpen to his start tonight?  What did you see that might have been a little bit different?

BRUCE BOCHY:  Well, I just talked about it.  He was closing off a little bit, cutting himself off.  He just didn't have his good command there early.  But he made a pretty good adjustment and he started getting the pitches where he wanted.  He got us there in the fifth inning, had a 2‑1 ballgame.  And like I said, break for us, I thought, when he was trying to score and a good throw with Adam and still close ballgame and that's his last inning.

Then he gave up the ground ball up the middle that he couldn't get to.  And that's a big hit for them, too.  Now it's 4‑1.

 Q.  What is it about the Cardinals, second year in a row, they were like the last team into the playoffs and they've just proven to be so powerful in the postseason?  What makes them so formidable, do you think?

BRUCE BOCHY:  They're a good club.  They fight hard.  To do what they did last year, that was amazing.  Win the World Series and you're a pitch away from losing a couple of times.  And what they did in Washington.  They keep fighting.  And they're a balanced ballclub.  It's a tough lineup to get through and good pitching.  They're solid.  You get to the playoffs and you're a good club.

But they do have something going.  There's no getting around that.  What they did last year and what they've done this year.  It's not over.  We've been in this position.  We know it's an uphill battle, but we've been here before.

Q.  You just touched on it, but given where you guys were against Cincinnati and what you were able to do, I imagine there's not a lot of panic knowing you guys are capable of this?

BRUCE BOCHY:  Sure.  Like you mentioned, we've done it before.  You've got to keep believing and hope.  Without that you don't have anything.

These guys, they'll be out there fighting tomorrow.  It's not going to change.  We've been through a lot this year.  And we've just got to come out, try to win the game tomorrow and see if we can get this thing back home.

Q.  To follow up on that with Barry going tomorrow, feeling comfortable about that, as well, that obviously didn't work out exactly the way you wanted tonight with Lincecum tonight and Barry tomorrow, and then possibly Lincecum coming out of the bullpen.  Is that how you see it if Barry goes well tomorrow?

BRUCE BOCHY:  Yeah, Barry has pitched well for us.  You don't win as many games as he's won this year if you aren't throwing the ball well.  He's earned this.  And we have all the confidence in Barry tomorrow.

We do have to get these bats going, though.  They're shutting us down.  We'll get some guys on base, we're just missing a big hit here or there.  They pitched well tonight.  They pitched well yesterday.  It would be nice, make life a little easier and get some runs for our staff.

Q.  How tough was Wainwright?

BRUCE BOCHY:  He was good.  He's a good pitcher.  He was commanding his fastball well, had a good curveball going and he did a great job for them.

Q.  What are you seeing from Buster at the plate right now, he's making contact, but maybe not as authoritative as he usually is?

BRUCE BOCHY:  Yeah, he lined out to the right.  He's such a good hitter.  And the bar is set so high with Buster.  You go a game or two and you haven't got a hit, those questions are going to be asked.  But he's fine.  They're making good pitches.  They're being careful with him.  We know it and he knows it.  He's a special talent.  He's fine.

Q.  You did something today to try to get some offense, you tweaked the lineup a little bit.  Do you feel that there's still something that you have to do between tonight and tomorrow or is it just a matter of them finding a way to get on base and score runs against the pitcher that you faced already in the series?

BRUCE BOCHY:  Well, I think as a manager you're always thinking of ways that you can help the guys.  Ultimately, sure, the players will determine what happens.  And we tweaked it a little bit tonight, but didn't help a lot.

These guys, they're fighters.  And this club has so much character.  We've been through something like this, and we've had our ups and downs.  But I've said this so many times, how tough they are and how resilient they are.  And they're a good hitting ballclub.  Right now we're just not getting the big hit with runners on base, and that's what's been missing here the last couple of days.  We had a couple of good chances early in the game, I thought.

But they're making pitches and it's a good club we're facing.  But we have to find a way to get some runs.