Oct. 3 Ned Yost postgame interview
Q. I was looking at the stats a couple minutes ago, and you guys had a league low 95 home runs during the regular season, and now you've won the first two games with a home run. What are your thoughts on that?
NED YOST: Well, we can hit home runs. We don't live and die by them. We have other things that we can use to help us win ballgames. We're aggressive on the bases. We've got great defense. We've got great pitching starting and bullpen. We've got guys that can hit homers. But like I said, we don't live and die by them.
Q. What is your feeling on putting Dyson in at defense at that point, tie game and all of that? Obviously made a big play.
NED YOST: Yeah, we've done that the last two months. Every time we've had the lead or tied after the 7th inning, we put Jarrod Dyson in the game. It increases our range in the outfield with Dyson center, and Lorenzo Cain in right field. We just use it to our advantage. Those guys catch everything that's hit out there.
Q. Ventura, just ‑‑
NED YOST: Wow, I mean, what a job he did. Came in, he threw fastballs at 101 miles an hour, two seamers at 97 miles an hour. He threw cutters at 96 miles an hour, threw a couple of great changes and really had a good curveball to keep them off balance. But you saw Ventura tonight. A kid with tremendous composure on the big stage. A kid that competes his heart out with tremendous stuff. He walked off that mound after the 7th inning, and I mean, he was done. His legs were wobbly, but he gave us everything that he had to give. I mean, what an effort.
Q. Can you describe Eric's development a little bit over the last three, four years? What did you see even three years ago that let you know something like this was possible for him?
NED YOST: We always thought that he was a top‑tier player in the American League both offensively and defensively. He's already won a gold glove. We think that his ceiling is still very high offensively. I personally think he's a 30‑home‑run‑a‑year guy, and a 10 to .320 hitter. He's that type of performer. Struggled most of the year with his power numbers.
But since the playoffs have started, him and Mous both have stepped up big for us. Hos with the big double to get us going and score our first run on Gordy's hit, and then the two‑run homer to give us the lead was tremendous. But I've got a lot of confidence in his offensive ability.
Q. You guys have controlled the Angels big hitters. Pujols had the one hit tonight. But is it something of a knock‑on‑wood experience that you're two games down and you've handled them, but they're still going to be there on the next game?
NED YOST: They're very potent and very dangerous, that offense is. Yep. You go all the way down that lineup, and their whole lineup is dangerous, but you get into Trout, Pujols, Kendrick, Hamilton, they're all one swing away from putting some runs on the board. But we've done a good job of pitching to our plan and making pitches on them.
Q. Your bullpen's gone nine scoreless innings. What do you think about what they've done?
NED YOST: It's been phenomenal what they've done. The workload has been heavy for them, but Finnegan came back, I think, for the first time in his professional career where he's gone back‑to‑back days and had outstanding stuff.
Jason Frasor came back and faced the meat of the order tonight in a crucial situation in the 9th inning. Got us to a 1, 2, 3. Wade Davis gives up a double and gets through the inning unscathed. Our bullpen has been fantastic all year, and they've really done a great job here in these playoffs.
Q. Two wins on the road, going home, what is the mindset?
NED YOST: We're going home and we've got James Shields on the mound for us on Sunday. We're going to take every day like we've taken it so far. Our mindset is to go and win today. So we're going to take a day off tomorrow, rest up and be ready to go on Sunday.