Oct. 6 Bryce Harper and Doug Fister postgame interview

Q: First couple of innings you used a fair number of pitches, and then in the middle innings you got out pretty quickly. Did you feel like your command was better or did you have it all day long?

DOUG FISTER: I had to make adjustments after the first couple innings. I was a little, I guess you could say, strong as far as trying to overthrow it. I was getting away from my plan a little bit and getting the ball up in the zone. Lucky for me I had great defenders that sacrificed themselves to make great plays. That was - tip my cap.

Q: Bryce, could you talk about the two catches you made in left field, the one with Crawford early and the one later in the game?

BRYCE HARPER: Going out there and being able to deal with that sun a little bit, it's very tough. We have that a little bit in D.C. in center, so really had it all year long.

It's definitely tough, trying to battle out there. Make some catches and make some plays and not let them score and not let them hit.

Being able to do what Doug did today, all the credit to him, and that was awesome.

Q: You said you had to make some adjustments. Was that from having ten days off or juice of the situation?

DOUG FISTER: I was a little amped up. I had some energy and trying to harness that and focus. I was focused, but I really had to pay attention to find focus today. Wasn't quite wasn't quite where I wanted it, and so we had to, again, make some adjustments. It was a battle for myself trying to mechanical and everything else. It's just a matter of staying with our stuff.

Q: You've had a fair number of success in the post season; what is it about the situation that you have thrived in and how did that help you today?

DOUG FISTER: I think experience definitely helps a little bit. It's a matter of going out there and executing but it's really making sure that each pitch counts. I can't allow the outside influences, like I said yesterday, to get to me.

You know, even being amped up, I've got to go out there and execute. Both teams know each other. We've played quite a bit against each other. They know what we do. And we've just got to go out there and execute. Our guys did that tonight.

Q: You didn't throw any curveballs, maybe three or four all game. Is that just how it happened?

DOUG FISTER: Early on I didn't throw too many. I started throwing quite a few there towards the end. Try to go through the lineup, trying to minimize I want to hide my cards. I don't want to show them everything early.

And that's the strategy we took tonight, and it worked. Guys were going out there and making plays for me.

Q: Drew has said that you guys needed to catch maybe one break or one big play or one momentum shift, and you guys got that with Bumgarner's wild throw. Could that be a turning point, moment in this series?

BRYCE HARPER: Yeah, definitely. We don't have Ramos bunt with two strikes, is something that he doesn't do often. So if we don't have him get that bunt down, at least get us on second and third, but having that errant throw by Bumgarner was huge for us, being able to get to Bumgarner in that situation, because he's carved into every post season start he's ever had, I feel like.

And being able to get two runs right there, and then Drew just comes up and gets that base knock and get some runs up there for Dougy. It was a huge situation for us, and to be able to get those runs up there was huge.

Q: Bryce, when you're in a difficult elimination situation like this, is it a real confidence builder for the lineup, knowing that you've got pitchers of quality going for you?

BRYCE HARPER: Absolutely. He goes out there every single time he pitches, he's got the enthusiasm we need on and off the field. Being able to come in and do what he did today, keep them off balance, being able to pitch and do the things he did today was unbelievable, especially in this hostile environment.

And it was a lot of fun to watch. To be play behind that is always fun, and he did a great job.

Q: You faced Bumgarner and matched up with him a number of times, and another time on a big stage; is that ironic and what do you think of that and the chance to go up against someone like that?

DOUG FISTER: He's obviously one of their better pitchers. He goes out there and pitches his heart out and does a great job. Lucky for us tonight, we had a ball bounce our way and we had some momentum build off of that. But he's a great pitcher and a definite threat both on the mound and at the plate.

So that's somebody that we really had to pay attention to and stick with our guns on that. Our guys really made it tough on him tonight and he held strong. But our guys came through and that's a huge testament to these guys. That home run was huge for us, and just putting good swings on the ball today; our guys were good.

Q: Would you say as a lineup you guys had more normal at bats today, you were getting into counts a little bit more than you had in the first couple games?

BRYCE HARPER: I really think being able to have the at bats we've had all series, we've hit some balls on screws and just hasn't got down. So we know that coming in today, get three runs off Bumgarner definitely was huge and being able to get that momentum swing to us a little bit is definitely huge.

But I really feel like we've been swinging the bat pretty dang well all series and it's just something that, you know, ball needed to fall our way a little bit, and it did.

Q: You've had some really strong outings in this ballpark, almost as close as you get to a home game, did that have anything to do with it? Did you have some home folks here?

DOUG FISTER: It's definitely, again, one of those outside influences that I have to kind of block out being that I do have a lot of family and friends here. It is close to home, but it's something that once I'm on the mound, it's the same thing.

I've got to go out there and just make sure that everything is the same as the regular season, and that's the main focus for me. I can't change anything. The preparation, the execution, it all comes down to just getting it done out there.

Q: What does Bryce's catch against Crawford do for you? That's potentially a couple runs very early in the game.

DOUG FISTER: Like I said earlier, guys are going out there sacrificing, and that was a huge sacrifice for him. He's stretching and catching and rolling on the ground. Those kind of things, guys are sacrificing for the team aspect and that's what we're doing.

We had our backs against the wall and, you know, we came out swinging tonight. Guys are playing together, communicating well and that's huge for us.

We've got some momentum tonight. You know, we need to carry that into tomorrow, and guys are excited. We had our our light show after the win, and guys are excited to get back out tomorrow.

Q: You guys didn't score runs until late; do you think this game overall is more representative of what you can do as a team?

BRYCE HARPER: I think Bumgarner just threw very well. He goes out there and establishes the inside part of the plate, the outside part of the plate. His curveball is good, his slider he'll throw heaters and 0 2 counts that surprise you a little bit. He's a great guy, great pitcher out there and being able to get to him late, score those three runs, get that W and get us that W was definitely huge.

We're going to go out there tomorrow and do what we need to do and hopefully get some runs up there for Gio and get back to D.C. for Game 5.