Steve Pearce Red Sox Pregame 5 the Other Teams, the Emphasis on Helping Each Other out Hitting-Wise? Q

MLB World Series: Dodgers vs Red Sox Sunday, October 28, 2018 Steve Pearce Red Sox pregame 5 the other teams, the emphasis on helping each other out hitting-wise? Q. Just kind of a thought on last night and what it STEVE PEARCE: I think how open the team is and meant to you, what it meant to the team and your how close we are, we talk about it and everybody feeds mindset coming into this Game 5 tonight? on it. It's easy to buy into a process when there's STEVE PEARCE: Great team win all the way around. results behind it. And I think that's the Boston Red Sox We responded from the night before. With that long type of baseball. game, how it went the other night, we flushed it, we responded. And that was just a great all-around team Q. Looked like you got spiked at first base last win. And now we have to flush it, last night's game, night. Any residual pain or anything from that? and worry about tonight and we're ready. STEVE PEARCE: No, I'm all good. I'm all good. That was one heck of a play by Devers. That was my focus. Q. Since you came here early in the season, a And I didn't even -- I barely even felt it. couple of months into the season, what is it about the culture here that you've embraced and the way Q. Was that frustrating that he did that? they have embraced you? Why has it worked out STEVE PEARCE: No, it wasn't frustrating. I'm glad we so well? got the out. STEVE PEARCE: One of the favorite things I've seen when I've been here was the team chemistry on and off Q. After all these years, do you feel you've broken the field. And when I came in it was having fun and the stereotype about you, that you can only hit laughing, everyone was together and talking baseball. against lefties, that you've proven that you can hit And then you notice on the field when you're playing against anybody? against them for so long, they're always having fun. STEVE PEARCE: I don't even think about that when I And it's very contagious, and it's just a great play. I'm just out there playing baseball. I think my role atmosphere over there. has always been just hitting lefties, just the way the game of baseball has changed with matchups over the Q. I think one thing that fans and probably are years. But when I'm up there, I'm not worried about impressed by is you guys fly across the country, left-hand, right-hand matchups. play 18 innings on day one and come back and win the next day. We saw the first five innings Q. You mentioned in one of your answers the yesterday were kind of sluggish back and forth. bullpen, I just wanted to ask from your perspective How much of what we saw in the latter innings last the job that they've done this postseason, I'm sure night was just getting over that physical grind that you know that they were under a lot, I don't know if you guys have been through recently? the word is "doubt", coming in. And particularly STEVE PEARCE: Yeah, we had about 20 innings of Joe Kelly, how hard he would be to face and what sluggish baseball. Our offense wasn't responding. We you've seen him do this postseason? were just not playing well, but the pitchers did great. STEVE PEARCE: You know, when the starters do their Everybody in the bullpen and we fought and then it was job and everybody does their job, and we get to turn the big blow by Mitch kind of started everything going. the ball over to the big boys, every single one of those And I think that's what we needed. We just needed guys throw a hundred miles an hour, and that's a great some kind of spark to help us out. Once we got it, I feeling for any type of a ballclub, and especially when think everybody kind of felt the momentum started to they're on their game in this type of atmosphere, it's shift in our favor, and we started to play our baseball. very difficult for opposing hitters to hit. Q. You've been on a lot of different teams and when Q. I know you're locked in in doing your job, but are you talk about the chemistry here, I wonder how you allowing yourself a moment to step back and that sort of manifests itself in the hitting, and talk look around? It's a long journey to get to the World about the hitting and studying it together. Is that Series. aspect heightened with the Red Sox, compared to Rev #1 by #178 at 2018-10-28 21:31:00 GMT page 1 of 2 STEVE PEARCE: I think I'll step back after the series When you finally got to the Red Sox, I imagine is over, but we still have one more game to win and there must have been some curiosity what it was that's what we're focused on now. really like in the inside. What have you learned about the culture or Fenway Park or the Red Sox, Q. Just a thought on what you've seen from David that you must have always wondered about before Price, especially of late, and how well he's thrown you got there, the biggest eye openers? the ball, and having him on the mound tonight in STEVE PEARCE: I've been playing against these guys Game 5? for so long that I knew them just playing with them on STEVE PEARCE: You know, I've said it every single the field. And I think when I answered it earlier, was time I've been asked about Price, is we love him. just the chemistry that they had together when I got When he's on the mound, we have the utmost here. It was so cool and it made the atmosphere very confidence in the guy. He's a bulldog, he's competitive, easy for me to just play my type of baseball and seeing and he wants to win. When he's on the mound, we feel how they acted every single day, it was definitely an that and we're confident playing behind him. eye opener. When you're playing against them for a long time, you don't really know what's going on over Q. You came here with the reputation of getting the there until you get here. And it was a very cool feeling big hit, and then you're here and you've had a for me. bunch of them. The guys have talked about it a lot. What is your approach? This is the World Series. Q. You talk about the chemistry, but what about This is the big game. You guys were down. What just from the baseball standpoint? What do you is it? How are you prepared for this moment and think has made this team so successful? You why are you prepared? played against them obviously earlier in the year STEVE PEARCE: You know, I just think when the and now being with them. crowd's getting into it, everything starts to get loud, it's STEVE PEARCE: Just everybody just has a great almost you've got to do less. And that's my approach, mentality. We fight. We flush things. We talk. We don't try to do too much when you're out there. Just have approaches. And just being here is -- sorry, play baseball and just kind of have the same approach repeat your question. and let the pitcher make the mistake. Q. What makes the team so good? Q. Is that a recent development in your career, the STEVE PEARCE: Able to flush, like we had a 18-inning last year or two? game, and we show up the next day and we're able to STEVE PEARCE: I think the longer I've played, you're fall behind and get it done. It's like just the way we play in these situations all the time, that sometimes you get every day. That's how we play day in and day out. And yourself out and you know that wasn't the right that's just one of the things that you saw last night. approach you should have had in that situation. And That's how we play every single night. It's a pretty cool the longer I've played, you kind of step back and, hey, I experience because you don't see that a lot. don't have to do that. Let's just try to do less. And that's really what's been paying off. Q. I think I heard that you're a pretty die-hard Patriots fan; is that accurate? STEVE PEARCE: Yeah. Q. Where did that come from? Will you hopefully get home in time to watch the game tomorrow? What is it sort of like for you fun-wise playing in the same city and being nearby? STEVE PEARCE: It's great. I love it. I love the Patriots. My family is from up there, so I was brainwashed as a kid, and I've been following them my whole life.

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