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Oct. 18 Sanchez, Donaldson postgame interview
- Updated: October 19, 2016
Q. Aaron, it seemed like you went to your curveball a lot earlier than you did in the game against Texas. How important was that in establishing your game today?
AARON SANCHEZ: Yeah, I think the books out I’m aggressive with my heater. I knew I needed to get them off that a little bit. And by doing that I used my curveball.
Q. Before the game you had a team meeting and at that moment you spoke with your heart. What did you say to your teammates and what was the intention behind that? And Aaron, can you comment on that meeting?
JOSH DONALDSON: I’m not going to give too much away of what I had to say. But just more so getting everybody’s attention and focus and understanding. I mean, everybody knew coming into today how important today was. But at the same time I just wanted to kind of reiterate that and let the boys know that I was coming to play today.
AARON SANCHEZ: Yeah, just to second that, he just showed his emotion. He said understanding it’s a must-win game, just to go out there and give everything you’ve got. You may not be able to play again tomorrow. And just be aware of the situation.
Q. Josh, I couldn’t help but notice that you were clean shaven the last couple of days than you’ve been. What prompted you to shave? Was it a change of luck kind of thing?
JOSH DONALDSON: Actually, no. I got a new beard trimmer the other day and I went to trim my beard down a little bit and whenever I trimmed it I kind of nicked it, so I had to go with it, just had to shave everything off. With that being said, I guess maybe if you want to say — I kind of believe you make your own luck, and you go out there and you create your own destiny.
Q. Josh, if I could ask you about one specific thing, maybe Aaron can comment on it as well. You have a 2-0 lead, they cut the lead to 2-1, Carlos Santana stings one, looks like it’s going to go through the hole. You make a great play, you throw them out. Instead of them tying it, that ends the inning. Can you talk about that specific play? And Aaron, can you comment on how big that was in terms of momentum?
JOSH DONALDSON: Santana has been doing a good job of — I feel like he’s been trying to go my way a lot more than I’ve seen him in the past. With that being said, I was locked in. It helps when you have a guy like Sanchez in the zone, where you can really focus in on a certain area of the strike zone. And I was able to get a really good read off the bat. And I was fortunate enough to be able to make the play.
AARON SANCHEZ: Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games. There’s nothing more I can say about JD. Not only with that play with the home run getting it started in the third to get us on the board first. I’m glad he’s on our squad.
Q. Josh, from your perspective, there hasn’t been a lot of breaks for you guys in the series. Was there a moment or something that happened in the game today where you felt this is going to be a good day for us? And Aaron, from your perspective, was there a sequence or an at-bat where you thought this was going to be a good day for me on the mound?
JOSH DONALDSON: You know, I liked being able to get the lead there early on in the game. We haven’t been able to get a lead in this series. And I felt like it was very important for us to get out to a lead. And even if it was one run, whatever.
We felt like Sanchez, he’s been a horse for us this entire year, and to be able to kind of allow him to do his thing and not have to worry about if he gives up a solo homer or whatever, then they have the lead again. And for us to be able to jump out, I felt like that was very important.
And kind of — …
