Quotables
Head Coach Willie Bloomquist
Opening Statement
“Good enough to get a W, which was great. We came out early and swung the bats outstanding, a lot of good contributors out of the bullpen today. Part of this little stretch that we're on here with a lot of games, and in a short amount of days, we aren’t practicing much. We're just playing games. And I think sometimes, mental fatigue is happening a little bit, which leads to uncharacteristically poor defensive plays, offense where we come out and score a bunch, and then we just kind of mentally lose our approach a little bit. So those are things that we have to clean up. That was kind of the message after the game, just to keep grinding mentally more so than physically. We're making some mental mistakes that I'm not really wild about, but again, we did enough to get it to get a win tonight. Good bounce back by a couple guys. Eli Buxton, after a tough outing on Monday, came back and had a great ninth inning there and allowed us to give the back end bullpen a little bit of a rest. That was big. Finn Edwards threw great, Colby Guy continues to establish himself as one of our main dudes out of that pen. Musso threw okay, and we kicked it around behind him a little bit, which got ugly there that inning. But again, Josh Butler threw great, Linder got us off to a decent start. Command was still a little bit spotty, but all in all, had enough stuff to get us through three and come out with a win, which was big.”
On Nu’u Contrades’ return to the lineup
“Nice to have him back.We pinch hit him this weekend at Kansas State, because we knew he was getting close and itching to play, and we thought it was probably smart just to pinch hit him and get him in there a little bit at a time. We contemplated starting him on Monday in Vegas, but after the long flight, I didn't feel great about that, and Nu’u passed every test pregame. I said we'll pinch hit him, maybe in the DH spot where he can get multiple at bats. But I think we just got him one at bat, and he just missed a homer to center in Vegas, and today, we knew we were going to play him five or six innings and see how many ABs we could get him through, just to gradually try to keep ramping him back up. And I will say that Nu’u Contrades is not a lazy player. I just have given him orders to not run at full speed yet. Even though I think he can, otherwise, he wouldn't be out there. I just err on the side of caution, trying to get him to make sure he's going 60 or 70% right now, when he runs out of the box, and I said, you keep hitting the ball like that, you don't have to go any harder. So it's great to have his offense back in the lineup, and it really helps stretch that lineup out.”
On Landon Hairston’s offensive production
“He's been outstanding. He just kind of goes unnoticed when he only has two hits and a home run. It's like, Oh well. He walked twice as well. He was on base four times tonight, and he just continues to be a staple at the top of the lineup. He's a special kid, a special player. He just continues to stick within himself. And I've said it time and time again, just the fact that he's a year older, more physical and more mature than he was last year. That ball in the seventh inning, the home run, that's just a clear image of him just getting more physical. That's a double last year, that's a homer this year. Next year, that thing is going to be on the street. So he just continues to progress and get better.”
On Josh Butler’s outing
“JB did a good job keeping guys off balance, threw with a little bit better conviction today. From what I saw, the breaking stuff was good, and he started getting that sink back a little bit on the fastball. That was encouraging. Again, understanding what type of pitcher he is and attacking with his strengths, I think is going to be big for him moving forward. But that was again, another step in the right direction from him.”
Infielder Nu'u Contrades
On if this is one of the most complementary teams he has been a part of
“I think so. Like I said, this team is awesome. We're a tight knit group and when hitters don't have it, our pitchers are able to step up and when they don't have it, we try our best to step up too. It's been awesome so far this year.”
On how the team performed during his absence
“This team's full of studs. Top to bottom, this is probably the best lineup and staff I've seen. It's been awesome. Obviously it sucks not being able to play, but just knowing that these are awesome, they're going to step up.”
Outfielder Landon Hairston
On what balance he has found having to stay patient in long at bats
“I think just looking for a good pitch to hit every at bat and if it's not that good of a pitch just taking it until the next one. I think where I had trouble last year was just getting out of my strike zone and swinging at too many pitches, or laying counts and not really letting the at-bat play out. I’m just trying to look for a good pitch to hit and if it's not there, on to the next.”
On if he has done anything differently in his approach that has translated to his success offensively
“No, nothing's really different. I mean, a little bit of mechanical tweaks here and there, but it all happened kind of naturally and kind of changed for the better. But no, nothing has changed with the routine though.”
Pitcher Josh Butler
On how much seeing the other pitchers have success gives momentum to the next one up
“Momentum is huge. It's the same as when they're hitting and they're hot, they're hot. Sometimes it's not that way, but like I said earlier, we're all so tight knit, we all love each other and we want success for each and every person when they get there – every time.”
On how it feels to see the underclass pitchers go out and have successes
“It's awesome, especially when they are new to the program as well because I remember being in that situation. It’s hard sometimes because you can feel like you have to prove yourself or go outside of who you are. But, like I said, I think it’s just a testament to the coaching staff and some of the older guys we have on the team. They are role models and remind these guys to go out there and be who you are, and we’ve got your back.”
