Tony Vitello, Landen Roupp break down Giants' dominant win against D-backs
Giants' Tony Vitello, Landen Roupp and more speak to reporters after San Francisco's 6-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday at Oracle Park.
Tony Vitello, Landen Roupp break down Giants' dominant win against D-backs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Video Transcript
And that's a good thing.
How about Jonah Cox though, showing off that speed as you go down at Oracle Park.
Jonah Cox, welcome to Toyota Giants Post Game Live.
Thank you.
George Kontos, Vontae Hill.
You bat clean up tonight.
Go two for three, you draw a walk, you steal a base, and you lay down a beautiful bunt.
Hey, where'd you learn how to bunt, Jonah?
That's a lost art in baseball.
Spent a lot of time in, early work with coaches today trying to work on that, and, hopefully make it part of the game in the future.
Jonah, there's no way to sugarcoat it.
Obviously, last night was a gut punch with how the game ended.
How was the mentality in that clubhouse today with you guys being able to come out and play a really nice baseball game today?
Man, baseball's, baseball's a tough game.
You gotta play 27 outs and, we did a great job of that tonight, and we're gonna look to do it again tomorrow.
You're showing off the speed, man.
You're getting down that first baseline it feels like in 2.5 seconds.
Talk about your speed there being on display.
We know the Giants called you up from double-A to show off that speed.
Now you're being able to use it there.
Talk about the way you ran the bases today.
I, I appreciate you, and the coaches spent a lot of time with us, and, tried to show us some things in, in early work and on video, and just trying my best to follow what they tell us to do.
Jonah, you got Rafael Devers who's been tearing the cover off the ball.
As a younger player, when you're watching a guy like that who's in a groove the way he is, what, what's it like and what can you learn from a guy like Rafael Devers when he's hitting the way he is?
Oh, my goodness.
He's, he's a good teammate.
He's awesome.
He plays the game the right way.
It's, it's just fun to watch him go and, you know, he's been a leader for us, the past couple weeks and stepping up and, and telling us what he's seeing and- Yeah and kind of how to hit like him.
How about Drew Gilbert?
Before we let you go, Jonah, Drew Gilbert, he's raking at Oracle Park.
Over his last 17 at home, he's batting over 340.
Talk about the way he's playing right now in all positions in the outfield: all positions in the outfield: center, left or right.
He's, he's an amazing player.
I don't think anybody can say anything otherwise.
He's a great teammate, and I think you're just seeing the fruits of all the work that he's been putting in.
It's fun to see.
All right, man.
Maybe you'll pick up a Pokmon or something- or a Pikachu out there on Pokmon night.
Jonah, thanks for the time tonight.
Appreciate y'all.
Thank you.
Yeah, you too.
How about Trent Harris?
He's auditioning for a job this season- Oh, yeah with the Giants, and he went six up, six down today.
Trent, welcome to Toyota Giants Post Game Live.
George Kontos, Vontae Hill.
What a performance for you today, holding a one-run lead there.
Tell me about your mindset coming into the game and holding down the fort.
Well, first of all, thank you guys for having me on.
But yeah, I mean, to have the confidence of a manager, put you in that situation, you know, just try to go out there and get the job done as quick as you can.
You know, Trent, when, when you come up to the big leagues and you're, and you're newer in the big leagues, you have to earn some of these spots, right?
What Tell, tell us at home, tell us and the folks at home what it's like when you go into those higher leverage situations in one-run ballgames.
Does it get easier over time the more you're in those spots?
Just walk us through what that kind of feels like on the mound.
Yeah.
I think, you know, controlling my emotions has been a big part of, my success here.
I think, you know, I'm one to, type to get anxious and, really wanna do well.
But it's calming my mind down in those situations, you know, to really take every pitch by pitch.
But yeah, I mean, it's been a great opportunity to being here and, you know, a lot of the young guys are here.
So it's, it's really cool to see everybody, you know, come together and play and pull out a winner.
Trent, what was the message after yesterday?
We know how it ended against the Cincinnati Reds, and it kind of overshadowed what you guys did the first two games of that series.
What was it like coming to the yard today, and what was that message that Tony V gave you guys after yesterday's loss?
You know, it was a lot of unspoken words.
A lot of people know, you know, that's not, the brand of the Giants baseball and, you know, it was really unfortunate.
But I think everybody had a, you know, a mentality today to come in and, and attack and, pull out a win for these guys.
You know what, Trent, what's it like when, when you know obviously the playoffs is not gonna be something that you guys are gonna be going to this year.
Tell us what, what it's like for the last 35 games or so, 30 games, when you guys are going out trying to get a W every day to prove yourselves for next year, what does it mean for some of these young guys like yourself in the bullpen, trying to make a statement for yourselves for next year?
What does it mean to kind of go out there and have a good, really strong finish to the season?
I mean, every day is an opportunity for us.
That's the way we kind of look at it.
It's cool that, you know, a lot of us have played together, in Sacramento and, and places like that.
But you know, getting our, getting our feet wet here in, in the big leagues is, has been a real key, you know.
And you can see all the young guys that progressively get better, throughout the year, and I think, you know, our experience up here can, can only lead to more success later on in the near future.
All right, Trent, you made it look easy tonight against Arizona.
We'll see you tomorrow night at the yard.
Good stuff today.
Thank you, guys.
Thoughts on your team's ability to bounce back from a rough one yesterday, and add on late and, get a, you know, scoreless four innings from the bullpen too?
Yeah, I mean, some sort of karma or baseball gods or whatever involved in the game.
I, I think the last inning was a byproduct of all the innings that led up to that and the pre-game mentality, what you're talking about.
So I don't know.
It's tough to put into words.
It, it would probably be too quick after the game to talk about, you know, it's pretty fun and Wrigley and stuff like that, but you could argue it's the best win of the year.
And you can throw tomatoes or whatever at record or, you know, a playoff win would be better, opening day would've been better.
But if you're just talking about the circumstances from yesterday and what we've struggled with this year of bouncing back appropriately, the team we played today, is an excellent team and, they've played more confident than we have and when we've matched up against those guys.
You wrap it all into one and it, it's at least stacks up there, and then also is fun 'cause it had a little bit of everything.
I mean, whether it's ball going out of the park, hard-hit outs from Cavu, bun execution, hustle play by Kos, pretty good defense, Shea's play there.
Really just pr- We've had balls beat us down the line in similar fashion.
Kind of changes everything.
Um- The bullpen did a good job of attacking.
Again, it had a little bit of everything.
So being wordy is the best way I can say is, like, the c- I know the coaching staff's incredibly proud of, the way they handled the last 24 hours.
The bullpen obviously took its lumps yesterday with how things went down.
What can you say about how they responded with four scoreless innings today?
Yeah, it was great.
You can, you can, having gone to the old, you know, options, where you have two thoughts you c- you can pretty much have, and you can look at the scoreboard, or you can, reflect on yesterday, or you can just grab the ball and go after what's in front of you.
And I think even the, you know, the, the walk was a competitive at-bat against Seymour.
The way Harris pitches with attitude, I, I think sets a tone.
The guys love it in the dugout.
And then Walker, y- you know, did what he needed to do.
He, he attacked.
And if you keep doing that, if it's a one-run game, you know, something could bite you, but if you keep doing that when you have a bit of the lead, I think you get the result you want.
Probably should have done a better job of recognizing Seymour a couple nights ago.
We're three up.
We're up three-nothing.
They hit a solo homer off him to start the inning.
See if they can do that two more times.
And if they do, it's pretty good by the competition, but usually when you're attacking relentlessly like that, the numbers work out in your favor.
Harris in particular, his ERA's a little bloated because of his debut, but what can you say, what he's done the majority of the time that he's been here?
Yeah, I think he's mixed speeds, and he's, You know, you get feedback.
All these guys know each other.
I don't think anyone knows me, but the coaches all know each other, and the players, and he's made hitters uncomfortable i- in part because attacking, but also it's a completely different look than we have out of anybody in the bullpen.
I, I think that's an ideal bullpen is, obviously first, guys that attack, but second, if, if you had your druthers, have guys that have different looks.
And in his delivery and then also his repertoire, w- we don't really have anything that's similar to that.
So he's, he's gotten comfortable, and he's made other people uncomfortable.
With, with first some of your third baseman out and now Willie out, Christian Casas gotten to play an awful lot here.
You mentioned the, the hustle play, but just in general, what are you seeing from him, a guy who's really been kind of a career bench guy and now is, is playing every day?
Yeah, he's just been really reliable, and I think it's interesting 'cause this opponent we played in Arizona, I believe we ended up winning that game, but he had a play where he just was going too fast.
He didn't make a, a mental error, and I guess you could label it a physical, but he, he was just going too fast.
And if, if you can put yourself in his thought process, he got pinched so much for playing time and opportunity, and you finally get it, kind of like the battle all these other guys are fighting.
It's like, yeah, I know calm is the way, and I know comp, but, a- and I don't have to produce every day, but it's kind of weighing on your mind.
And I think he's kind of slowed the game down a little bit and just been incredibly reliable.
And it's, it's nice he's doing well at short, but even when Willie was back or certain lineups had him at third base, he, he really started to figure out his tempo and his rhythm and slowing the game down at the hot corner, which is hard to do if you've ever played those three infield spots.
You mentioned the, the team's, attitude, I guess, before the game.
Did you have your antenna up a little bit higher, than you n- I mean, normally would for a typical Thursday just based on what happened yesterday?
And, you know, did any, did, did anything have to be said, about what happened last night before today?
It didn't have to be, but, I think it was worthwhile of just pointing out the challenge you have in front of you.
It's better I mean, this sounds really dumb to say, but okay, let's say you win yesterday and you win today.
Y- that's the preferred outcome, don't get me wrong.
But, I think all athletes, whether you're a runner or swimmer, you're doing it to see what you can do when you're pushed.
And, this game will push you mentally more than any.
And I think all the circumstances, and it's ironic, again, we just, we ha- we hadn't played well, especially when we went down to Arizona.
You sprinkle that in on top of yesterday, it's, it's your greatest challenge.
So I, I really enjoy watching kids develop no matter what age they are.
Now kids are, like, on the radar at seventh and eighth grade if they're a really good player, which is probably unfair and unintelligent.
But it's fun seeing which guys keep going and keep getting better.
And, I've enjoyed watching some, some guys I've seen at a young age, how they do in pro ball in particular.
And pro ball is so much different than the others because you don't get breathing room.
You have to answer the bell or not.
And that's why it's so commendable to watch a guy like Rafi.
He's got a lot of pressure on his shoulders, no matter which team he's on, to perform and produce.
And he posts every day.
And, you're not gonna get the best outcome every single day, but he, he damn sure posts every day.
And he's, he's a good example for the younger kids of you, you have to meet this thing head-on, otherwise it'll swallow you alive.
You talked about getting the four-run eighth inning and that being important.
How big was Jung Ho's leadoff walk, and how much did that propel the confidence and just kind of the rhythm for your entire offense?
Yeah, it was awesome.
I mean, I guess I probably flunked.
I, I kind of got hurried in here, had backwards hat on, shit, I'm kind of pissed about the first inning and the ninth inning equally.
Y- you know, and didn't pass the test on what's a good answer to the fans.
But I don't think I had to It didn't matter that I didn't pass it.
That was a great crowd tonight.
You know, look where we're at in the season, and, you know, they were into it as soon as he walked to the plate.
I think they kind of added a little energy to the whole thing.
And then the fact he battled the way he did and got on base, you know, the, w- I don't think you can hear because it's a loud crowd.
But the guys in the dugout, even at this level, they kind of turn into cheerleaders when you put together an at-bat like that and you're spoiling a bunch of pitches.
So I, I think when you put everything into a little box, it, it was kind of like dynamite for us to start the inning.
So I, I think I think just his presence and also the way he battled, maybe even if he wouldn't have got on base, but especially getting on base, just kind of ignited everything for the guys.
And it, you know, you never know, might've been what put us over the edge because they were gonna give us their best punch in the ninth.
From our perspective this year, it seems like Drew Gilbert, you know, at least on the field, is a little bit tamer as opposed to last year personality-wise.
Still a high-energy guy, but you've known him now for a handful of years.
Have you seen, or I guess, what have you seen fr- from his maturation process since when you coached him in college to now, and is that playing into his success right now at the plate?
Yeah, but I th- also think, last year was a different set of circumstances.
Now there's expectations, and, and just a, a variety of different factors onto what he needs to do to prepare, and now he's in there post-game doing his routine.
He works like a maniac.
But I almost kind of feel like it's the opposite.
I think he's starting to come out of his shell more and more, ever since we were in Arlington.
And- Sorry.
Go I, I think, I'm willing to bet there's been moments at the beginning of the year or even last year where he was a little too wacky in putting energy into buckets that, that weren't, intelligent or, or the best for him.
But I think he's finding that balance now of, "How can I do this every day at the intensity level I want to and it help the team?"
And, I, I think there's good personality coming out of there.
I talked with Buster and Jeremy earlier today about his unique style of leadership.
We need it, and he doesn't have to get permission from anybody to do it.
He just needs to be himself.
And he, he may not be doing as many quirky things, but he's playing with a level of intensity that's good.
I mean, we have a unique relationship, so we won the game, but he immediately ran up and got in my face after the game and talked about something that needed to be corrected.
So maybe he's just finding that best balance.
What are some of the ways that he's come out of his shell more this year?
I think early on it was, you know, a little, little less, anxious to speak up, little less anxious to, to provide some personality.
Like, a lot of stuff this year when you're not winning, things get blown out of proportion, like celebrations and things like that.
But this is a long season.
We, we need, we need everyone's personality to come out, and some guys are quieter than others, so the cr- the maniacs like Drew Gilbert and Casey Schmidt need to pull it out of the other guys.
Lance, how would you value your night overall?
Yeah, much better.
Feel like I take a, took a stride forward this, tonight.
Was in the zone.
Kept the walks low and, just, just got through it even, even in the fourth inning.
You know, when I kind of let things get out of hand, was able to shut it down and, get out of that with, just one run.
So- And is it- I'm pretty happy with it.
Is that really the kind of the key to you is limiting the walks?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Been, been working on my mechanics a lot lately and just trying to figure some small things out, and, feel like tonight was a step forward, so.
Is there a way to describe what you were doing mechanically or what you changed?
Yeah.
Just trying to keep my center of mass back.
I've just been flying open a little bit, which has caused me to miss arms side a lot.
But feel like I took care of that tonight a little bit and just got to build off of it.
How good does it feel to be back in the win column?
It's been a while since you had a W. Yeah.
Feel really good.
What can you say about the way that the bullpen responded tonight given how yesterday unfolded?
Yeah.
Awesome.
You know, obviously that, that fourth inning kept me from going, going farther than five, and, but Trent Seymour and, Walker came in and shut it down, so, great job to them.
You talked to us a couple starts ago about your mechanical issue, and you didn't really know what it was.
Yeah.
You said that you go from the bullpen in the game and it, you know, it would be different.
Yeah.
What did you do to identify that?
Did, was watching video and stuff?
Yeah.
Was this like in between starts?
Yeah.
Really just watching, you know, pitches that, you know, I throw well, throw, throw where I want it, and, then, then kind of figuring out from there.
It was, it was kind of hard to find.
It wasn't something that was, it would pop out, out to you, so, but glad we identified it and, have made some changes, so.
Just in general, what do you think of the team bouncing back the way that they did after yesterday?
Yeah.
And having gone late, too- Yeah on the bullpen.
Yeah, yesterday was rough.
That's never how you want to end a game obviously.
Just, just a good all-around game tonight.
Came out here ready to play and, put some insurance runs up there late.
So, the offense did a great job tonight, from start to finish.
So, yeah, just got to keep playing like that.
All right.
Thanks so much.
And obviously yesterday was a tough day for the bullpen overall.
What can you say about the way that when the bullpen as a whole responded today?
I mean, I think, you know, Gilbert answered the call right off the bat in the first inning.
You know, it was a, it was a great answer for a tough inning yesterday, but you know, there's a lot of unspoken words.
Nobody really had to say anything.
We, we knew what happened and, we just came out ready to play today.
You know, the bullpen, maybe the tightest game of the 2023 out there after- Sure you know, the center field and all that.
Do you take it, you know, only personally as a group when something like that happens, and, do you really feel that a bounce back from your group would be a, a big deal?
S- yeah, sure.
You know, we're, we're trying to stay, stay together.
I mean, there's so many p- new people here, you know, myself included, but we're all trying to glue together as much as we can.
So when somebody goes down, you know, doesn't matter if it's the bullpen or, or, you know, the second baseman, we try to pick each other up.
When, yeah, when something like that happens it's tough, but yeah, I mean, it was- Is there a good feeling out of- It was a good call tonight to, to, emphasize the bullpen tonight.
Jeff, how much more comfortable are you feeling after, you know, since your debut?
Yeah.
I mean, spring training was, was neat, you know, getting to see, be in the locker room with all those fellows.
But, now it's, it's getting to, to where it's kind of a reality, which is really cool unfortunately, you know, due to some of these injuries that we keep, happening here.
But, I think it's really cool that some of these guys have played together, you know, all through the minors, and, we're really coming together, too.
I like the young lineup.
It's cool.
But also, you know, having the vets here to take us in and out is really cool.
How about your own sort of comfort out on the mound in, in the big situations?
You know, I think a lot of it for me, I, I'm super competitive and overly competitive sometimes, so, it's slowing myself down, has been really, really big for me.
Especially in a one-run game like that.
You know, I thank Vitello for, you know, having the trust in to put me in that situation.
Try to do the best you can every time.
