Showalter, Chen and Hardy speak after 5-0 loss
By Roch Kubatko
NEW YORK - The Yankees scored five runs tonight. The Orioles had three baserunners.
It's easy to figure out which team was victorious.
The Orioles were held to one hit, J.J. Hardy's single in the fifth inning, in a 5-0 loss at Yankee Stadium.
Michael Pineda retired 22 of 24 batters, and the Orioles lost for the third time in their last four games.
Wei-Yin Chen allowed four runs (two earned) in six innings. He's scheduled to start again on Saturday, which lines him up to pitch Game 2 of the Division Series.
The Tigers also lost tonight, so the Orioles are assured of having home field advantage in the Division Series.
Here's manager Buck Showalter:
On Pineda
"He's got a great angle. You can't teach six (foot)-whatever. That's what I tell people. The more I'm in baseball, the more I realize it's about the angle. He's got a great angle and the two breaking balls. He's been pitching well for a while, he's not just picking on us. Just another thing they've been counting on this year that they've been missing. Just gives you a reminder of how good he is."
On Chen
"We talked a lot about when he's got some depth in the changeup and the breaking ball is really breaking off the bat. He wasn't carrying that tonight. We wanted to shorten him at 90 (pitches) tonight. He had a couple extra days. He's in a position to be where he should be when we get into the playoffs. I'm confident in him. And it gets magnified there when we don't score any runs. We get two or three runs there, it gets their offense a little less, gets them on their heels, gets them more aggressive early. When you're behind like that, that didn't help. The outings of starting pitchers gets magnified with every little thing when they're pitching so well."
On having home field advantage
"I just heard that. That's good. And it wasn't a foregone conclusion. I keep saying you're not paranoid, you're alert to things. It could happen. You never assume anything. And now there's really only one thing left out there and that's going to be real hard to attain with as good as Anaheim is and the things we have to get accomplished with Nicky (Markakis). Hopefully, he feels good tomorrow, and Steve Pearce. Some of our pitching. We're trying to get 100 percent, so it's good to know that part of the equation is there."
Here's Chen, through his interpreter:
On how he threw
"I think my control wasn't great out there. During the game I tried to make adjustments. The results weren't perfect, but it was acceptable."
On whether it's hard to pitch in these games after clinching
"Even though we've clinched, I treated this game as a normal game. I just tried to stay focused even though we've already clinched. It's still my game and I still wanted to pitch a good game out there, so I just tried to stay focused as usual."
On whether he prefers to pitch on normal rest
"Yes, I would love to pitch on four days rest. To be able to pitch on a regular basis, I think that would help me stay sharp getting ready for the postseason."
On whether he's ready
"Of course. Playoffs are very important, but I still treat it as another game, go through my routines, be prepared and try to pitch a good game."
Here's Hardy:
On Pineda
"He's got a good angle. Ball cuts, good slider. You can't really tell the difference between the two out of his hand. He didn't leave much over the plate. He was throwing strikes, but pitcher's strikes. He was good."
On whether it's hard to stay motivated after clinching
"No. I think we've got to tip our hat to Pineda. He was throwing good. He's got a lot of movement on that. He's got good stuff. It's not like we're not trying to go out there. You've got to tip your cap to him."
More on Pineda
"The more you see him, I feel like you get more comfortable with what he's got. You know what he's working with. But like I said, he was throwing good. He wasn't missing his spots and he had good stuff."
On whether pitchers have advantage in September
"It's hard to say. We all talk about it in spring training a lot, when pitchers are ahead of hitters, but I think everybody's tired in September, whether it's pitchers or hitters, so I don't know who has the advantage."
On having home field advantage
"Yeah, that's good. I was just informed. It's good news."
Here's manager Buck Showalter:
On Pineda
"He's got a great angle. You can't teach six (foot)-whatever. That's what I tell people. The more I'm in baseball, the more I realize it's about the angle. He's got a great angle and the two breaking balls. He's been pitching well for a while, he's not just picking on us. Just another thing they've been counting on this year that they've been missing. Just gives you a reminder of how good he is."
On Chen
"We talked a lot about when he's got some depth in the changeup and the breaking ball is really breaking off the bat. He wasn't carrying that tonight. We wanted to shorten him at 90 (pitches) tonight. He had a couple extra days. He's in a position to be where he should be when we get into the playoffs. I'm confident in him. And it gets magnified there when we don't score any runs. We get two or three runs there, it gets their offense a little less, gets them on their heels, gets them more aggressive early. When you're behind like that, that didn't help. The outings of starting pitchers gets magnified with every little thing when they're pitching so well."
On having home field advantage
"I just heard that. That's good. And it wasn't a foregone conclusion. I keep saying you're not paranoid, you're alert to things. It could happen. You never assume anything. And now there's really only one thing left out there and that's going to be real hard to attain with as good as Anaheim is and the things we have to get accomplished with Nicky (Markakis). Hopefully, he feels good tomorrow, and Steve Pearce. Some of our pitching. We're trying to get 100 percent, so it's good to know that part of the equation is there."
Here's Chen, through his interpreter:
On how he threw
"I think my control wasn't great out there. During the game I tried to make adjustments. The results weren't perfect, but it was acceptable."
On whether it's hard to pitch in these games after clinching
"Even though we've clinched, I treated this game as a normal game. I just tried to stay focused even though we've already clinched. It's still my game and I still wanted to pitch a good game out there, so I just tried to stay focused as usual."
On whether he prefers to pitch on normal rest
"Yes, I would love to pitch on four days rest. To be able to pitch on a regular basis, I think that would help me stay sharp getting ready for the postseason."
On whether he's ready
"Of course. Playoffs are very important, but I still treat it as another game, go through my routines, be prepared and try to pitch a good game."
Here's Hardy:
On Pineda
"He's got a good angle. Ball cuts, good slider. You can't really tell the difference between the two out of his hand. He didn't leave much over the plate. He was throwing strikes, but pitcher's strikes. He was good."
On whether it's hard to stay motivated after clinching
"No. I think we've got to tip our hat to Pineda. He was throwing good. He's got a lot of movement on that. He's got good stuff. It's not like we're not trying to go out there. You've got to tip your cap to him."
More on Pineda
"The more you see him, I feel like you get more comfortable with what he's got. You know what he's working with. But like I said, he was throwing good. He wasn't missing his spots and he had good stuff."
On whether pitchers have advantage in September
"It's hard to say. We all talk about it in spring training a lot, when pitchers are ahead of hitters, but I think everybody's tired in September, whether it's pitchers or hitters, so I don't know who has the advantage."
On having home field advantage
"Yeah, that's good. I was just informed. It's good news."
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