With it being the World Series, we’re bringing you some of the key quotes and storylines from each game following the postgame press conference.
Pat Murphy
In his postgame press conference, Brewers manager Pat Murphy discussed what he was most impressed by, specifically shouting out Milwaukee’s star catcher.
“[William] Contreras was incredible. If anybody doesn’t notice the contributions of Contreras, he was the player of the game. We had a lot of good performances, a lot of good things,” Murphy said. “Contreras was unbelievable. The two caught stealings, the ABS, the hits, calling the game.”
“If people aren’t noticing Contreras, like he was maybe the MVP, like should have been co-MVPs. He was maybe MVP of the Dodgers series. He was maybe MVP of the Padres series. I don’t think they pick one for that, do they? But this guy has been incredible, and he does both sides of the ball. And the side that you can’t measure, I don’t know what his numbers are, but he does so much for the team. He’s incredible. That’s all I could tell you. He’s incredible. We wouldn’t be in the position we’re in without Contreras,” Murphy said.
Murphy added that Jackson Chourio, Christian Yelich, and the bullpen were the other heroes of the night, and he was also impressed by Jacob Misiorowski’s performance despite striking out just three.
“This is the best team in the American League. They proved that during the regular season and proved that in the postseason so far. One of the ways they do that is to make contact better than anybody in baseball,” Murphy said. “For Miz to go five innings the way he did, give up only a few hard contacts, only walked one guy, [he] was great.”
Murphy also spoke on the overturned call at second base that initially ended the game before Trevor Megill was required to get one more out, explaining that he’s glad reviews like that are part of the game.
“No, we want to get it right, man. We’ll be doing the checked swing there later on. The obstruction play will be replayed. MLB makes rule changes for the better. They just do. Then things happen, and then they make another adjustment and another adjustment. Even if we gave up two runs there and we lose the game and we’re sitting here and we’re all dejected, the rule is put in place for the right reason, to get it right. I don’t know if they got it right. I’m assuming they did. There’s a lot of people that have better vision than I,” Murphy said.
Jacob Misiorowski
Jacob Misiorowski discussed how he felt in the high-energy environment of American Family Field, specifically noting the adrenaline of the moment and his fastball-heavy diet early.
“[The atmosphere was] electric. The fans were — it was crazy. It’s everything I dreamed of. It’s really cool that we got to do it here in Milwaukee. It’s been awesome to feel the city and feel just the atmosphere they’ve been creating. It’s been amazing,” Misiorowski said. “The adrenaline kind of took over, and I tensed up and threw it hard. Then I settled down, and that was the game plan to settle in and do me. Don’t try and overdo it. I think that’s also a part of what I’ve been doing this postseason not trying to overdo stuff and understand I have a whole defense behind me to help me out.”
After pitching just 78 pitches and being pulled after five frames, Miz was asked if he felt like he had more in the tank. Being the gamer that he is, he said that he would “want to throw 130 [pitches].”
“I’ll keep going. It’s the World Series. I’ve got more rest to come,” Misiorowski said. “No, the situation we had looked better going to the pen and turning it over that way. You have to trust the staff and understand that they’re making a decision for later in the game.”
Jackson Chourio & William Contreras
Jackson Chourio and William Contreras, two of the Brewers’ biggest stars, did a joint presser after the game, where they were also asked about the environment and their performance on the field, especially Contreras’ in-game management of his pitchers.
“That was something for me that this year I definitely took it a little bit more personal and upon myself to make a point of that and to go out there and talk maybe a little bit more stern to the pitchers,” Contreras said. “It’s kind of my way of giving them some confidence and giving them a boost, the lift they need whenever they’re out there on the mound. I’m not sure how some of the guys take it, but that was something for me that was a priority of mine coming into this year and something that I made the adjustment on.”
When asked about Murphy’s faith in him, Contreras explained that he expects to play everyday, even if that’s unconventional for a catcher.
“I think Murphy’s always been someone that’s very special to me. I think in a lot of ways we share some similar personality traits. We want to win, and I think any time Murphy’s had to say something to me, he’s been very honest with me, and he’s told me directly to my face. That’s something I appreciate, and I think that’s something we share in common,” Contreras said. “I think when it comes to playing every day, that’s something I’m always going to prepare to do. That’s always a goal of mine. Why I work so hard in the offseason is to — if I feel good, if I feel ready to play, I’m going to expect to be in there.”
Chourio spoke about the build-up to the World Series after the weeklong layoff, also mentioning how it compared to the World Baseball Classic, which Chourio and Contreras won with Venezuela earlier this year.
“Honestly I think in these games today, there’s a little bit less pressure, it felt like, compared to maybe the World Baseball Classic. Some of the pressure was removed maybe in some of the earlier rounds of the playoffs, and I felt a little bit more free just to go out there and play my game,” Chourio said. “I think on my end, for me it’s always been a little bit of a question of more anxious feelings than pressure. I think I’ve always seen it in that light. Yeah, I think with these series and with the days off in between, I think there was some anxiousness for the games to begin and ready for the games to begin and get them — we know that these are the last games of the season here.“
Kevin Cash
While Rays manager Kevin Cash mostly spoke about his team in the postgame press conference, he did get asked about Contreras catching two baserunners after the Rays were previously perfect in stolen base attempts this postseason.
“Look, [Contreras is] a very talented player on both sides of the ball. We knew that coming in. Not surprised by anything that he did, but that’s not going to change our aggressive approach, certainly on the bases,” Cash said.
Cash also talked about the difficulties of facing Misiorowski and the Brewers bullpen.
“Look, he’s so talented. He’s such a special pitcher. I felt like for him to be out of the game at five innings, there’s a small win in that,” Cash said. “The problem is when you knock him out of the game, you’ve got just an elite bullpen that can match up and come in the ballgame like they did and kept us quiet there between Uribe, Ashby, and at the end with Megill.“