Jacob deGrom spoke to reporters this evening at Kauffman Stadium. Here is some of what he had to say.
Terry said maybe you were a little fatigued the last couple of starts.
I didn’t feel fatigued out there. I just felt I was having trouble locating, which happened to me early on this year. I don’t know if it was fatigue. I feel good now, so I don’t think the rest hurt me.
What do you know about the Royals lineup?
Honestly, I haven’t looked at it that much. I know they put the ball in play a lot. A team that strikes out a whole bunch. So it’s kind of what we’ve been doing before in the past couple of series, try not to make — look at it too early and kind of mess yourself up. So we’re going to do the same thing that we’ve done, look at them the day before, and come up with a good game plan before I go out there.
Compared to the Dodgers, when you had seven scoreless, were the last two more satisfying because you had to battle?
I think so. They’re not as much fun when you’re out there, but after you look back on them, to be able to get a team out whenever you are kind of struggling definitely is a little more impressive than when you go out there with your best stuff.
What are your thoughts about this Royals lineup?
They’re going to battle you. They’re not going to strike out a lot and they’re going to put the ball in play. I think my job is to keep the ball down. I always say I try to go out there and get early contact, and strikeouts just seem to happen. That’s going to be my same game plan going into this.
A lot’s been made about the Royals’ ability to hit fastballs.
I think you just have to see what’s going on when you’re out there, kind of like the start I had against the Cubs. I noticed they were hitting the fastball. And I had to adjust my game plan from there during the game. And I threw a lot more off speed than I normally threw. There’s going to be adjustments to be made like there is in every game. I think it’s just seeing what’s going on out there.
What’s the excitement level in pitching a World Series game.
Yeah, it’s awesome. It’s kind of hard to explain. I don’t know if it’s really set in for me. It might set in tomorrow when I get out there. But I think more in the offseason when I look back at it. This is what we play for, we play to come here, and just to get the chance to make a start in the World Series, it’s really awesome.
With Ruben hurt, Matt off the roster, Kelly DH’ing tonight, can Terry get an inning out of you at shortstop if he needs it?
Sure, I’d like to go out there. This would be a fun place to make your infield debut in the World Series, wouldn’t it?
