We held home field advantage. One thing we’ve got to do, we’ve got to stay aggressive. We can’t wait to get over there.

We just want to do it,

He’ll sit there and go, ‘Get on base, I’ll hit you in. He puts this team on himself.

Knock on wood, I’ve been hanging in there.

Juan has wheels and can handle the bat pretty well. Tony knows what he is doing. Juan is the type of hitter who can do a lot once he settles in and gets in his...

We have so many ways to go and attack you, and we got a lot of bombers. But also, when we have to, we can play small ball and find ways to manufacture [runs].

I played second base all my life. The only time I backhanded balls was on dives.

That is the key. The toughest thing sometimes is getting that ground ball, and they seem to get the ground ball. They might give up a hit. They might give up a walk. But they...

It’s so much easier when you go out and put pressure on them, … Every inning counts. We do a lot of studying pitchers. You’ve got to give credit to [hitting coach] Hal McRae. He...

I had strict orders from Day One that I have a job to do, and I need to do my job. I do have four other brothers and sisters who were able to be there,...

Getting guys on base in front of the big guys, that’s the key to this club.

That’s a great positive, I think, for everyone in St. Louis. To see him actually be able to turn on it and hit it as far as he did, we were very excited about that.

It’s pretty calming to step in there in that situation. I don’t know why, but it’s a feeling that comes over you. (The fans) are so loud, but you just understand it’s you versus him...

I’m thrilled that they can’t potentially walk him. There’s no base to put him.

He’s a Gold Glover,

I feel very confident with two strikes. I feel it’s more of a freedom. I get very upset with myself if I make an out on a bad pitch before two strikes. With two strikes,...

That just shows you with our club there’s a lot of different ways we can go out there and we can get a victory. Grudzielanek had a great night, but once again you were looking...

You like to win the game but there’s something about the squeeze play. It’s do or die. I get more opportunity to do that, too.

We played this same game all season. We haven’t tried to do anything different here. We’re not playing outside our capabilities. This is how we do it.

I had been facing live pitching right up until I came here. So it wasn’t as different for me today as maybe some other guys.

How many little kids are out there fighting because they know David did it? … A lot of people have said to me that we are an inspiration. … People say, `How do you do...

It’s like when I was playing in the Angels-Oakland games. That’s not a rivalry. When fans hate the other fans, that’s what makes it a big-time rivalry. These are big games. If we keep doing...

I’ll take my chances, win or lose, … It’s a calming feeling to be up at the plate at that time.

Don’t turn the channel, … no matter what the score is.

Not too many guys around like me.

Everybody talks about how great it is, but you don’t really realize it until you get to come fresh to this city (St. Louis). It’s amazing, … Now you know why when someone comes in,...

I guess Jimmy [Edmonds] said it best: His job is to get on base and it’s my job to drive them in tonight, … He’s scoring all the runs.

When you have a guy like (Pujols) who every single night comes out and with the lineups we’ve had has the average he has, the homers he has, the RBIs he has … and plays...

We had our chances. I think his hamstring was bothering him. There was a play when he didn’t run to cover first base. There may be something there.

I feel almost like a freedom. You get to swing at a pitch no matter where it is. I love it.

It’s fun,

It’s really not my game. If you ask Tony, he doesn’t like me to do it.

I think it’s going to help me. I only saw six pitches, so you can’t really tell from today, but I think in the long run [the workouts at home] will help me.

This club is very tough, very resilient, and we’re going to be tested.

He’s been throwing the ball unbelievably.

Watch this. Froze him like you wouldn’t believe. Definitely, he has not just a fastball.

We’re having excellent at-bats through the whole lineup. When we’re playing our best, it’s coming from one through nine.

All I wanted to do was face him again. I was hoping he would hit me in the back with a fastball. I really was. Just so I could run down to first base, to...