With Perez in the third inning, is the idea there that if he can get out that inning that's still certainly winnable?

ERIC WEDGE: Yeah, that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to give them a different look with a left-hander and also trying to get Perez going a little bit. Initially just trying to work through that inning and trying to control damage, but obviously it just didn't work out today.

Can you talk about Carmona tonight.

ERIC WEDGE: Well, some of the same of what we saw before a little bit, I think, in this series. They hit a couple balls on the ground there early in the right spot, not much you can do about it. Still didn't do a very good job of working ahead. Had good stuff. Almost worked through that inning, again, and J.D. got him. And then things just sort of dominoed on him from there. Just wasn't in the cards for us tonight. Laffey pitched great for us, really picked us up in the bullpen. He hadn't pitched in three weeks, and we bring him in against Ortiz. He did a good job, and he pitched well and saved our bullpen.

Is there any concern concerning 19-3 over the last two games going into this deciding game?

ERIC WEDGE: Well, it's still two games, and you see a lot in a seven game series. Hey, it's going to come down to Game 7 against the two teams that won more baseball games than anybody in the regular season, two teams that have beat up on each other a little bit over the course of the past week, and that's the way it should be. It's something everybody should look forward to.

How much of an issue was the strike zone from your standpoint in the first inning?

ERIC WEDGE: Well, obviously we had some issues early on, but the umpires have a tough job. And particularly against a team like a Boston or a New York, teams that are very patient, you've got to make sure that when you're in command of the baseball and you're putting it on the plate, that you're getting those calls. We felt like it was a little tight, but then again, we weren't exactly pounding the zone, either. Victor was a little bit upset and I was a little bit upset, but that's part of it. It's part of it.

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With a primarily young club, how much do you worry about the momentum that's been built up the last two games and sort of stopping that and having them go into tomorrow with their heads clear?

ERIC WEDGE: Well, you said it. It just has to stop, and it has to stop tonight. They need to go to bed tonight with clear heads and think good thoughts and come here tomorrow expecting to win. You know, they have experienced a great deal in the course of the regular season, and we experienced a great deal in a short period of time in the New York series. It's another step for us, but it's not completely uncharted. I think it's something that we've shown time and time again that we handle these things pretty well. When you talk about separating, and you hear me say that a lot, this is a perfect example of it. Things didn't work out today, but it's one game. We're going to put it behind us and be ready to go tomorrow.

Can you talk about Westbrook tomorrow.

ERIC WEDGE: Well, Westbrook, he did a good job for us earlier. Just looking for him to go out there and give us a chance to win the ballgame. Jake has pitched some big games for us, and he's aggressive. He knows what he needs to do to be successful. We need him to go out there and pitch his game and give us a chance to win.

If Sizemore's ball in the first inning is fair and not foul, does that change anything that happens later on do you think?

ERIC WEDGE: Hard to say. Obviously it gives us a great boost right off the bat, but we still have to pitch. We still have to play defense. It's still the bottom line, and we weren't able to do that tonight.

Courtesy of FastScripts by ASAP Sports.