Q. You got your starters lined up. Can you announce your starting pitchers for the next two games?
DAN WILSON: Yeah. Games 1 and 2, George Kirby will start tomorrow, and then The Rock, Luis Castillo, will start on Sunday for us.
As we've talked about before, you know, we feel like our entire starting staff is so solid, and we're excited to send those two guys out the first two games. And we just know that all our guys -- we feel like we have faith in everybody, but these two guys will be starting, and I'm excited to get those guys out there in front of the home fans here at T-Mobile Park and just the excitement that comes from Games 1 and 2, I think it will be an energy-filled couple of days.
Q. Are there any other factors about how you slotted home-roads with (indiscernible)?
DAN WILSON: Yeah. You look at a lot of things. That's the key, to try to take in all the information. Rest becomes a factor, how long it's been between when they've pitched, all those things. We've been able to get some rest this week, which has been beneficial for everybody.
I think both of these guys have stacked up pretty well against Detroit this year, as have our other guys. So, again, we've looked at a lot of different things, and we're excited it's going to be George and The Rock.
Q. Dan, how much did their success here in Seattle pitching at T-Mobile also play into it and maybe some of their challenges on the road also as well?
DAN WILSON: You look at some of those factors as well, how they perform at home, on the road, what they've done against certain teams, whatnot. And again, some of those factors play hard. Some of them don't. And we've tried to take it all in, and I think, again, we know all our guys. Pitching -- starting pitching is one of our strengths, and we trust anybody that goes out there to give us a solid outing, and we're just -- right now, the way things stack up, it will be George in Game 1 and The Rock in 2.
Q. Logan has said and really multiple people on the pitching staff have said this is a team of five day-one starters, between Logan starting the season this year, Luis last year, George now with the playoffs. You talk so much that the depth the pitching staff has given you, but how does that help when you find yourself in these situations when you really have just so many options to choose from that you're confident in?
DAN WILSON: Yeah. We have talked about it being somewhat of a luxury, that you can run anybody out there that's going to give you an incredible outing. And, you know, we've done it all season long, and these guys have delivered as they have.
And, you know, again, this is going to be -- this is no different. We've got four guys that we're going to be able to run out in this series that are going to give us outstanding outings, and we feel good about that. We're excited about that, and I think our focus really is getting ready for tomorrow night and being ready there.
Q. How did Bryan Woo come out of yesterday, and will he be on your roster?
DAN WILSON: Yeah. Bryan threw the ball well. Again, that was a step forward for him yesterday, kind of according to plan and where we're at.
We're going to continue to see how he feels today when he gets here for the workout. And again, we'll continue to gather that information from him and his health, and we're going to make those decisions later today and in terms of the roster as well.
Those are things that we're still waiting on, and we'll put it all together once we get all the information together this afternoon.
Q. You obviously have a couple good pitchers still available. Is it safe to assume Logan for Game 3, or have you gone down the road that there yet?
DAN WILSON: You know, we're just looking at Games 1 and 2 right now, and I think, like we said, we're excited -- we're excited about whoever we send out there, but right now our focus, Games 1 and 2 here at home, getting started tomorrow night, getting started on the right foot, and that's where our focus is.
Q. Just going back to George, what have you seen out of him in particular in the last month or so in particular? Obviously a really strong finish for him to end kind of a difficult year otherwise.
DAN WILSON: Yeah. We saw some really good outings from George really late in the season. As we talked about, his ability to attack the strike zone. I think we saw something in George especially -- all our guys really kind of find that mental spot and that mental space to go to and really compete.
And George was able to do that down the stretch, and his ability to attack, his ability to put guys away -- he's had some big outings for us along this stretch and during our streak there towards the end, and it's just a good spot for him to go out there again and continue that same mode that he's been in.
Q. Dan, famously, George was the last pitcher to take the mound here at T-Mobile in a playoff situation, and obviously there's some unfinished business there. What was his reaction when you told him, and how excited do you think he is to get out there?
DAN WILSON: All these guys are excited about getting out there, and I think when you look at this kind of a playoff setting and the atmosphere that they're going to be in, it does elevate you to different places.
And having some experience and learning how to take that and make it a positive for you -- sometimes it can take you in the wrong direction, but I think these guys having the experience they've had in the past helps them to turn it into the positive direction. And I know these guys are really looking forward to taking the mound and using that emotion in the right direction, and that's obviously a big motivator.
And not just for pitchers, position players too take that energy, that excitement that comes with being in the playoffs and being in October baseball and learning how to channel that in the right direction.
Q. Similar question to what Kate just asked, Dan, but George started that game as a rookie, shut out the Astros in that game. What is it about his makeup that makes him really cut out for these big moments like this?
DAN WILSON: Yeah. I think George has the ability to kind of slow things down in some ways, and the way he approaches it, he finds the ability to slow the moment down, slow the game down a bit, and go and do what he does.
We've talked a lot about identity throughout the course of the year. I think George is very tuned in to who he is as a pitcher and what he does well and his strengths. And in these moments, it's time to rely upon your strengths, and that's what George does well, attacks the strike zone, gets ahead, gets hitters into tough counts.
That's what good pitchers do. That's what George does, and that's what he's able to do in the big moments.
Q. Dan, what has it meant to have the rotation healthy in terms of how well they've worked together in between starts and have really fed off each other down the stretch? And also, is it going to be a little bit of a benefit that guys like George and guys like Logan are kind of low in the innings for where they've been in recent years?
DAN WILSON: Yeah. That also helps, not having been taxed as much this season will help as we get deeper into October.
And we've talked so much about this pitching staff, the uniqueness of the pitching staff and the bond that they have between themselves. You know, their ability to push each other, their ability to encourage each other and hold each other accountable -- I mean, it's a special group, and, you know, I think the combination of all of them is -- it's what makes teamwork work in a lot of ways, is just their ability to be there for one another.
And, you know, I think that they're all excited for each other. They'll all be pulling for each other and pushing each other as we get into this in October.
Q. Dan, you guys haven't played the Tigers in quite a while, but the philosophies that A.J. has are pretty much the same. His willingness to go with his platoon and his matchups, what kind of challenges does that present late in games when you have your bullpen and you're looking at guys?
DAN WILSON: Yeah. I mean, you know, again, we -- you know, you have to weigh everything when you're making those kinds of decisions, and bullpen decisions obviously are some of those that you make.
And I think that the good news there is that, as we say with our starters, we also say with our bullpen guys, we love the guys that we're able to put in there in those situations regardless of where the platoon sits.
And obviously you want to try to match up as best you can, but there are times where it doesn't match up, and we know our guys and can trust our guys in those situations as well.
So I think we're -- again, because of the rest we've had, because of the experience we've had this year, we're in a really good spot here, and it's go time. We're getting excited about tomorrow and getting started again.
Q. In George's last start, he talked about tweaking his sinker a little bit and, you know, we saw how that played out. Just at this point in the season, where, you know, almost at the end, going into the playoffs, how difficult is that for a pitcher to make an arsenal adjustment like that and implement it, from your experience as a catcher?
DAN WILSON: Yeah. I mean, I think -- you know, again, baseball is always a game of adjustments. That's what we do. And I don't think you're going to make major overhauls here before on the starts, but you can make minor ones.
And, you know, whether it's a hitter putting his hands up a little higher, something along those lines, you make the adjustments you have to make.
And I think George was able to make that one, and I think, again, it's something that works. It's tested. But this game is full of adjustments. It's just not a time to make overhauls. But at the same time, you know, understanding that you have to do what you have to do, and I think George understands, again, his identity and what he needs for that, and it's been a big strength for him.
Q. Dan, you got a chance to see Emerson in that role out of the pen a little bit and in September. I'm just wondering, what stood out in him making that transition to the pen and how his stuff maybe played differently than him as a starter?
DAN WILSON: Yeah. I thought Emerson handled it all very well. That's not an easy adjustment, as we've talked about. But obviously a velo tick in the positive direction, that was something that we love to see. I thought that helped play his changeup a little bit. When he was able to locate that and keep it down, the velocity and change of speeds worked well.
I thought his sweeper actually looked really good, I think has helped that some. We were able to see that when he got a little bit more extended out in the longer outing that he had.
So I think a lot has been thrown at Emerson here toward the end of the season, and I think -- again, when you talk about adjustments and making those adjustments, he's done a really good job of it, and has given his best here towards the end, and it's been really good.
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