Q. You're a routine guy. We know that. How has this stretch -- like, I guess it will be seven days?
CASEY MIZE: Seven, yeah.
Q. How have you dealt with that, and is it different, or does the moment -- you know, the size of the moment --
CASEY MIZE: Yeah. We're going to prepare differently. I think the positive of it would be I feel better, if anything.
But also, we haven't thrown on true five days a lot this season. We're kind of used to the six or seven days this season. So we've kind of learned to prepare for, you know, six, seven, five days, whatever it may be.
So yeah. I just took a couple days on the front end before I threw my bullpen and just went from there. So yep.
Q. Hey, Casey. Having been away for over two weeks, I'm just curious what yesterday was like in terms of obviously getting your throwing in, but obviously having to do stuff when you get home.
CASEY MIZE: Yeah. We got in, and a lot of us came straight here to get a workout in, to get moving a little bit after the plane ride and the travel day.
Then we went through and did a lot of laundry and just trying to get my life back together a little bit after the long road trip there. So that was good. Yeah. It feels good to be back and sleep in my own bed. So yes, it's nice to be back.
Q. Casey, just what did you learn from your first postseason experience, pitching in the playoffs for the first time, and what do you look forward to this time around against the Mariners?
CASEY MIZE: Yeah. It was a lot of fun. It was a great atmosphere. It was highly anticipated by me. I really couldn't wait to get out there. I enjoyed it.
I love to compete, and that's the highest level of competition you can get, so I enjoyed it. It's really intense, and I think I'm a pretty intense person, so I kind of can match that, which was a lot of fun for me.
So I look forward to getting back out there this time at home in front of our own fans, which will be pretty fun.
Q. Hey, Casey. You found some success after the week where you threw the more expanded bullpen. Have you continued doing that, or did you do that in this period with more days between starts?
CASEY MIZE: I haven't really done a ton of expanded since that one, really. It's just been back to the normal prep for the last month or so, this week included. I didn't really do a ton extra. I touched the mound one other time this week just to get on it and feel it again. I touched it again today, like I always do the day before my start.
So pretty normal routine. I just took a -- normally I throw a day two bullpen. I took a couple days on the front end and kept the back three days the same. That's kind of what I've learned to do.
Q. A few of your teammates remarked just how incredible the crowd was in Seattle. Does that moment want to make you guys get home to the Comerica crowd, or there are other cities that are just as hungry as Detroit has been?
CASEY MIZE: No. It was remarkable, and the atmosphere was a blast. So I tip the cap to them for sure.
But I know our fans are excited to have us back home. We're excited to play in front of them. So hopefully they're just as loud and apply some pressure on the Mariners like Seattle did on us.
So yeah. It's -- we're glad to be home to play in front of our own fans and not have to deal with opposing stadiums for the time being.
Q. Tomorrow's either going to be clinch or, you know, save the season. Is that kind of moment -- was that kind of the carrot or the light at the end of the tunnel when you went through those two years where you were just grinding to hopefully get back to being in this situation? And I know you can't process that tomorrow, but maybe now, as you're thinking on it, is that what all the work was about? Right?
CASEY MIZE: I think so. I play to win. That's what I care about the most. I love to prepare and compete and hang out with these guys and travel and do all these things, but winning is what I like to do the most.
So if there's an opportunity to do that tomorrow, whether it be clinch or, you know, save the season, that's about as good as it gets for me, you know? That's what it's all about. So I look forward to that opportunity, and I don't fear that, you know? I look forward to it.
So yeah. When I'm going through difficult times or whatever the past few years, getting back on the field and being productive, but then being called upon to compete and be your best in times of need, it's like every athlete's dream, I think. So yes, it's certainly something I would think about. Yeah.
Q. Casey, the Mariners' lineup has a lot of power, as you well know, especially in the top half of it, and even in the lower half in places.
CASEY MIZE: Yeah.
Q. When you prepare to face a team like the Mariners in the postseason, where we all know how important home runs can be in deciding the game, is that something that impacts how you game plan for a team, or do you take the approach of you're going to do your thing and they'll do theirs and match your best versus their best? How do you approach that?
CASEY MIZE: Yeah. Most of it is going to be my best, but you certainly have to respect the lineup. When I view lineups throughout the season -- especially in the postseason, it will be amplified, but I know that these guys can slow it. These guys can't.
So I think that can affect some decisions of I'm not just going to groove in a first pitch to just get ahead in the count. They might do damage then. So you need to be a little bit more calculated and focused with every pitch, especially if they're up swinging early.
But yeah. I always have in mind, you know, what guys can slug, what can't. A lot of these guys can. So yeah. I'll have to be pretty sharp, you know, for sure, like all of us have to be.
But yeah. I think it changes the mindset a little bit. But for the most part, I'm going to do my thing. I'm always going to try to stay on the corners and be below the zone and above it, not in the heart of it. But with lineups that could do damage, you have to be more aware of that, 100 percent.
Q. Just to build off of going from your first playoff experience to your second playoff experience, and you mentioned the first one being so highly anticipated for you. Is it the same internally, or is it different internally for you going into this one because you now already have one under your belt?
CASEY MIZE: I think experience helps. Now I have that. I've pitched in the postseason. And so I think it's, you know, still anticipated, and I really look forward to it, but it's -- now it's just about the scoreboard, you know?
And it was in Cleveland as well, but now for me it's less of an unknown. Like, I've experienced that. I've done it. So yeah. It's the same game, but now I have a little bit of experience doing it.
Q. Hey, Casey. How are you feeling about where your splitter is at right now and what kind of it's become for you after it was such a predominant pitch for you in your career? Obviously your repertoire has expanded since then, but how are you feeling about that pitch right now?
CASEY MIZE: I feel really good. From a run-value standpoint, the split has not graded out well this year just because I've given up some slug on it for sure.
But I think if you ask these guys who have watched me all year what would I be without that pitch, probably not as good. So it's been a staple of what I do.
So it's frustrating when I get beat with that pitch, but also it's kind of my thing. So it's -- you know, it's been a game-changer for me, especially the left-handed hitters. I think a lot of guys struggle in a reverse split-wise -- or splits-wise. So it's kind of helped me neutralize a left-handed-heavy lineup. And actually, the righties is something I've been having to focus on the last year and a half, of trying to be better against the right-handed hitters.
So split's an important pitch for me. Always has been and always will be. And I feel much better about it now than I did a year ago, so yeah.
Q. Kind of related to that, but when you add in the adrenaline that you talk about with pitching in the postseason, knowing how your stuff plays, do you have to regulate that adrenaline at all? Because we've seen your splitter at different ranges, velocity-wise. Obviously your slider can play different ways. Do you have to kind of put yourself in a certain zone to make sure that adrenaline works for you instead of against you?
CASEY MIZE: I think the adrenaline can affect my velocity in positive ways, and I won't regulate that. I'll let that go. But I don't want it to mess with how I'm moving at all. You know, if I get too quick or too slow or trying to do too much, then it becomes a problem.
But if I'm moving the way I want and the ball comes out better because of adrenaline, I'm going to let that ride. I'm not going to try to shut that down, no.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports