Q. When did you first find out you were going to be the Game 1 starter? And what does it mean to you to taking the ball Game 1 of the wild card and hopefully sending this team on a good path and good tone to start the series?
BLAKE SNELL: I found out a while ago. But no, I'm excited. There's no better feeling than being in Game 1, starting it off. And the goal is to get us off to a good start, a win and go from there.
Q. Last time you faced the Reds you threw a no-hitter. Does that play into the confidence for this game? There's a lot of the same hitters in that lineup.
BLAKE SNELL: No. It's so long ago. They've changed. I've changed. A lot's changed. And this is a postseason game. So stakes are higher. It's going to be an exciting game, A chess match. They've got good hitters, guys that are hot. So I'm excited to see the match-up and how it plays out.
Q. Is there anything you can point to -- last three starts have been really good outings for you -- is there anything specific you can point to that maybe you tweak that you figure out that have led to those results?
BLAKE SNELL: I mean, just feel, understanding. I'm able to know what's working, go with it. I'm not trying to force pitches (inaudible) they'll win, even if they're not that good. Attacking with the fastball, and I've been locating it well. A lot of just good feeling and understanding for the game has put me in a good position to have good results.
Q. How did those four months away from pitching, how did those impact you? Also did it, quote/unquote, help you save bullets for the postseason?
BLAKE SNELL: I don't know if it helped me save bullets for the postseason. Those four months were tough, man. It was a lot of work. A lot of back and forth, trying to push, trying to be smart at the same time.
Those four months were tough. I might not have pitched, but, man, it was a lot. It was a lot. To be where I'm at now, I'm very thankful and appreciative of everything that I went through to get there. But I feel like I'm still getting better and I'm still learning more and more.
Q. During those four months, and even this past offseason where you're going through free agency, how much was pitching in October for this team in front of mind, and how much of that is something meaningful for you this sort of next month?
BLAKE SNELL: That's everything. The only reason I came here was to pitch in October and to really challenge myself personally and see how good I am, face the best when the stakes are the highest. That's what I've always wanted. I couldn't be more excited to be in this position.
Q. Throughout your career, most years, I think maybe every year, you've been better in the second half than the first half. Seems you've been at your best in the stretch run of the season in the playoffs. Why do you think that is?
BLAKE SNELL: For me, I just think I've been pitching and learning and correcting mistakes. And as the season goes on, you learn swings, you just learn so much throughout the year that I feel like it's kind of hard not to get better. That's why I think I have a better second half.
Q. Building off that, do you think that even with missing the first half of the season because of injury you were able to still kind of learn even though you weren't pitching in games?
BLAKE SNELL: Yeah, you get to watch the other team, watch our team, learn the swings that you go through in your head, like, what would you do if you were out there, what would you do differently, what do you like. I mean, every time I watch a game, you're just running down situations and putting yourself in them. For me, that's what I was doing. I think it helps.
Then when you get out there, you feel the game out. That's where you say this is what I would do, this is what I'm going to do.
Q. The way the team has built momentum in the postseason, did you sense a shift? And what would you attribute that to?
BLAKE SNELL: I think everyone is just getting excited for postseason ball. I don't know if I sensed the shift. I know that all of us are really excited about October and what we can accomplish and do. And now that it's here, I think the best part of it is we get to prove ourselves and see how good we are as a team together, and that's exciting for us.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports