Q. Dylan, you have said that this wasn't exactly the season that you wanted to have, but you've felt a lot better lately. What do you think has improved and what has allowed you to have some of the success you did down the stretch?
DYLAN CEASE: Yeah, I think I've just been putting in the work and trying to feel out some things. Sometimes with pitching, obviously it's all about execution, but at the end of the day, it's kind of a feel-oriented thing.
I've been trying to find it and create it all year, and I feel like towards the end of the year, I've gotten in a good spot with that.
Q. How do you approach this start potentially differently from a regular season start, knowing that it is a Wild Card series, it is a short series? How do you go into the playoffs?
DYLAN CEASE: I'm just preparing the same way, honestly. Working on executing pitches, just having a high level of focus and intensity with everything I'm doing.
At the end of the day, just treat it with as much intensity and focus as I can.
Q. Dylan, you got your first taste of postseason baseball playing for a team in this city. How has your idea of pitching in the playoffs evolved as you've gotten more experience doing it? Are you still just as excited as the first time?
DYLAN CEASE: I think it's obviously very exciting. It's always higher stakes. It's always more on the line, which is fun and exciting.
Yeah, I'm feeling it the same way. I want to have some better results than I have had, but yeah, I'm excited.
Q. Can you recall the day you were traded from the Cubs to the Sox and what your feelings are about starting your career with the Cubs?
DYLAN CEASE: Yeah, I remember it was an early morning call back in, I think, 2017. Yeah, they drafted me out of high school, rehabbed my elbow. I got Tommy John surgery immediately.
I spent the first probably two, three, four years, whatever it was, three years maybe, rehabbing and just learning how to be a professional with them.
I definitely have no hard feelings towards them, but yeah, it feels like a lifetime ago.
Q. Was it a shock when it happened? Are you even thinking about being traded at that time?
DYLAN CEASE: It wasn't a shock. I kept getting pushed back, and I remember that was kind of like a running joke everyone on the team was having. But I didn't think it was imminent. We were kind of just messing around with it.
But things like that happen in baseball.
Q. This Padres team has a lot of postseason experience, a lot of guys who have played in the postseason. What is it like being a part of a team whether this year or last year with a bunch of guys who expect to be playing at this time of year?
DYLAN CEASE: Yeah, it's definitely part of the culture.
I think the most telling thing is when we go through bad stretches or streaks where we're not playing as well as we should, there's never really a panic. Everyone kind of just stays even keel and just goes about their business.
These stretches seem to work themselves out, which is cool. I think you see a lot of teams that don't have that culture or that confidence maybe, so something like that can spiral. But with this team, it feels like we get them back on track pretty quickly.
Q. Last season obviously didn't end the way you wanted it to. What do you take from that, that playoff series against the Dodgers, into this year, if anything, and do you view this season as a chance to set that right at all?
DYLAN CEASE: In terms of taking anything from it, I'm kind of just leaving that in the past. At the end of the day, it's about executing, so I'm just setting myself up to execute as well as I can. I'm glad I have that experience. The more experience, the better when it comes to playoffs. You know kind of how to slow things down or what it's going to feel like or what to expect.
I'm just honestly leaving that in the past and just attacking this year.
Q. You've had a front-row seat to Nick Pivetta's career year this year. Pitcher to pitcher, what have you seen and what have you enjoyed watching?
DYLAN CEASE: Yeah, he's been about as consistent as I've ever seen. Every start you know what you're going to get. He is commanding his fastball. He's thrown two breaking balls for strikes. He was dominant this year. It was about as good as I've ever seen live.
Q. How long did last year's playoff exit stay with you, and what does this opportunity with this group of guys mean to you?
DYLAN CEASE: Yeah, in a sense, it really never leaves. It's part of your story and your history, I suppose.
I would say most of the offseason for sure. But at the end of the day, I think when a new season starts, it's kind of a new opportunity and brings a freshness about it. Yeah, that one definitely stung.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports