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AL DIVISION SERIES: RANGERS VS BLUE JAYS

October 7, 2015

David Price

Toronto, Ontario - Workout Day

Q. (MODERATOR): First question for David Price.
Q. Who's more excited for the playoffs, you or Astro?
DAVID PRICE: Astro, he gets pretty giddy around this time of year, but me, I mean, this is why you play the game, this is why you're putting in work in November, December, this is why you play it.

Q. 11 days off between starts. Do you have concerns over that? I know you threw a similated session, but that's a lot of rest.?
DAVID PRICE: No, I feel good. The dimensions of the mound and 60 feet, 6 inches doesn't change, so it's still the same thing. I've been off the mound a couple times, I feel good, and I'll be ready to go tomorrow.

Q. When you faced Texas a couple months ago, you pitched well. You had to work out of a couple jams with runners on base. What did you learn from that start and what will you carry forward from it to tomorrow night?
DAVID PRICE: Texas for me has always been a tough team to pitch against, especially back in the day. Now they have Napoli back, I think he was in the seven hole for about two or three years hitting 25, 30 home runs. So it was always a tough lineup for a left-handed pitcher to face, but I've thrown the ball well against them. I think my past three times I faced those guys.

So just continuing to carry on that confidence from my past three, and just throw my game.

Q. I don't want to be a Debbie downer, but your playoff record is 1-5. What is different about the playoffs than the regular season for you?
DAVID PRICE: Nothing. I mean, I've got to treat it the same as every other game, just go out there and make pitches and let our defense play defense. Put up some early zeros, let our offense settle in, go out there and get that lead.

Q. David, when you changed teams in the middle of a season the way you have, what degree of apprehension do you have coming into a new setting that you're going to be accepted and your new teammates are going to get you, and that kind of thing?
DAVID PRICE: Just don't change. You know, that's one of my sayings. Times change, but I don't. I don't care what team I'm on, I want to conduct myself in that locker room, in the dugout, and out there on the field the way that I always have. I know that if I can show my teammates that I'm here for them every single day, especially on the days that I'm not pitching, I know that they will respond to that well and they'll have my back as well.

Q. Do you have a preference, roof open or roof closed, at the park?
DAVID PRICE: No, I think I've only -- I think I've only made one start here when the roof was closed. It's definitely a little bit more steamy whenever the roof is closed, you don't have that breeze. I've kind of heard different things, maybe the ball flies a little bit better with it open, which I get, but I don't have a preference. Whatever our offense wants. The best offense in all of baseball, so whatever they want is fine with me.

Q. David, the first three times you faced them in the playoffs, you lost the bid in 2013, and then you got a victory. Does that give you any confidence facing this group? Because I remember the elation you showed after the win.?
DAVID PRICE: Well, that doesn't count for the playoffs but that's all right. In my last three times, I've thrown the ball extremely well against Texas, and all three times have been in Texas. I feel like I've pitched better in Texas at my home, my home park, whether it was with Tampa or -- I guess I didn't pitch against them in Detroit. They're always a tough team to pitch against. I'm going to carry the confidence over my last three starts against these guys and just go out there and make pitches.

Q. Maybe an obvious question but what makes this the best offense in baseball?
DAVID PRICE: Score the most runs. I'm pretty sure we lead in homers, maybe extra base hits. I don't know. I know we lead in homers and runs scored by quite a few. I mean, just one through nine, whenever you're a pitcher and you're facing this lineup, you never have an inning where you're like all right, I can relax just a little bit, because that's not the case. Obviously one through six, putting up the numbers that they have, you know, with Goins, Pillar, I don't even know, two of them might be in the 7 hole. He's our 7-hole hitter like he was in Tampa. That's tough.

Q. You pitched obviously pretty successful in front of some small crowds in Tampa. What impact, if at all, can a crowd and the noisy crowds that you have had here in Toronto have on you specifically as a pitcher?
DAVID PRICE: I really don't feel that fans understand how they can have their hand in sporting events, maybe more so in football whenever you're about to score on your opponent and you're going into the noisy section or the student section, whatever it is. Baseball's the same. It can turn 95 into 96. It can make that hitter get to that pitcher's pitch. It pumps you up. I mean, there's definitely, whenever you have that many fans and they're that loud, it's just that added element of -- I mean, everybody out there tomorrow's going to have adrenaline, but it will take it to that next level and it's a big factor.

Q. What motivates you?
DAVID PRICE: The game. I mean, same thing that motivates me every day. I want to go out there and I want to be the best. I know where my preparation is, I know where my work is. I just want to go out there and be the best.

Q. David, to what do you credit the reason that you're throwing so many more changeups this year?
DAVID PRICE: It's gotten better. I feel like changeup is -- that's the great equalizer to pitching. Anybody that has a really good changeup, you have a chance to be successful at this level. I mean, I feel like the definition of pitching is deceiving a hitter and you can't -- that's the pitch that comes out when you throw it right and you throw it with fastball intent, it looks just like a fastball. That was the pitch that always gave me troubles when whenever I was a kid, especially in high school those guys that had really good changeups, not so much the breaking balls but the changeups, for me that was the toughest ones to recognize.

Q. Just with the amount of time between your last start and this one, how has your preparation been different and your routine been different in terms of throwing bullpen sessions, things like that?
DAVID PRICE: It hasn't changed. I threw a lot of BP to Tulo and a couple other guys, Hague, got my other bullpen in, done my arm exercises. I kept it the same. If you can get these days off, I feel like at this point in the season, that's good. If you can come into the postseason with your body feeling the way I feel right now, that's a plus.

Q. David, forgive a light question, but what size is that shoe holding up the picture?
DAVID PRICE: The shoe's a 13 and a half, custom Jordan PE4. PE, I'm pretty sure that stands for Players Edition. I could be wrong but I could be right. It's my playoff cleat from Michael. So thanks, Mike.

Q. You guys are a really tight group right now. Are the young guys picking your brain and asking you questions about what to expect and what kind of tips you might have for them?
DAVID PRICE: No, they don't have to. I talk to them all the time. One thing I found, just don't let it change you. Go out there and do the same stuff you always do. Postseason baseball is definitely different but you have to go out there and treat it the same. So whenever you get caught up in this is the playoffs, this is the Postseason. You can kind of get overwhelmed with it. No matter how good you do on the field, it's not going to be good enough. You've got to go out there with the same mindset, treat it the same as every other game.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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