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AL DIVISION SERIES: BLUE JAYS VS RANGERS

October 7, 2016

Arlington, Texas - Postgame two

TORONTO - 5, TEXAS - 3

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Troy Tulowitzki and Kevin Pillar.

Q. Troy, seeing Darvish for the first time and having some success, what's your approach against a guy like that?
TROY TULOWITZKI: We all know how talented he is. Actually got to face him in an All-Star Game, that was my only time. So a little bit of history. Saw him there. He's got good stuff. You see all those strikeouts. He got behind 2-0, threw a fastball, put a nice swing on it. It was nice to get on top of him early especially on the road.

Q. Kevin, this is obviously a good club you guys have. You wouldn't be here if you weren't. The last week, these last five wins, are you riding a surge of energy or emotion to put you in this spot?
KEVIN PILLAR: I think what we went through early in September, we didn't have a choice. Our back was against the wall. We had to win some games and we played a lot of meaningful games down the stretch.

And it's paying off for us. We know what it's like to play must-win games. And we were able to be successful in those. And we're just riding that high right now.

Q. Kevin, the ball that you hit out was pretty elevated. Were you looking for a pitch up there or were you just reacting?
KEVIN PILLAR: Just reacting. I felt like I've gotten good pitches to hit this whole series. Haven't been able to get any hits. I just stayed aggressive. I was also in a good count, too. Felt like I was going to get a fastball and put a good swing on it.

Q. Both of you guys talk about what the last year and a half has been like since, just to put -- all these guys come together and you've seen it come together like a new team. I think you got the third best record in the majors since the trades. What's it been like for you and for you to watch it be a part of it?
TROY TULOWITZKI: I think it's been a little bit different for probably both of us. I came over last year. Kevin's seen this thing develop a little bit more. Seen some of the additions. But for myself, I came over and it was a different situation for me in Colorado.

I was a guy and everybody came to me for questions, and I had to help a whole bunch of young guys throughout all the years. And come here and I'm playing with a lot of veteran ball players, some guys with a lot of numbers on the back of their baseball card. But one thing we all have in common is we look forward to winning each and every day. And that makes it fun.

But Kevin, I'm sure, has seen a little bit differently but it's definitely been fun taking the field with these guys.

KEVIN PILLAR: I've been here for four years and winning wasn't something that was synonymous with the Blue Jays. We were kind of the door mat of the AL East. And in the offseason last year, they went out and got some really, really good players and ultra-competitive guys and that kind of just changed the culture.

And moving forward to the All-Star break, being able to get a guy like Tulowitzki and David Price and LaTroy Hawkins, we felt we had something special there.

And it was just a major turnaround from just going around and playing and seeing what happened to expecting to win every day. And that's a testament to this guy, to Donaldson, to Russ and guys that have been here for a while like Eddie and Jose. They've always been very good players on a bad team.

And they're finally surrounded by a cast that we expect to go out and win every day. And it's just been a lot of fun.

Q. There's been no incidents in the first two games, but you guys came in here and took care of business. Do you feel like in any way that was -- you guys made a statement by coming in here and winning these games?
KEVIN PILLAR: That's what we had in mind. We came here to play baseball. We came here to get some wins and we took care of business. That's what we expected. I'm sure that's what they expected. You don't work this hard for 162 games to put yourself in this position to go out and not just take care of business and play baseball.

Q. Troy, when you go up against a guy like Darvish who has such a wide variety of pitches, what are you isolating on, or are you isolating on a particular pitch?
TROY TULOWITZKI: I think we knew we had our hands full. I keep on saying he's one of the best in the game. Just try to get in good counts, and honestly for me it's just being competitive, compete. That's when I'm at my best. So I don't think about anything else really other than competing, trying to help our team win games, keep on bringing it back to that, how can I help us win.

Q. You guys came down here and took care of business. Do you think part of this is your experience from last year and how good do you feel about these were two -- today was a real grind-it-out game to win?
TROY TULOWITZKI: Yeah, we're definitely battle tested. We've been through a lot. Last year, losing to Kansas City in the ALCS was tough. Came to Spring Training with some goals on our mind. But you definitely -- that experience is special. I think you look at Kansas City the year before, they lost in the playoffs and then they won the World Series.

So these guys learned a lot. I learned a lot. I think each and every Postseason that you get there and the further that you make it, the more composed you are in games like today. I think Osuna is a better pitcher suited for today than he was last year in the Postseason. Experienced players, there's something to be said about that.

KEVIN PILLAR: I don't think you can -- I don't think you can -- you can't get the what the playoff's like unless you've been there. For myself, a lot of my teammates it was the first time in the Postseason. Although we were somewhat successful we were experiencing a lot of the things for the first time. Being here now, it's easy to remain calm and understand. It's a five-game series. You lose a game, it's not the end of the world.

But you just go out there and compete and you try to play the same way you've done all year. We try to have fun. We try to stay loose. We play aggressive. We don't look over our shoulder. And I think a lot of that has to do with experiencing it for the first time last year.

Q. Some of the going-into-the-park thinking you're going to win every day would go along with the depth of your rotation. Seems like maybe you didn't bring back Price, but every day it seems like you've got a good chance to win with your starter.
KEVIN PILLAR: No doubt. Our team this year, a little bit different than last year, where we kind of just outslugged some teams. We still have the ability to do that, but we understand that if we're able to push a couple of runs across, our starting pitching is so good, it's so deep and our bullpen is really good; we can win games in a variety of different ways.

Having five very good starters, four now in the Postseason, it definitely allows you to feel like you've got a very good chance to win every day you come to the yard.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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