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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: BLUE JAYS VS INDIANS

October 14, 2016

Josh Tomlin

Cleveland, Ohio - Pregame one

Q. How does getting bumped up kind of alter your routine and how do you adjust?
JOSH TOMLIN: It really doesn't affect me at all. It will be on my fifth day, I'll be on normal rest. When I found out I was going tomorrow, I stuck to the game plan that I was going to do Monday and go out there and compete and win a game.

Q. When did you find out you were going to start tomorrow?
JOSH TOMLIN: This morning.

Q. Who told you?
JOSH TOMLIN: I just got a text message from Mickey, he just wanted to let me know so I didn't come to the ballpark kind of blind today.

Q. Were you surprised?
JOSH TOMLIN: A little bit. I didn't know what was going on. When I got here I kind of found out. It's part of it. It's part of people being people and just living their normal, everyday lives, and accidents happen sometimes.

Q. Is this the first time you've ever had a start change because a teammate's suffered a drone-related injury?
JOSH TOMLIN: I think so. I don't know much about drones.

Q. You were fired up for possibly starting a Game 7. Now it looks like it will be Game 6. Just reflect on even that situation.
JOSH TOMLIN: What situation would that be?

Q. Game 6 possibly instead of Game 7.
JOSH TOMLIN: It's just another game. It's going to be four days and you pitch. It's just another start. You've got to prepare yourself, no matter what day you're pitching. So I don't think it really changes the fact that you're pitching Game 7 or Game 6. It's just now your day's lined up on Game 6 as opposed to Game 7. My job is still to go out there and compete and try to win a game.

Q. How can the environment you pitched in in Fenway kind of help you moving forward, the fact that you had that experience and kind of carry that through the rest of the playoffs?
JOSH TOMLIN: I think the more you get to experience something the more kind of relaxed and calm you are in that environment the next time you kind of get into that environment.

So to go into an environment like that and for us to win a game was pretty big. And now that I know kind of how the adrenaline feels, the nerves feel, hopefully you can harness that again whenever it's my time to pitch, and hopefully go out there and try to be successful.

Q. We'll see Corey Kluber tonight. What do you enjoy about watching him pitch when he's on, and what is it about his pitch mix that makes it so tough on hitters?
JOSH TOMLIN: I think just the movement on all his pitches. I think the most impressive thing is what he does in between starts, not just the day he pitches. Everybody kind of sees what he does on the mound. He's been pretty successful in his career. He's got unbelievable stuff. He knows how to use it. And the days leading up to his starts are pretty impressive. He's probably one of the more routine-oriented person I've ever seen in baseball. And he does things pretty -- basically the same way every single time. So he knows how his body is going to feel. And he works his butt off. So obviously he's prepared whenever he pitches.

Q. You've had one obstacle after another this year. Is this basically just another one, you kind of laugh it off that this is the way it's going to be this season?
JOSH TOMLIN: I guess so, yeah. You kind of have to. It's just that mindset of this isn't the first obstacle we've had to overcome. So face it head-on. And we've talked about it since day one of Spring Training, we're never going to back down from a challenge. This is another challenge for us to accept and move forward. The next guy that comes up has to step up and do their part and hopefully it's just a little bump in the road and we can continue to be successful.

Q. You pitched Monday at Fenway and you were scheduled to pitch Game 3 in another very loud, hostile environment in Toronto. Now you're going to get the opposite at home. How does that factor in, if at all, to your mindset going into the game?
JOSH TOMLIN: I'm not really sure because I didn't get to experience the other environment in Toronto. So it's obviously good to have your fans on your side whenever you're pitching. But I think you have to kind of tune the loudness, the being in another ballpark and knowing people are rooting against you, tune that out and try to execute a game plan and try not to let the outside noise really affect you, whether it's at home or on the road, it's still going to be a loud environment no matter where you're at. It's just one is rooting for you, one is rooting against you.

To me it's all relevant of the starting pitcher or anybody that's playing in that game, just try to tune it out as much as you can and just try to execute that day and try to be successful.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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