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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: BLUE JAYS VS INDIANS

October 19, 2016

Jason Grilli

Toronto, Ontario - Pregame 5, Canada

Q. Would you say that this has got to be one of the most exciting times for you in your career? It's got to be special for you, what you're living right now here?
JASON GRILLI: Yeah, I feel like a broken record when I say it, but happily say it, because as a young kid my dad brought me here, I lived in Syracuse, New York, and this was pretty much a stone's throw away to come up here and watch a Big League game. And at the time Syracuse was the Triple-A affiliate where my dad's career ended. And I got to see a lot of those guys in Triple-A come up here, too.

To see my adulthood meet up with my past is pretty special. I saw those two World Series teams and banners raised and to have a chance and opportunity to do it as a player, yeah, it's pretty special, for sure.

Q. Winning one game, I understand it's just one game, but psychologically, pressure-wise, did it change much in the environment of the clubhouse and what you feel?
JASON GRILLI: Well, I guess you could say like Opening Day, everybody wants to win on Opening Day, right? So this is kind of that feeling. You want to get that one win under your belt.

Obviously the position, would we like it to be a little bit different? Sure. But getting that first one under your belt let's you exhale and relax a little bit. It's not like we couldn't win a game, or didn't, we're playing some pretty good baseball, and so are they. The fight and the guys, we do believe we can do what we know we're capable of doing, that's why we're here in this position.

Q. Losing Benoit was a tough blow to your bullpen. Talk about how you've rallied without him?
JASON GRILLI: Yeah, everybody was excited when we got Benoit, and rightfully so. He was a huge addition. And it was a pretty big loss. And how it happened was a pretty silly way to lose one of our key elements. But not to take away from the guys that stepped up and the guys that have been doing things all year long here. Just given us an opportunity to do that and I talk about two huge keys guys in that bullpen, is Biagini and Osuna. They've taken such a huge workload.

I'm just proud of every guy that's not even here today. There's a lot of faces and people who come here that may get injured, transaction-wise, that have pitched in the game or a key moment that we're all here in this position right now.

That's my platoon down there and I can't give enough kudos to those guys who have done the job and people that have stepped up and carrying it. And I think more talk has been about their bullpen than ours, that's okay. I'd rather not have the limelight and spotlight on us, because we know what we're capable of, and I think we've done a fine job.

Q. You've seen what Osuna has done in terms of the multi-innings he gave you. What have you seen in terms of his growth and what he's become here and the stage that he's on?
JASON GRILLI: Well, he's not done growing up, and he's doing pretty damn good. That's a special, special arm, special talent. And I think everybody knows, just staying healthy is the key to anybody's long-term longevity and success. And he's had it.

And I'm most impressed not just with him but all these young guys that come up on a good organization, winning team, and be in this position and stepping up to the limelight and doing the job. There's not too many 21-, 22-, 23-year-olds that you can sit and say, wow, anybody on any team. This is the moment that guys play their whole careers and never get to this chance. And that's why having the key moment or living in the moment and doing the job that you've done all year to get to this point it's pretty impressive to see that everybody is relishing the moment to take the ball or be in a position to drive and run or what have you.

It's awesome to see. And Osuna has been more than impressive, for sure.

Q. What kind of advice have you given Biagini and Osuna to pitching in the postseason?
JASON GRILLI: We've got everything to gain and nothing to lose. We've already won in the sense that you guys -- we can cross-section parts of the season, we can cross-section games, series, whatever. The whole thing is to just win.

And I think guys in uniform, we handle stress pretty damn well, that's why we're wearing them. And to break it down, we have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Obviously there's a lot on the line but I think when you play relaxed like that good things happen.

Q. Why are you so confident in your team to come back?
JASON GRILLI: Why should I not be confident in my team? I guess that's a question that I could throw back to you. You look around that room, there's a lot of good talent, a lot of good players. We're human, too. We make mistakes, like everybody else. We like beer and pizza like everybody else.

And I'm pretty confident because, like I said, there's -- when our backs are up against the wall, even in the regular season, those last two, two and a half weeks, I think everybody saw what we were made of. Did we expect that to happen? No. But I think we have one of the toughest divisions in baseball. This is my first go-around with it. You'll see star-studded pitchers and guys have less success in this division than they do if they go in some other ones. I guess that's why I'm confident, because I know the guys that are in there have withstood that and that's why we're here again today.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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