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AL DIVISION SERIES: INDIANS VS ASTROS

October 4, 2018

Corey Kluber

Houston, Texas - Workout Day

Q. When you look at the roster, what are some things as far as their hitters, what sticks out to you, and some thoughts about Alex Bregman?
COREY KLUBER: I think they're a good team top to bottom. I think they have a really deep lineup. Obviously, a solid offense overall. Bregman's had a great year. I think that he's -- from what I've seen, he's just continued to improve, and I think that's a good attribute for a player.

Q. Can you give us an idea the motivation you guys had -- you've had great teams the last couple years. You haven't been able to make that final step. Can you give us an idea just how much that motivates you this year?
COREY KLUBER: I would imagine that every team in the postseason right now is just as motivated as the next one. I think that -- I would think, if you ask the Astros, they're not any less motivated this year than they were last year. This is what we play for, to have a chance in the postseason and try to win a championship.

I think every time you get that opportunity, you embrace it and look forward to it, whether it's coming off a year where you won it all or you didn't.

Q. Do you get extra motivated when you come up with a big-time pitching matchup like you're having tomorrow?
COREY KLUBER: No. The way that I look at it is -- you know, it's Justin Verlander and myself, but in the end it's me pitching against their lineup and him pitching against our lineup. We're never going to truly face-off against each other in the game.

So I think that in the postseason, regardless of who you're facing, things are always magnified.

Q. Corey, you struggled a bit in the past in the postseason. This year does it feel like a clean slate, brand new for you, or do you really feel like you have to redeem yourself and remind everybody just how good you are?
COREY KLUBER: No, not at all. I think that whether a game I pitch or a month I have or a year I have is good or bad, the way I look at it is I'm looking forward to the next one. Not really -- like I said, not dwelling on previous outings or games, whether they're good or bad, I think it's focusing on your next opponent and preparing yourself to face them.

Q. You and Verlander were 1 and 2 in the American League in innings pitched, and there's so few of you guys where you get to 200 innings these days. Does that place added value on what you and him have done to put yourself in that position to give that kind of depth of innings and to be at this stage now?
COREY KLUBER: No, I think he'd probably answer the same way. I think it comes down to working between starts and preparing yourself and being ready to shoulder the load of taking the ball every fifth day and going out there and trying to log innings. It's not a goal I set for myself to pitch 200 innings, but I think it kind of comes hand in hand with the other more general goals of getting your work in every day, preparing yourself, and being ready when it's your turn to take the ball.

Q. Corey, when you break down a start, how important for you is to get through the first inning without damage? I mean, does that set the tone for the rest of your start?
COREY KLUBER: I think you want to get through every inning without damage. I think that, whether a team scores a run in the first inning or the ninth inning or the seventh inning, it's how many you add up at the end.

I think that a lot of times guys can maybe give up runs early on and they start trying to make up for it, and next thing you know it adds up to a few runs quicker than it should. But I think that each inning is separate from the other ones. It's only an inning, and you're trying to get three outs as fast as you can, hopefully without them scoring, and the next inning you start over and try to do it again.

Q. The Astros' lineup is tough from top to bottom. Do you have to prepare any different when you face the bottom of the lineup, when you have to come up against, like, Gurriel or Gonzalez or Tyler White?
COREY KLUBER: No. I think that regardless of who you're playing, you prepare for those nine hitters. The way I look at it, you don't prepare any less for a guy hitting eighth or ninth than a guy hitting first or second because there's no telling what the situation is going to be when any of those guys come up to the plate. You don't want to be unprepared just because a guy is at the bottom of the lineup and you're not ready to face him in a big spot.

I think, at least for me, I prepare for each one of them, 1 through 9, as well as the guys that might pinch-hit just so that, when it does come time to face them, you feel like you're as prepared and ready as possible.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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