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NL DIVISION SERIES: ROCKIES VS BREWERS

October 4, 2018

Tyler Anderson

Milwaukee, Wisconsin - pregame 1

Q. Late August, early September struggles, but closed the regular season with three straight quality starts, including the seven shutout innings in the season finale for you. What was the difference in those final three starts for you?
TYLER ANDERSON: You know, those three starts down the stretch, it just came down to execution, and then that September, those struggles that I went through, execution was not there, and I went through fatigue or whatever set in. And I started feeling better and making more pitches. During that stretch, it was just a lot of pitches in the middle. In this game, you get hurt with that, so just better pitches down the end.

Q. We talked to you a little bit about this, but was there ever a point during the rough stretch that you ever lost any faith that you would get back what brought you to be on the NLDS roster and pitching this game?
TYLER ANDERSON: No, you know, I went through some struggles, but everyone does at some point or another. And for me, throughout my career, I've just struggled with injury so much, that during that month I was pitching really bad, but I was just happy that I was healthy, and I knew if I felt good and I stayed healthy and strong, I could find a way to fix it. So for me, as long as I'm feeling good, I'm okay with that.

Q. You corrected some things before the last start and also got some soreness out of the shoulder, went seven and two thirds innings. In the time between then and now, how did the shoulder feel and where are you now health wise?
TYLER ANDERSON: Yeah, I was able to bounce back from some fatigue and some soreness that set it. It kind of locked me up, but I was able to bounce back and feel really good going into last Sunday. And since then, I've felt great, too, so I feel in a good spot.

Q. You haven't started a postseason game, but you did come out of the bullpen last year in Arizona. How do you think that experience helped you going into tomorrow's game?
TYLER ANDERSON: You know, I didn't throw a lot in that game last year, only threw one inning, but it's just good to pitch in that environment. Really I think in our division, we pitch in a lot of places, like pitching in LA, you know, on some big games, or San Fran at times can get packed out. It's just being able to control your nerves and stay calm and trust your ability and make pitches and stick to your game plan, I think, so it'll help with that.

Q. A few years back in this theater at Spring Training, Jeff Bryce held a meeting with a lot of the young pitchers, basically saying you guys are the ones we're depending on to get us where we want to go. He didn't want you guys thinking at some point when you got decent, he would go out and get a high-priced guy.
What did that mean to you that particular day, and did it kind of register with you guys like, hey, we are good enough to get this done?

TYLER ANDERSON: Yeah, that's one thing that Bridich and our entire farm system throughout has done a good job instilling belief in pitchers that we have some tough yards to pitch and with Albuquerque, too, and some other places that you're going to compete and that's what we're going to do no matter what is we're going to compete and he has faith in our guys coming up, and they did a great job of drafting a lot of guys, trading for some guys that have the mentality and the makeup that he wants. So for us, we all believe in each other. We are young. We have great friendships. We get along well, and we just like to push each other.

Q. Piggy-backing on Thomas's question, Jeff and Bud Black both said that one thing that makes this pitching staff unique is you guys are very supportive of each other and pretty tight, yet you really push each other.
Can you just describe a little bit about the, I guess, friendly competition that has helped this staff evolve into what it is?

TYLER ANDERSON: Yeah, you know, with the staff, everyone, we're pretty close to the same ages. I think I'm the old guy actually. But everyone is pretty young, and we just have played together for a while now. Everyone wants everyone to do well. You want everyone to be at their best, and it's always great to go out and see our guys -- you see someone dominate, you just feed off it and the energy. And you're so happy for them that you want to go out and do the same and keep it going for everybody else. Even for the position players, everyone is great too so you want to do well for them.

Q. The Brewers are starting a relief pitcher. As you know, today, the A's started one last night. Obviously the Rays did it a million times during the summer. As a starting pitcher, are you kind of offended that starting pitching is getting devalued the way it is?
TYLER ANDERSON: No. You know, people have different ways to try to win. So in my opinion, I think if someone is going to do something outside of the box because they think it gives them a good chance, then that's great because we're going to do everything we can to win, too.

If they want to throw a reliever every inning or every out or go through a ton of guys, that's fine, but everybody has their own way of doing it, and it's just interesting to see in baseball, the evolution that it's taking in general.

Q. We've come to know Bud Black as a kind of pitching guru. What has your relationship been like with him, how has he developed, and what does it mean he's going to hand you the ball tomorrow?
TYLER ANDERSON: It means a lot. Buddy is a great guy. He's an awesome manager and a good human being. He's just really good at relating to players, and especially for starters and pitchers in general. He did it for so long.

So whenever you struggle, you're doing well. If something is going on, he has a good way to relate to you. So just for him to have faith in me or any of us is great.

Q. I know you're not going to give away the game plan or anything, but we know the Brewers are an incredibly hot offensive team right now in their home ballpark. Yelich is on an incredible roll.
Can you just discuss a little bit the challenge that you're going to be facing tomorrow facing this Brewers' lineup in this ballpark?

TYLER ANDERSON: Yeah. This team right now is hot. They have a good lineup. They've been good all year. Obviously that's how they're in this position.

They have a lot of dangerous hitters. They have a lot of power, a lot of guys that can hit the ball out of the yard. With any lineup like that, obviously the game plan is to try to limit that power as much as you can.

Q. What does it mean for you to be getting a chance to start in your first postseason game because some guys didn't get the nod and you're on the final list getting your first start?
TYLER ANDERSON: For me, it's a great honor. I'm excited. My whole life I've wanted to be a big league pitcher. And then on top of that, when you get to the big leagues, you want to win a World Series. That is your dream. You go in the backyard, as a kid, you're not dreaming of pitching a game in May at home. You're thinking of pitching a game in the World Series.

For us, this is a game that -- a series for most of the guys on this team, it's a first opportunity for us. I'm just excited to be a part of it in general.

Q. Kind of going back in the minors when you were struggling with the various injuries, were you ever discouraged about it, or did the organization actually come and say, hey, listen, just hang in there? How did you get through that period to get to where you are now?
TYLER ANDERSON: Yeah. You know, a lot of injuries came up, and our organization has been great throughout the entire process. With every injury I've had, our medical staff has been there with everything from our trainers to everybody along the way to help me make sure I've been healthy and get back.

And even throughout that process, the entire organization just having faith in me to get healthy and get back and just saying, hey, you know, your health is the number one thing, and really preaching that, and giving me an opportunity.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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