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AL DIVISION SERIES: TWINS VS YANKEES

October 3, 2019

James Paxton

New York, New York - Workout Day

Q. James, what does it mean to you that they're giving you the ball in Game 1 of the ALDS?
JAMES PAXTON: I'm excited. It's going to be awesome. I'm really honored to get this opportunity to pitch Game 1. It's going to be great.

Q. This is going to be your first playoff experience. Who are you going to talk to? What are you going to draw on to kind of get ready for that?
JAMES PAXTON: Luckily, a lot of players have had experience in the postseason. I've been talking to teammates and asking them what it's like, what it's like to pitch in the postseason. I've been watching the past two Wild Card games. I'm going to watch the games tonight just to watch what happens and kind of feel that emotion and try and learn something from those games.

Q. James, you were in a team that notoriously didn't make the playoffs for a very long time. We know that Felix spent 14 seasons there without ever pitching in the playoffs. You have a singular perspective about what it's like, this opportunity? What does this really mean to you in terms of spending your entire career with another team who never did that?
JAMES PAXTON: Yeah, I feel very fortunate to be here. This is a team that commits itself to winning and making it to the postseason every year. That's a dream for all baseball players when we're young, is to pitch in the postseason, pitch in the World Series. That's what we're all dreaming of. To get the opportunity and the chance to go out there and do this, I feel pretty lucky.

Q. James, first of all, how's the glute?
JAMES PAXTON: It's good. It will be a nonissue.

Q. Secondly, you talked about watching these games this week. Have you watched much postseason action in the past?
JAMES PAXTON: At times. I haven't watched it as closely just because, when you're out of it, you don't really feel like watching more baseball. You've watched 162. It's kind of like, all right, move on a little bit. Plus, it hurts a little bit to watch the teams play that are there.

But going into it, these past two games, I've just kind of watched how the starting pitchers have handled the games and just the crazy things that can happen in postseason games. That first Wild Card game, the Nationals were down the whole time and then had a chance to come back and win the game.

Last night, Charlie Morton, watching him, he didn't have his best location, he was kind of scuffling early, but he battled and stayed with it and got the job done. You can learn things from stuff like that.

Q. James, it seemed like, when you first came over here, it was a little bit of an adjustment process earlier in the season, like it would be for any new player coming over. How long did it take for you to actually consider this as home for you, Yankee Stadium, and pitching in the Bronx, until you felt comfortable and felt you could be the pitcher you knew you could be?
JAMES PAXTON: The first half of the season was tough, just kind of navigating myself and pitching here. It is different. It's not easy, and it took some work. I feel like in the second half, I started to get my feet under me and kind of get a good mental process going into games, and started to feel a lot more comfortable here.

Q. Did it become a strength for you pitching in this building, with the crowds they get every night and that sort of thing?
JAMES PAXTON: I don't really think about that much, but I definitely do feel comfortable pitching in Yankee Stadium.

Q. We know starting pitchers are such creatures of habit. When did Aaron Boone let you know you'd be getting the Game 1 start, and what's your routine been like as you're preparing for tomorrow's start?
JAMES PAXTON: He told me yesterday, got the official word, but I've been kind of preparing -- like, he told all of us to prepare like it could be us that first game. So I threw my bullpen on Tuesday like I normally would for a Friday start. I've been doing all my routine, getting ready like it's Friday. So getting that word, stayed in my routine, and I'm ready to go.

Q. James, for a good portion of the season, the first inning seemed to give you some troubles. What have you been able to do to kind of correct that, and what will you be focusing on tomorrow with the different atmosphere?
JAMES PAXTON: Yeah, I threw a few more pitches in the bullpen second half of the season there. I forget exactly when I started doing that, but I just threw an extra 10, 12 pitches, had our bullpen catcher, Rad, stand up there and act as a hitter so I could kind of get the first few hitters out of the way in the bullpen just so to try and sharpen myself up, and that seemed to help a little bit. And also trying to be really aggressive from pitch one.

Q. James, the Twins obviously have a lot of power in their lineup, over 300 home runs. What's the biggest challenge of facing a lineup that has that much power up and down, and specifically those guys in the middle with Kepler and Cruz?
JAMES PAXTON: Executing pitches. That's what it's all about. It's staying out of the middle of the plate. If you make a mistake with a team like that, with 300 plus home runs, as you said, that just says they don't miss them. They don't make mistakes. They do hit good pitches here and there. There's nothing I can do about that. I just need to limit the mistakes to try and limit the damage.

Q. Considering it's the playoffs and considering the bullpen you guys have, do you expect to work with a shorter leash, and does that factor into how you pitch, how you start a game?
JAMES PAXTON: No. I'm going to do what I do. I'm going to go as hard as I can for as long as I can, and when they take the ball away, they take the ball away. I've watched postseason games before, and it does seem like the leash is shorter, especially with the bullpen that we have, but I'm not going to concern myself with that. That's the manager's job, pitching coach's job. I'm going to go out there and try do my job.

Q. How much of a turning point was your start in late July against the Red Sox? You've talked about how they sat fastball, adjusted to cutter, didn't really look for the curveball. They end up with four homers in that game. You really incorporated the curveball after that. How much was that a turning point, and why did that work so well?
JAMES PAXTON: Yeah, I think that incorporating the curveball is really important because it's just a change of speeds. When I throw the fastball at, say, 94 to 96, and then I throw the cutter at 88 to 91, they can kind of stay looking hard and just pull the cutter and run into it almost by accident sometimes. Whereas, if I throw the curveball at 80, 83, something like that, it will get them out front, and they won't be able to cover two pitches with the same swing.

Q. Going with that, your confidence in your curveball seemed to grow in the second half. Was that the turning point, or is there something that let you buy in to having a better mix of pitches in the second half for you?
JAMES PAXTON: Yeah, I think that after seeing how the cutter was getting hit, we decided to mix in the curveball more, and as I threw the curveball more, I got more and more confident with that pitch, and the usage kind of went up from there.

Q. James, obviously, the weather changing might have an impact on the game. Do you prepare differently when you're out there? Does the cold impact you when you're pitching out there with a difference of 40 degrees from one day to the next here?
JAMES PAXTON: No, I won't be concerned about the weather. I'll be ready no matter what. I love pitching in any kind of weather.

Q. James, you were talking about how you waited for this moment, right? Like, this is the dream. Who did you call first? Who did you share that moment of you will be the Game 1 starter for the New York Yankees?
JAMES PAXTON: I'm trying to think of who I called first. My wife was right up there. She was one of the first. My parents and my brother and my two best friends, I called them.

Q. What did they say?
JAMES PAXTON: They were just really excited for me, super proud, super happy, and fired up to watch me pitch that Game 1. I think they've all been watching me for a long time, had my back, and just really proud of the hard work that I put in to get here. I feel very blessed to be where I am.

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