AL DIVISION SERIES: ASTROS VS WHITE SOX

October 6, 2021

Lance McCullers

Minute Maid Park

Houston Astros

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Lance, you've been in the last few years in the playoffs some rotations with big names, Verlander, Cole, Greinke, all of those guys. To get the ball first and be finally the guy, what is that like, and how much are you looking forward to that responsibility?

LANCE McCULLERS JR.: I'm not putting too much stock in it. I feel like I have had a nice season, the team and organization, Dusty, they recognize that to give me the ball Game 1, which I'm very excited about. At the same time, I'm going to go out there and just be myself.

I feel like what I bring to the table, I have the ability to pitch with anyone. I'm excited to just get out there and give my best effort for the guys.

Q. Lance, obviously, you were drafted by this team and you've been through so much. You couldn't even answer one question. But I wondering, you've always been such a big proponent of the Astros and Houston. The fans have always backed you. You've always had such close ties to this organization. How do you describe that this is an organization that you've really, really, even when they've been attacked from the outside, you've always gone out of your way to stand up for them?

LANCE McCULLERS JR.: I just feel a very deep connection here in Houston. It's hard to explain. I feel like this is where I'm supposed to be. I love the city. I love the people. That's from my heart. I moved here in 2016. I was barely even beyond my rookie season. My wife and I packed up, and we came straight here, and this is our home.

This organization, this city, it means a lot to me and my family. They've always treated me with a lot of love and respect, so I always try to give that back.

Q. Carlos said yesterday you're their ace. That's what aces do. They take the ball in Game 1. You're a monster come playoff time. What do you think about that coming from Carlos?

LANCE McCULLERS JR.: I appreciate that. He's my guy. He's the true monster when it comes to playoff time. I try to do my best to keep up with him.

Like I said, I'm very excited to be the guy that gets to open the playoffs for our team. We came into Spring Training. This was our goal. Our goal was to win the West, and our goal was to go on to the Division Series. Step one is kind of we checked the box, which is win our division. Now we have to take care of business against a very, very good team who won their division.

But it means a lot to me that the guys in our club house, that they trust in me. There's a lot of mutual respect that goes both ways with all the guys. We have a very close, family oriented locker room. So it means a lot when guys say things like that, especially coming from someone like Carlos.

Q. Lance, Jimenez and Robert weren't in the lineup when you guys faced them in the regular season. What does adding those two guys bring -- how different is their lineup now versus what you saw in the regular season?

LANCE McCULLERS JR.: I don't know. Like I said, I feel like I can pitch against anyone, pitch against anybody. They're great players, so we'll have to find a game plan. It's about execution. If I execute my game plan, if I'm throwing the ball where I want to throw the ball, I feel just fine. They're very good players. They weren't there the first couple times.

Actually, the guys that were playing for them, I've had trouble with in the past. So we'll see how it goes, but I feel good about it.

Q. Lance, how much different do you think the playoffs will be this year being able to play at home again and play in front of fans?

LANCE McCULLERS JR.: This year has been refreshing, just having fans, our fans in the ballpark. It was tough last year. It was very odd, I would say. The short season with the big break in the middle of the summer and then no fans and that kind of situation. So I'll be very happy to -- this was kind of the moment that I've been waiting for coming back from the rehab and all that stuff, just being able to really have

Minute Maid full of electricity because this place gets rocking.

I'll have my family here as well. So it's going to be a great series. Just being home, I think it's going to be really cool. I'm very happy that we have home field, and hopefully we don't get to that fifth game, but if we do, then our fans get to see one more.

Q. White Sox do they have a little bit of playoff experience, totally different from last year, to just kind of follow up on that. How much advantage do you guys have over them when it gets into these playoff type games?

LANCE McCULLERS JR.: I don't know. I think everyone reacts to postseason different. I think you seen guys, I think of Arozarena, when you see guys in their first postseason ever and they absolutely embrace it and then take off. Guys have been in the postseason a lot, and they always play their best. So it really just depends on how the guys are going to react to that atmosphere.

We have some first season postseason guys in our club as well, but I'm looking forward to seeing those guys do their first postseason. Everyone is going to respond extremely well.

At the end of the day, we have to play our best baseball. We have to pitch. We have to hit. We have to play defense, and we have to do all the things right. I think we have a team that does that. That feels like a very generic answer, but it's true. The team that does the things the best are going to win because this is a very good team we're playing against. We just have to focus on our game and not worry too much about the postseason or the outside expectations. Focus on what we have to take care of right now, which is winning every inning.

Q. You guys have been here before, as you said. There are some people who have not. Can you just talk about where this team is mentally and how you're approaching it, how do you feel about the whole team?

LANCE McCULLERS JR.: We're very excited. Like I said, when you get to the postseason, it's a reward. You come into camp, your goal is to get to the postseason. You win your division and do all these things. You know how hard it's going to be. You know the grind that it's going to take, especially with our schedule and how much we have to travel and all of that stuff.

So when you get to the postseason, when you accomplish that first goal, this is like your reward. You get to go out there, and you get to play October baseball. There's only a handful of teams left. All the eyes are on you, but a lot of people play this game for a long time and never get to taste the postseason. A lot of people would do a lot and give a lot to be able to pitch in a postseason game, win their division, do things of that nature.

So this is a privilege to be here. We're excited to be here. Like I said, we're going to focus on one game at a time. Can't make plans for the end of October before you take care of right now. So that's where our focus lies, but we're excited.

Q. Lance, I was looking at some numbers that basically have you guys and I guess the Cardinals like in a class of your own defensively, basically the two best defensive teams in the game. How important is that going to be how comfortable do you feel with a defense like that behind you?

LANCE McCULLERS JR.: That's part of our brand. That's what I was kind of getting at earlier. I know heading down the stretch we were leading the league in defensive percentage. I don't know where that ended up. We have a great defense. We have a lot of players who are super good at what they do.

Also we have a great analytics staff. We have to shout out to those guys as well. They put a lot of work in understanding the game, trying to figure out where the best place is to play these guys. They have the opportunity to make plays. I think, at the end of the day, it comes down to those guys out there making them.

But we have extremely good defense. I think that bodes well for us. We have a great offense as well, and we have a great pitching staff. So all three of those aspects just need to show up and do what we've been doing all year.

Q. Lance, there are a few guys who were here in '15, the first year you guys made the playoffs again. What does it mean to have the consistency, but also know the opportunity that October presents to you and Carlos and Jose and those few people who were here when this all started?

LANCE McCULLERS JR.: Like I said, it's just a privilege to be able to play October baseball. My father played many years in this game, seven, eight years. I know guys who go their whole careers and never get to a postseason in general. So being able to be here, I don't know, my fifth, maybe sixth time, it's a blessing.

Being able to look around the locker room and see those faces that kind of broke through and did it for the first time in ten years, bringing postseason baseball back to Houston, it's really cool and special to see those guys here because, at the end of the day, I really do feel like Houston is a baseball city. I feel like they love baseball, and we get to give them that joy.

Q. You and Maldonado have formed like an obvious rapport the last few years. What is it about throwing to him specifically that has kind of made this partnership work for you guys?

LANCE McCULLERS JR.: Actually in 2017, we were playing the Angels, A.J. was here. I watched Maldy catch, and I've always been nudging A.J., we've got to get that guy. We've got to trade for that guy. I just love the way he plays. I just feel like he's an animal out there. His demeanor, it goes a long way.

That's something I've been saying. It's like nothing -- you cannot replace what a guy like Maldy brings to the table. It's not going to show up in the stat sheets. It's not going to show up on the back of a baseball card. There's no metric really to show how valuable he is, but he's the glue of our team. He's one of the main leaders of our club house, and his preparation is unmatched. His want and will to win, you can feel it, and I can feel it when I'm on the mound. It brings the best out of me as well.

Maldy is a guy that I've been super blessed -- when Jason Castro was still here, he was my rookie catcher, and I've been so blessed to throw to guys like Castro, Hank Conger, Max Stassi, Brian McCann, and now Martin Maldonado. I've been blessed with a lot of great catchers, but what Maldy does, he has this aura around him. He's a special guy to have as your back stop, and he brings a lot to this team.

Q. Lance, how much does past performance mean for you given how well you've pitched against the White Sox in the regular season?

LANCE McCULLERS JR.: I think, when you get to the postseason, a lot of that is thrown out the window. Yes, I pitched a lot of innings against them this year, but at the same time, they have seen me a few times. They're going to make adjustments. We're going to try to make adjustments. I feel like my stuff plays. I just have to go out there and be aggressive and stay on the attack. At the end of the day, it's just about who's better.

That's kind of the beauty of postseason baseball. You have so many games against the same team, and a lot of times you face those teams multiple times. You really truly always get the team that is just the better of the two that comes out of the series, which is exciting.

I have to go out there and just continue being who I've been this season. I feel like I've added a lot of different layers to my game as far as pitching goes. Physically and mentally, I feel like I'm probably in the best spot I've been. So I just want to go out there and put my best foot forward.

Q. Career high in games started, innings. Do you feel as sharp and as fresh as you expect to after all that coming in?

LANCE McCULLERS JR.: Yeah, honestly, I don't think anyone's going to be a hundred. That's given. But a lot of that comes into you've got to dig deep in these moments, and you've got to bring the best out of yourself and best out of your team. I feel really good. I threw a really good bullpen this week. I am playing a lot of really good catch. September was good for me. I felt like I had some rest days as well kind of built in for a period of time there.

In August and early September, there wasn't a lot of rest. We had the six-man rotation going. We had some off days. With the lead we had, even though Seattle had a great run and they were kind of chasing us down there at the end, it kind of worked out in a way where we were able to get some rest when we needed it. Some of the guys on the team, player wise, were able to get some rest as well.

I think everyone feels as good as they can feel at this point in the year.