AL WILD CARD SERIES: MARINERS VS BLUE JAYS

October 8, 2022

Scott Servais

Rogers Centre

Seattle Mariners

Postgame Press Conference

Seattle Mariners - 10, Toronto Blue Jays - 9

THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up for Scott Servais.

Q. Down 8-1. What's going through your head at that point?

SCOTT SERVAIS: It's not the way we drew it out tonight coming into the game. Certainly knew it was going to be a challenge for Robbie against that right-handed hitting lineup. They've got some kind of power.

I thought coming out of the chute Robbie had really good stuff the first inning. Probably all the guys in their lineup to worry about, I was worried about Teoscar Hernández today. That was the one I was scared about. He did what he does.

Robbie wasn't quite able to get as deep as we had hoped, but then you kind of go bullpen and try to match up best you can. We put ourselves in a position that if we got a couple of big hits, we would have a chance at the end of the game.

I really think the biggest hit tonight was the three-run homer that Carlos Santana hit off Mayza. That gave us a chance. We're down 8-1, it's a three-run homer, it's 8-4. I'm starting to think, okay, maybe if we could put some zeros up and slow down their offense, we would have a chance to get back in it.

It's tough to come back. It's tough to come back in the playoffs against that team in this building. We were up against it, but credit to our players.

We don't quit. We haven't quit all year. There's a certain resolve that our group has. They just believe in each other. We talked about it coming into this series. We were going to have difficult moments. We knew that. That's what happens when you play on the road in big games.

We were up against it tonight, but great games by a lot of our guys. I think the biggest thing for me is that we didn't try to do too much. We just tried to keep the line moving is a common phrase we use around our club.

When you do that, you just focus on doing the little things. How do I get on base? How do I get a hit? All of a sudden we caught a break when J.P. hit the soft liner, the bloop into center. Three-run score. You look up, we had tied the game.

Luckily, we had an inning on Muñoz to go, and then we had a young stud at the back of it, George Kirby, who had never pitched out of the bullpen before. I figured he would step up, the adrenaline would be going. He did a great job.

Heck of a win and really happy to have the opportunity to bring a playoff game back home to Seattle. It has been a long time. Our fan base is certainly deserving of it.

Q. Like you said, you ended the drought. This is twice in eight days you've had this bubbly soak celebration. This is a game that you just don't see very often. When did it turn for you?

SCOTT SERVAIS: I think when Santana hit the home run. I thought we had a chance, okay, to get back into the game, but you have to throw zeros up. You need bullpen guys to step up.

When we were down, it was kind of mapped out ahead of time, if we did get down, let's throw Sewald, let's throw Diego Castillo and see if we can keep it right there. And then Paul had a rough outing tonight. Very uncharacteristic of him.

But the other guys behind him picked him up to give us a chance. Festa got us in some big outs. Penn Murfee did a nice job to give us a chance. Then Muñoz dug deep. He threw a lot of pitches last night. They made him work tonight.

It wasn't easy, but the 8th inning I thought was key. We had to shut them down at the top of their lineup in the 8th. We were able to do it.

Q. How key was it once you guys got Gausman out of there? Obviously, that splitty was very nasty, hard to pick up with his arm action and all that. Can you talk about the quality of at-bats after he left.

SCOTT SERVAIS: Gausman was on top of his game tonight, no question. We knew it was going to be tough coming in with all the splits he throws. Our hitters can't identify it. It looks just like his fastball. It's dropping off the table. He had a really good fastball tonight on top of that. When we got him out of the game, like I said, it kind of shifted when Carlos came through with the big home run.

The at-bats after that, a ton of credit to our guys. Just taking a single, taking a walk, doing what you can, hoping that somebody could find a hole.

Like I said, J.P., you need a little luck along the way. Let's be real. You're down 8-1. You need a few things to go your way, and we got a big break tonight when that ball fell in front of Springer. I hope he's okay. George is a great player. Seen him for years in Houston and competed against him.

Tonight is about our guys and the resolve and just the determination they have. It goes back to -- I often talk about it. In professional sports you really don't oftentimes have the bond that our players have. I said it in spring training. I've said it throughout the season. Our team has a feel of almost like an amateur or college team.

We just play. We enjoy each other. We have fun. We keep it loose on the bench, and it didn't stop when we were down 8-1. Let's go. Let's get the line moving and see what happens, and our guys did it.

Q. You talked about having that hitters meeting at the midway point of the season, and after that, of course, you had the scuffle in Anaheim and how that galvanized you guys a little bit. Really, when you look back at mid-June to now, how much has that clubhouse changed, and how have they changed?

SCOTT SERVAIS: Well, I think you find out a lot. I use the phrase or whatever, you know, that adversity does not build character; it reveals it. People look at me when I say it. Oh, yeah, we're tough. We can grind our way through this, but it really reveals it.

When you're 10 games below .500, and you're having a meeting and you're getting guys to talk and open up about where they're at, you find out what kind of character you have in the room.

In that meeting in that day I said, wow, we have more in here than I thought as far as the character of our group. From Geno to Julio to Haniger to Carlos Santana at the time joining to Fraz to J.P., the guys are just -- they buy in. They buy into each other and what we're doing and why we do it.

Love managing this group. It's a fun group to be around, and they keep me on my toes. They don't have a problem giving me a hard time either.

Q. I'm sorry if you answered this already. What does it mean for you, the team, and really the city and region to get a chance, you know you are going to play a home playoff game, especially with some of the crowds that we've seen with these games that really matter?

SCOTT SERVAIS: It means the world to me. I think when I took this job seven years ago, you hope you get to the point that you get in the playoffs and host a playoff game. Obviously, we weren't able to host this series.

To have an opportunity to play in front of all the fans in the Pacific Northwest and how long they've been -- they're starving for this.

I will say tonight the Mariners fans that were in the crowd tonight, I never thought I would see the day playing in Toronto when I heard "Let's go, Mariners" because so many times when we play the Blue Jays in our place, we hear "Let's go, Blue Jays." When I heard that after we tied the game, I was, like, whoa, this may happen tonight. It was pretty awesome.

Credit to all the fans here, Mariners fans that stuck in there, kept cheering. They were behind us, and they've been behind it all year. We appreciate it.

Q. I know you're celebrating this still, but as you look ahead to what's next, what do you see sort of ahead for guys in this series against Houston? What are the challenges there?

SCOTT SERVAIS: I said it when we clinched the playoff spot that we were just getting started. There was big games ahead of us. I certainly meant it. We were just getting started, and I think you're starting to see it come to fruition.

Certainly have a ton of respect for the Astros. They have been there. We have not, but I do know to go to the World Series you have to go through Houston. Just where it's at.

We've played some crazy games down there. They had our number for a few years. We played a little bit better at times this year.

They're really good. We understand that. We're really good. I think you respect everybody in the game. I certainly do. I know how hard it is, but our club fears no one. I truly believe that.

Q. You spoke about the difficulty of winning on the road in the playoffs. This is the biggest road comeback in playoff history. What does it mean to --

SCOTT SERVAIS: That's awesome. (Laughing.) That's what that means. It's awesome.

Again, it's about the players. It's always about the players and their resolve, their willingness to just buy in and just keep grinding and grinding.

Our team is the ultimate gritty team. We've had some guys have big years. We probably have the rookie of the year. We've got pitchers that have had great years. What Cal Raleigh has done, unbelievable.

The whole group together, it's galvanizing. It really is. They believe in each other. I know I keep saying it, saying it, saying it, but when you live it every day and you see it. And I've been around a lot of teams. I've been in the game a long time. This one is different.

We're looking forward to getting to Houston.