AL DIVISION SERIES: MARINERS VS ASTROS

October 15, 2022

Scott Servais

T-Mobile Park

Seattle Mariners

Pregame 3 Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'll go ahead and get started with Scott Servais.

Q. How much did the off day kind of help, re-evaluate, reassess, just kind of rest up and get ready for this one?

SCOTT SERVAIS: I think it's always good to be home. I know that. It was a crazy week of travel and guys having their families with, and the delay getting out of Houston the other night certainly had its challenges.

So good to get home. Guys get out here yesterday, get some treatment, most of the guys did. Not a whole lot of guys on the field other than to play catch and move around a little bit. So we're ready to go. We're excited to get out there today. And I know everybody else in town is excited to get out as well.

Q. Is everyone available today? Everyone healthy?

SCOTT SERVAIS: Everyone is available, yes. Everyone is available, except Luis Castillo. He would not pitch today. I would like to pitch him, but probably not the best idea.

Q. Now that you are here for a home game in this building what are you looking forward to most?

SCOTT SERVAIS: Us taking the field. I think for me, I know driving in today and, you're driving over the I-90 bridge and how many times I've taken that drive thinking about, how are we going to get there, how are we going get there in the hopes of a playoff game.

So it's a really big day for our franchise today, our fan base, and our players. It was big obviously ending the drought, but getting an opportunity to host a playoff game and against a team that we know very well, especially the way the last couple games have gone, we're excited to get back out there and looking forward to it. So I'm pumped. Our team is ready to go. It should be a good day.

Q. Curious what you kind of saw from Rafael Montero last year and why he maybe struggled, and then what you're seeing him, seeing from him now as he's kind of doing really well?

SCOTT SERVAIS: Command. He's commanding the baseball really good. He's got great stuff. Montero has always had really good stuff. That's why we acquired him. We liked him a lot and put him in high-leverage roles in his time here. It's just command. He's commanding the baseball right now. That's why he's having success.

Q. You guys haven't seen Lance for a few years. How has he changed and evolved as a pitcher from the last time you guys faced him?

SCOTT SERVAIS: He's really good. He's competitive. He's got one of the better breaking balls in the league and his ability to manipulate the breaking ball, different shapes, different speeds, makes him really tough. It's a tough at-bat.

The key to today's game, along with all the games we've played, is controlling the strike zone, get him in the zone, work through some at-bats. I've been very impressed with our team since the playoffs have started. We've done a really good job of controlling the zone, not chasing too much in big moments, and it's hard to do. Everybody wants to get the big hit.

But I think we've all bought into the value of just grinding through, taking your walk if it's there. Eventually you'll get a pitch to hit. We have seen it. As long as we stay in that mode we'll be fine.

But he's got really good stuff. He's been there before. He's pitched in big games. We got to slow it down a little bit and really hunt our pitch, don't get too anxious up there.

Q. Obviously George has a lot of talent, but what is it about his personality that gives you confidence he can succeed in today, even in the 9th inning, something he's never done before? He looks like he's 12, but you guys seem to have a lot of faith in his personality and his confidence in himself.

SCOTT SERVAIS: George is from New York. He's got a little edge to him, which is a good thing. We believe in his confidence and how he's carried himself, really from day one that I've ever been around George. It doesn't really change a whole lot as far as what he does on the mound. He doesn't try too hard, doesn't back off when maybe he's looking at the bottom of the lineup in a game, he's up three, four runs. He's just very consistent with his approach and how he goes about it.

So you're not really riding the wave with George. It's not a lot of up and down. Kind of have a good idea what you're going to get every time out there. It's served him well. It's served us well. Hopefully that's what we get today. But it's the consistency of his approach, his demeanor, that has really got everybody bought into George.

Q. You mentioned when they run out on the field and there's going to be a sold out crowd. Are you going to allow yourself 10 seconds to look around or 30 seconds to look around and kind of see what everything's like in that moment because you've been working so hard or do you have to stay focused the whole time?

SCOTT SERVAIS: I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to look around for a few seconds (laughing) before Altuve steps in the box. Then it's game on. No question about it.

I think we all should. Grateful we're in this spot. It's taken a lot of hard work, a lot of hard decisions by a lot of people in this building, starting with ownership, our front office, coaching staff, the players, the work they have put in.

You need to enjoy where we're at right now. But as soon as Altuve steps in the box it's game on. It's compete and figure out a way to beat 'em. That's what it's about.

Q. Obviously you've got guys that have been fighting for this day for a long time and you've got a guy like Boyd that grew up in this town. What do you think this does mean to them? Have they expressed anything to you about how much this means to them to get to be on the field for this?

SCOTT SERVAIS: No question. This has meant a lot to Matt Boyd, to be a part of our team and him growing up a Mariners fan, a Griffey Jr fan, everything else that came up when he grew up with. So he's excited about it. Anybody that's been around Matt Boyd at all knows he's always got a smile on his face, about the most positive upbeat player I've ever been around, and the fact he gets to put a Mariner uniform on he is on top of the world. So we'll see. Maybe he'll get in there today and help us out in a big moment.

Q. This is kind of a different game. I know you like to keep them all the same. But pitching plans going into it, decisions that you will have to make, because of where you are right now, do those decisions gets tougher or is everything kind of where you want it to be and how it stacks up?

SCOTT SERVAIS: I think as much as we try to plan it out and map it out you kind of have to see what the game, how the game unfolds. It all starts with your starter. The most difficult decision to make every time is when to pull your starter. That's when it all starts because once the bullpen door opens it doesn't shut. It's non-stop after that and how it goes (laughing).

So we'll see where George can go. We're right at the goal here. Obviously we got to win this game. Everybody knows that. It's about winning three games to get to where we ultimately want to go. All the guys are available today. You may see them used in maybe a little bit different order than what you've seen in the past as far as where leverage is at and all those big moments. They could crop up in the 4th or 5th inning, with traffic out there. So you're trying to get the right guys into at the right time.

But I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. You have to let the game play out, see how far the starter can go, and then where you're at and what parts of the lineup and where it goes from there.