AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: YANKEES VS ASTROS

October 22, 2022

Lance McCullers

Yankee Stadium

Houston Astros

Pregame 3 Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with questions for Lance.

Q. You guys have played remarkably well on the road the last three years since everything's happened. Why do you think you guys are able to tune out the noise and tune out what's going on and just kind minimize the moment so well?

LANCE MCCULLERS: I just think that we're concerned about winning ball games. That's what it comes down to. I think obviously we have a great ball club and I think we put ourself in good positions to win. We just have seemed to come up in big spots in big games, and play good baseball. So that's really what it's about. I know it sounds simple. But we've faced a lot of great teams, and we handled Seattle really well, and I think guys are ready to go.

Q. When you're preparing for the Yankees, how much of a focus is just, not only getting Judge out, but maybe make sure that he comes up and chances to do not as much damage as he can if there's men on base?

LANCE MCCULLERS: There's a gold star next to his name. I mean, he's our guy. They got a team full of 'em, but Aaron's had a pretty remarkable historic season. So anytime that you face a guy like him you have to make sure, you know, you're just aware of the situation. But it's not so easy when you have Stanton and Rizzo and guys like that that have had postseason success hitting behind him. So you just have to do your best to make good pitches and then from there execute the game plan and after that it's really out of your hands.

Q. Given where you were a year ago, the effort and work you put into all this time to get where you are today, how much do you relish being here in this spot?

LANCE MCCULLERS: It's just another amazing opportunity to pitch in the postseason. That's what this game is about. It's about pitching in the postseason, about having opportunities, having moments. Just go out there and do your thing.

So New York baseball, especially when I was growing up, I mean, it's the Mecca, pinnacle, of the baseball sports world. So my whole life I grew up watching the Yankees, Red Sox, all of those great rivalries and those great teams.

So I'm very excited. This will be my second postseason start in New York. I've pitched here a couple other times. I've always enjoyed it.

Q. You've been here since Javier's come up. Watching him mature, what's impressed you the most, and just if you could explain what makes his fastball so unhittable.

LANCE MCCULLERS: I'm not going to explain what makes his fastball unhittable a couple hours before he pitches. I think the thing with Javy is he's just such a good kid. I have so much respect for him, the way he goes about his business. I mean, if he was on maybe a different team or had a different opportunity with another organization, you're talking about a guy who could potentially be at the top of the staff. Here, no matter what his role is or what he's asked to do, I've never seen him, not even drop of a complaint. He just goes and does what the team asks him to do, and he does it with brilliance. He does it brilliantly, I should say.

So a lot of respect for him. He's just such a great young pitcher. He's just so, such a great demeanor about him. I'm excited to watch him today.

Q. Trey Mancini, when he was brought here obviously he had done very well with Baltimore. Part of the reasons he's not playing as much is depth issues, but he's back in the lineup today. You know what he can do. What have you observed from him thus far being around the team and the potential that he still has to change games for you guys, especially during the playoffs?

LANCE MCCULLERS: Well, Trey was a huge trade acquisition for us. He was one of the guys that league-wide I think a lot of teams had identified as somebody who could help an organization continue to win down the stretch.

So for us, as soon as we got him, I think his first couple hits were homers. He'll tell you, he hasn't played as well as he wants to play. But the beautiful part about October, the beautiful part of these huge moments, is that he has the opportunity to wipe all that away. He has the ability to come up big for us today. He's in the lineup against probably one of, if not the best, pitchers in baseball.

Gerrit's a heck of a pitcher and they have a great bullpen. I think they have, I think one of the most underrated things about bullpens in today's game is just matchups, the ability for teams to match up against hitters, whether the guy coming out is maybe not the best reliever or not. But if you have a good matchup, which I think teams have been identifying over the last few seasons, it makes a big difference with the way that you're set up.

I think the Yankees have an amazing ability to match up guys. So like I said, you have, he has an amazing opportunity to be in a lineup for an ALCS in New York Stadium and has a chance to make a big impact for us today.

Q. You've been part of this run the past several years and you even told us before the playoffs started that a difference this year is the pitch count. In years past, it may have been the offense that got you guys here. We hear from the guys in the lineup talking about passing the baton. Can you speak to how maybe the guys in the pen or even the starters can maybe feed off of each other, especially with the performance that we have seen the past couple weeks?

LANCE MCCULLERS: I just think that we have a very talented group. We're a very deep group of pitching. You saw the way that our bullpen pitched in Seattle. It didn't matter who the guys were coming up, what tough situations that they had to face. The way Luis threw the ball coming out of the bullpen as a career starter, as a young kid, is just incredible.

I made a joke the other day that you could almost just close your eyes and point at a pitcher and ask them to do really any job on the roster that us pitchers are responsible for doing. So it's a blessing to have a pitching staff like we have. It's just one of those years where things seem like they have timed up and guys are throwing the ball well and you want to continue that momentum.

We still have a great offense. We still have a great defense, which makes our pitching staff great, great analytical department, of course, that helps us along the way, but just a lot of talented arms we have.

Q. There's a lot of talk among your teammates that it's just a matter of when and not if when Altuve starts getting going. What have you kind of learned about him over the years in terms of, I guess, his ability to just bounce back or just do what he does regardless of circumstances?

LANCE MCCULLERS: Well, Altuve is one of the heart and souls of our team, whether he's 4-4 with four homers or 0-4. I think the last game especially you saw a lot of really good at-bats. We're not facing easy guys. He's not hitting the ball off a tee out there. Seattle was really tough. I mean, really tough. The job hasn't gotten easier this series.

But I feel like as a pitcher who doesn't know anything about hitting, I think his at-bats have looked a lot better. He's just one of our leaders. He's a quiet leader. But just the way he comes to the field every day you wouldn't know if he's in a 0-20 something or if he's 20-20. That type of leadership out of him with everything that he's individually been through means a lot for our team. He's one of the best guys that I've ever been around just in general as a person and as a teammate. We're lucky to have him.

Q. Do you pitch any differently depending on the ballpark? You have the short left field at home, the short right field here.

LANCE MCCULLERS: I mean, our right field's pretty short at home too. I know there's been a lot of talk about the ball that Aaron hit, but you just got to do the best you can with the stuff you have that day. I'm not going to be able to change my whole game plan just based off of the way that a park is kind of constructed.

I think if it's your home park, potentially, like if I was a pitcher in Boston, I think you could face or attack guys maybe a little bit different. I'm not a guy that throws a lot of four-seams. Per example, I'm not going to risk a four-seam away to a lefty in Minute Maid. Maybe in Boston you do if you have the opportunity or a lead of things of that nature.

But in the postseason, it could be 10-0, but in your mind and in the heat of the game it's 0-0, and you just have to just roll with the best you got that day, and at the end of the game we're going to see who comes out better.

Q. Looking back to Game 7 five years ago, what clicked in your mind to throw the 24 straight curveballs?

LANCE MCCULLERS: I've said this a couple times. It was funny, I don't really remember who I was facing. I think it may have been Castro, to end potentially the 7th. I'm not a hundred percent sure. It's been years now. But I awkwardly landed on my left hip, and then coming out of the inning, I was underneath the tunnel and our head strength guy, Jeremiah, was stretching me out and we're kind of like seeing how it felt planting. It was just like a weird like landing spot, I think, just from different guys landing in that game, obviously.

I believe that it was Headley led off the 8th potentially and I walked him, and then the next two pitches were also balls, and McCann came and talked to me, and I just said, Man, the leg feels weird on the heater, like, getting over my front side feels weird. He said, Well, let's just try going for the breaking ball. And I threw the first breaking ball and I was like, Oh, that didn't hurt. I threw it again and I was like, Yeah, that didn't hurt either. So just kind of kept rolling with it.

That was a special type of night for me and kind of an event. I don't know if I'll be able to top that. I think I'm more of a little bit of a complete pitcher now to rip off 24 in a row, but you never know.

Q. How is your elbow doing? What kind of treatment have you had to take the last few days? Was there any stitches, anything like that?

LANCE MCCULLERS: No, my elbow is fine. I did get hit rather hard with a champagne bottle, funny enough, trying to leave the celebration. But I did get hit and I think it was more -- there was a small cut, but it was more like bone bruise, swelling type of issues that we were dealing with. Really with those you just do your best and you just need some time.

So fortunately for us it was, or fortunately for me it was after Game 3. We had a couple days off. And then because of when I pitched in the series and because we didn't have to pitch JV and other guys again, I was awarded the opportunity to have some days on the backside.

So I got off the mound yesterday. I felt really good. I don't think it's going to be an issue at all. When the game gets rolling, you know, we're full go.

Q. How did that happen? Was it thrown or?

LANCE MCCULLERS: No, I think, someone was like kind of behind to my left. The real issue, I think it was, it's the bone that I had my Tommy John. So I have a bunch of portals in there, like little holes. So I think the strike to the bone, it was kind of from my back left and it kind of came up this way (indicating) and hit me on the inside part of my elbow. It was like, it's only like an area like this big (indicating) and it just smoked me.

So it was just like, you know, this is just another week for me, it feels like sometimes. But I'm completely fine. I'm feeling good to go. I'm excited for tomorrow.