AL WILD CARD SERIES: BLUE JAYS VS TWINS

October 4, 2023

Joe Ryan

Target Field

Minnesota Twins

Pregame Press Conference

Q. Did you run it through your head yet what it's going to be like walking up the steps taking the mound whether it's tomorrow or down the road? What it's going to be like to have that experience?

JOE RYAN: It's going to be a baseball game, so kind of treat it as such. I've had a lot of starts, so probably just treat it the same.

That being said, it was pretty cool just to experience everything yesterday, the fans and all that energy. It was pretty fun. I can just see how you can tap into all that and use it to our advantage. But just treat it like a normal game.

Q. You rely on Sonny a lot. You have a good relationship. He seems to have a good perspective on his first start in six years the playoffs. What are the takeaways that you receive from him about how to handle this?

JOE RYAN: I've talked to him after the game, just talk about consistency and how he prepares and the focus he has for each start in the regular season. I don't see that changing. I don't think he needs to change anything today. I don't see that really having to be a huge adjustment of any kind.

I think the energy takes care of the rest and it's going to put extra pressure on certain guys. And I think for us, it's just we control what we can control. And I think as a pitcher that's the nature of our game. So it's a little bit easier for us to do that.

Q. Sonny has also completed one of the great home run prevention seasons in Twins history, just eight all year, something like that. I know that's something that's bit you a couple of times. Is there anything you've been able to pick up from Sonny as to how he does that, how he keeps that part?

JOE RYAN: I probably should check in with him on that a little bit more. Probably throwing less fastballs in certain times. I think he has such good stuff. He's probably has some of the best pitches in the game. Utilizing that, he mixes so well and keeps batters off balance so well.

I can break it down a little bit more with him. I think it's just a stuff thing at certain points and not making some crucial mistakes at times.

Or some of it is also just luck, too. Not for him as much, I think just with the spin characteristics, I think it plays a little bit different. But sometimes the ball gets hit far.

Q. I don't know if there's any surprise on your end, but what was your reaction when you learned you were the Game 3 starter?

JOE RYAN: It lined up. I have a little bit of time to just kind of process that. And I guess it was expected in a way, but also really excited and just fired up to take the ball and go compete.

If we have a Game 3, then it's going to be just balls to the wall the whole time. That will be pretty fun. Just ready to eat.

Q. But on the other hand if Sonny wins tonight, you would be taking the mound in a hostile environment. You said you were ready to feed off the energy of the crowd. Do you have any idea what it would be like to be the enemy?

JOE RYAN: If it's loud, that's awesome. It's more energy. It's great. One of my buddies is coming out. He's from Atlanta. He was coming out for another team this year and they were, like, getting on him. The energy was getting crazy.

He was, like, dude, they didn't realize they were cheering for me now. He's feeding off that the whole time.

I think there's a way to feed off the energy, positive or negative. If it's quiet, that's also a really good thing. So regardless, I think I'm not really too concerned about the crowd. Same distance.

Q. What's the biggest game you've ever pitched in your career?

JOE RYAN: I don't know, I think pitching in the Olympics was pretty cool. That was a different experience. They said there were no fans, but as we got deeper, there was, like, a couple thousand more people there each time. So that was kind of interesting.

But I'd probably say the Olympics because the format was like playoff games the whole time and you're playing for a gold medal, and baseball hadn't been there for a while. And it's in Japan and all that. There's definitely extra pressure with that.

I think uniquely it was also great just to play in the playoffs and play -- I think I played in the championship game almost every year of my baseball career since I was in Little League. So I've always kind of expected just to go far and prolong the season and try to be the last game of the year.

So I think there's something to that with just the expectation of pitching in pressure situations. And I think college was the first time I hadn't played in a championship game to end the season.

So I think it's a little different level, but at the same time it's the same game. Just try to keep it that way and compete.

Q. Was there much focus in the clubhouse on the 18-game losing streak? I know a lot of you guys weren't part of it before, but was there any focus on it? Is there any benefit to it being gone?

JOE RYAN: Farmer said that, was quoted after we clinched, that we'll break that streak. I think that was pretty much it. There wasn't too much banter about that. I don't think it was a focus. We were just going to go out and take care of business.

Pablo threw the ball great and I think everyone has confidence in him doing that. So, it was awesome.

And Michael out there cruising through the outfield was fun to watch. And obviously Royce, I think after Royce knocked that one out, we were pretty confident.