AL DIVISION SERIES: TWINS VS ASTROS

October 9, 2023

Sonny Gray

Target Field

Minnesota Twins

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Sonny, that April start here against them with 13 strikeouts, that was a long time ago. I know the lineup looks a little different from then, but what can you take away from the game plan with the results there as you approach them tomorrow here?

SONNY GRAY: I don't think you look back that far, as far as like a game plan or how I'm going to attack these dudes. I think over the course of a season hitters change, approaches change. Guys say like I found this, I found that.

I've changed from then. I've changed a little bit of my arsenal here, a little bit of my arsenal there, what I'm doing with pitches.

I think the biggest takeaway from that is you can watch it. You can put yourself in a mindset of that, what it felt like, the emotion you had. I mean, because at the time it was our first home game. We started the season on the road. That was our first home game. So there was a lot of excitement. The fans were excited. There was a good energy in the air, as there will be again tomorrow.

So I think that's the biggest part is feeling those feelings, going through those feelings rather than I attack this guy this way, blah, blah, blah. So I think just feeling those feelings, and I think that's a big takeaway.

Q. Now that you've played four postseason games with him, why do you think Carlos Correa is so effective this time of the year?

SONNY GRAY: I said it last week, and I do believe it. You don't win in this league, especially in the postseason, you don't win the World Series without superstars on your team because I do think that superstars show up in the biggest moments. It's kind of their life, right? It's just like how they live their life.

Walking down the street, and you've got 30 people on the other side yelling at you wanting to do this, wanting to do that. To them, it's just another day in the life.

So I think that. I think it's just kind of how he lives his life. It's just kind of who he is. But you see his demeanor change, you see his -- the way he carries himself just around. He always carries himself at a very high standard, but just seeing it, walking around, not on the field, seems to be even a little higher than normal.

So I think it's just a way of life. I'm glad he's on our side. That was exciting to watch last night. I was happy for him.

Q. Sonny, you've had a little bit of success against Yordan, but what kind of challenges does he pose right now with the way he's hitting?

SONNY GRAY: Yordan, he's a good hitter. He's a good hitter. They have a good lineup.

The first night, the first game, he beat us with a couple of things. Me and Pablo had long discussions during that game, after that game, just about approach. And it kind of started with him, and then it started with -- and it kind of just goes to where it goes.

That's why I love the relationship we have as a staff, not only as a starting staff, but as a pitching staff in general. We try to -- and by now it's just normal. It's just something that we do is we just start baseball conversations, just start pitching conversations, and just let them go to wherever they go.

That's something that we do, and that's something that in Spring Training we made a point to maybe force a little bit just to get it going. At this point, it's just second nature. You start a conversation, and you just have it, and it goes to where it goes.

Yordan is a good hitter. He seems to be hot right now. But they have good hitters throughout their lineup. So I don't know, without saying too much, yeah, he's a good hitter. I look forward to the matchup, to the challenge. I'll come up with a plan of how I'm going to attack him, and then after that, it's just let me go out there and be me.

A big thing for me is me versus you. I'm going to challenge you. I'm going to come at you with my best stuff. If you get me, you get me. If I get you, I get you. That's just kind of, talking about how Carlos lives his life, that's just kind of how I live my life. It's me and you. When you get out there, I'm the pitcher, you're the hitter, and I've got a catcher, and I've got guys behind me. But simplifying it even down, it's me versus you. Who's going to win?

That's the things that -- that's some of the things that excite me.

Q. Is there any big benefit -- last week was your first playoff start in six years. Any big benefit to maybe you know what to expect now pitching here in a playoff game, coming into tomorrow?

SONNY GRAY: Yes and no probably. The fans, I know the fans are going to show up. They were incredible last time we were at home. We expect nothing less. They're going to be incredible again.

But the game is the game, and I said it last time, and I'll say it again. It is the game. Yes, you're one round farther. You're one step closer to our ultimate goal, and we talked about this last week. Our ultimate goal is to hold a trophy at the end of the season. The World Series is still right there in front of us. It's a little closer. You have your eyes on it, but you also have your eyes on today, and you have your eyes on tomorrow.

Yeah, it was exciting last time to go out and pitch. A chance to clinch a series, a chance to move on, a chance to celebrate after the game.

Having said that, coming into the Game 1-1, coming back to Minnesota, it's a big opportunity for us. It's a big opportunity for us to go out there and play a good, play a hard-fought, competitive game.

I don't think it changes for me from last week to this week. I'm going to go out, and I'm going to attack these guys. I'm going to come at them with my best stuff. I'm excited for this. I'm excited for the opportunity.

Q. Sonny, you were at the Vikings training camp this year.

SONNY GRAY: I was.

Q. Correct me if I'm wrong, but were you not an option quarterback in high school?

SONNY GRAY: I'd like to call myself a dual threat.

Q. Dual threat, yeah.

SONNY GRAY: Shotgun.

Q. Pistol, yeah.

SONNY GRAY: All the things.

Q. Do you get much -- when you compete in baseball, you look like you've almost got that same mindset, that tenacity, that grinder, three yards and a cloud of dust approach to it. Did you get something from playing football in high school that you take with you?

SONNY GRAY: I got a ton from playing football, not only in high school, but throughout my life. I've said this a lot, football might be my favorite sport. I love football. I loved playing football. There was nothing like -- there's nothing like that.

The way that a team truly has to come together in football, the way that it all kind of -- especially playing quarterback. I mean, you're in charge of all 11 guys that are out there. You not only know what you have to do, but then you're knowing what the left guard, left tackle, all the receivers, the running backs, you kind of know -- you know what they have to do, and then you also know what the defense is doing.

There's nothing like playing football, especially playing high school football. I was talking about this last week actually because we were talking about just kind of asking guys -- obviously we have guys who have won a World Series, but then we kind of took it deeper. Have you ever won a championship in anything, this and that.

My junior and senior year, we won two state championships. I know it's not a World Series. It's not this. But it was incredibly, incredibly special years of my life. And I felt it then, a team come together and get it, and make it, and win the ultimate thing, the state championship for us. We won it back-to-back years. I love playing football. I think a lot of the way that I do go out there and pitch does stem from how I played football.

Q. I asked Justin Verlander if there's a skill to not giving up home runs, and he said getting mis-hits is a skill. Not hitting barrels is a skill. But he's kind of a fly ball pitcher, and there's a lot of luck to it. You had an incredible home run prevention season. Is that a skill that you can quantify and explain?

SONNY GRAY: I do know this. I know the more that you're ahead of guys, the more that you get strike 1, the more that you -- I truly believe the more that you are the aggressor, the more that you put the hitters in a defense mode, the more likely of a chance, whatever, that you're going to limit damage.

When I look at things, I look at limiting damage and miss. How do I limit damage from this guy, and how do I get miss? Where can I go to limit damage, and where can I go to get miss?

Trusting your stuff I think is incredibly important in that because, when you don't do that, you're not free and easy. You're not just here it is, let it rip. I have a good fastball. It stays off the barrel for the most part. Obviously I like to spin the ball. That's no secret.

I think there is some skill to it. There may be some luck. I don't know. I don't think about it, to be honest with you. I just think about attacking, attacking, attacking, getting ahead, continuing to go at guys. There's a lot of times, to be honest with you, it will be a 1-0 count or an 0-0 count or let's say a 2-0 count, whatever it might be, there's a lot of times I'm on the mound where I think here it is, back to me versus you. Here it is, me versus you. Let's see how far you can hit it.

That's my mindset for a lot of pitches I throw. Here it is. I'm coming at you. Let's see how far you can hit it. It puts me in a competitive, attack, here it is, like I'm coming right at you mindset. Like I've said, that is when I'm at my best.

It's amazing what happens when you do put yourself in that mindset and you have that thought, here it is. Let's see how far you can hit it. Foul ball, ground out, pop out, broken bat, called strike -- a lot of good things tend to happen when I think like that.

Q. Also, was wondering if Declan has given you any advice for this round.

SONNY GRAY: Declan. No advice yet. We've talked about it. He caught on to that better not lose thing, and that was a lot of fun. We flew home yesterday -- me, Jessica, my wife, Gunnar and Declan, we flew in early so we could not get home at 3:30 in the morning.

So we were spending quality time together. We watched the game last night. We watched every pitch. We were all into every pitch. It was awesome to kind of have that experience and also have it with them but also know that you're in it with every single one of your guys.

No, none yet, but there's still a lot of time before the game starts tomorrow, so I'm sure they'll have something for me.

Q. The way this team has played in the field in the Toronto series and this one as well, so airtight defensively, aggressive with their plays behind the pitcher. How much does that help you in your preparation when you're on the hill knowing that this team is excelling defensively right now?

SONNY GRAY: I think it helps for sure, but it's nothing new to me. Throughout the course of this season, we've made incredible plays all around the field. So it's not -- that's not anything new.

I don't want to sit here and say at this point you expect it, but a little bit it's like -- not expect, because I don't like to say that because it is what it is a lot of times, but we just tend to make plays. I think our team was built for that. I think our team was built very soundly defensively.

I do know that it is something that we work on and we practice and we talk about every single day. It's no secret or it's not a fluke or it's not anything other than it's something that we work on. It's something that we practice. It's something that we preach. It's something that our guys truly believe in, and we just make plays.

Which comes back to that here it is. I'm going to attack you. Let's see how far you can hit it. Go ahead. Because I know it's in my favor. It's always in my favor as the pitcher. It's always in my favor. But you do have a little bit more saying, it's more in my favor. Go ahead and do what you're going to do because I know someone is going to make a play behind me. It's just something we've done all year.

Q. Sonny, you've known Kyle for a long time. You know what he means to the team and the clubhouse there. What was it like to see the home run there and that big moment for him?

SONNY GRAY: It was awesome. I was pulling into my garage last night. Kyle hit a homer. It was right when we were getting home. So we got to watch the bottom half of the second. We listened to the first inning and a half. He had a homer. He's so good to me. He's one of my best friends on the field, away from the field.

So that was awesome. I know his parents were there too, so that was special. We're good friends. The first time I saw him today was we walked in and he was sitting at the table, and he was eating lunch or whatever, and I walk up to him, and I just kind of put my arm around him and said, hey, you know you gave Gunnar a glove last week. I'm just wondering if you need it back. He's like, no, no, I gave it to him. I gave it to him.

I said, well, only reason I ask is I didn't know if you had a hole in yours because that relay throw from left field last night, you kind of just whiffed it, and you looked down at your glove like your glove had a hole in it. I was just making sure your glove is okay and you don't need that one back. He's like, blah, blah, F you. He's a good guy, and I was very happy for him.