MLB WORLD SERIES: DIAMONDBACKS VS RANGERS

October 30, 2023

Jon Gray

Chase Field

Texas Rangers

Pregame 3 Press Conference

Q. Do you have any experience pitching in this park with the roof open, assuming it's open tomorrow night? Can you talk a little bit about your experience pitching in this park and if there's any difference between the roof being opened and the roof being closed?

JON GRAY: Thinking back, I've had a lot of experience here, but I can't remember if there was ever a time when it was open, whenever we were in town.

But I like the way the park plays. I like the way it feels. There's a lot of good things about it. It will be interesting to see if it is opened how differently it will play, but we're just ready to play our best baseball.

Q. It's possible that I missed this announcement, but are you officially starting tomorrow?

JON GRAY: No, I haven't been told anything like that. But I'm still hoping for the best, but still whatever role I need to help the team, that's what I'll be doing.

Q. Then this is a hypothetical question. If you are starting tomorrow -- we've talked about the adjustment from starting to relief and how it affects your approach a little bit and the arsenal. How is the adjustment going back if you haven't started in a while kind of bringing in those other pitches you really haven't had to use in a while?

JON GRAY: That would be the biggest challenge is just the use of the other two pitches, the curveball and the change-up. But then again, I feel like I could stretch it out a little bit if I needed to. But I think it would come down to how well we used the curveball and change-up. I think that would be the difference maker. Other than that, it's just execution; I'm trying to get guys out.

Q. How stretched out do you feel like you are right now?

JON GRAY: Well, it's been a little bit. I mean, it's been almost two months since I've really gone, like, four or five innings, but I think it's still -- I think it's still in play. I think I could for sure do three. But everything after that everything is sort of what-if. But still looking forward.

Q. When a starter goes to a relief role and knows he's going to be working a short outing, his stuff often ticks up because he's exerting more effort with each pitch. Going out into an outing like this where you don't necessarily know exactly how many pitches you'll go, what is the balance between having an idea of what range you're working towards in terms of having to manage your effort throughout the outing?

JON GRAY: This is kind of what most of the concern was going out to the bullpen was how are we going to just go 110 percent every pitch and just try to make everything incredibly nasty.

But I think that's gotten me into trouble in the past. I think just slowing down, still going 90, 100 percent, but a very focused, very focused on execution. I feel that's put me in the best spot.

Other times where I've tried to be 110 percent I feel I've gotten in my own way a lot. I think just slowing down, just focus on execution has put me in a really good spot. It still has ticked up a little bit, too.

Q. You guys have four or five starting pitchers in the bullpen now. What's that been like as a collective group, sort of shifting roles in the playoffs and especially helping to fortify a bullpen that's had its ups and downs this season?

JON GRAY: It's definitely a rare case. But I think it gives us an advantage a little bit. If we need a guy to cover two innings we can do that. We have multiple guys for that. But at the same time I feel those starters in there have the ability to miss bats, too, and we can come in and be used for one, two or three guys and go for a strikeout.

Q. Obviously you guys have played some pretty raucous buildings and you've been undefeated here. What are you expecting tonight from this Arizona crowd?

JON GRAY: Well, I know it's going to be filled with energy. It's going to be loud, electric, as it should be. It's going to be awesome.

But that's going to be up to us to play our best baseball, really embrace that energy and really harness it and use it for our good. I think if we do that we'll come out playing our best baseball.

With a team like them we've got to not give up anything. You can't give them free bases. They could do a lot with it. We're really going to have to be on our attack game tonight.

Q. On that topic, the way they've applied pressure, the chaos that they've applied, how does that impact a pitcher on the mound when they've got runners, not that you allowed any, but what's it like when teams are applying that kind of pressure?

JON GRAY: Really just limiting damage. When teams like that get on base, the chance to score are going up, but that's when you get to that cool point. When you're the pitcher, I mean, I've got guys on base and maybe only one out or zero, like, that's your opportunity; let's see if we can get out of this thing. Bear down, make good pitches.

But that's the fun part. If you can escape out of that, that feels so good. And just not panicking. Yeah, so what if a single happens or a walk or whatever. But it's really about just when things get really tough you get squeezed, what's going to come out. And I think your best stuff should come out then.