AL WILD CARD SERIES: ROYALS VS ORIOLES

October 2, 2024

Colton Cowser

Camden Yards

Baltimore Orioles

Pregame Press Conference

Q. First hit yesterday, got the Orioles on the board, first playoff hit. How good did that feel, and how can that translate to Game 2?

COLTON COWSER: Yeah, you know, I think that going into the game just wasn't really knowing what to expect nerves-wise or anything like that. I think just getting out there and being able to get a knock pretty early on was a comforting feeling. Looking forward to bringing that into today.

Q. Overall just how confident are you that you guys can bounce back from tomorrow and win today and still win this series?

COLTON COWSER: Yeah, very confident. I have all the faith in the world in this team. I think yesterday it was just one of those days. I think our guys, we're really confident, really comfortable, and we're looking forward to bouncing back.

Q. You've seen a lot of Zach Eflin now. How confident are you in him?

COLTON COWSER: Yeah, Zach is awesome. He's one of those guys that you put full faith in. He goes out there and gives you his best stuff, and he competes every single pitch.

I think the thing with him is he's around the zone and he's able to get swings and misses and soft contact, and I think that's something that's really important in these types of games, and being able to keep offenses unbalanced.

Q. Colton, now that you've played all of one postseason game --

COLTON COWSER: I'm an expert now.

Q. Can you share your expertise and tell us how you think playing in the postseason is different than playing in the regular season?

COLTON COWSER: Yeah, honestly, I was thinking about that last night. Like I said, I didn't really know what to expect, but honestly, I think that it was a lot of fun. I think that it's a different kind of pressure, and for me, just the way I'm viewing it, it's just kind of a privilege.

I'm not going out there trying to put too much pressure on myself or as a team I don't think we're trying to do that. I think we're just trying to go out there and have fun and compete. I think that it's one of those things that -- I think that as the game was going on, it was like, I think everyone was more comfortable, and I think just stringing together good at-bats is something that is important going forward.

Q. When you're against a guy like Seth Lugo, so many different pitches, just the variety there, how do you approach that plate appearance, and do you pick one pitch?

COLTON COWSER: I think he does have a lot of pitches, and I think that as an offense we're just going to have to go out there and compete to the best of our ability.

I think he mixes really well. He's around the zone. He also nibbles on the outside of the zone. The biggest thing is being able to control our zone and pick out a spot and go from there, but also being aggressive but under control.

Q. I'm curious, you have kind of an up-close view of Adley's career in the minors and now here. How do you think he's handled a year that's been more of a battle for him than others he's had in the past?

COLTON COWSER: Yeah, Adley is one of those guys, not only a great player, great human being. He's very mature when it comes to things like that, and I think he's handled it extremely well.

I think it's one of those years where, you know, really good first halves, some struggles the second half, but all that doesn't matter if you go out there and just have a couple big hits here in the playoffs.

That stuff kind of goes out the window. That's something that he's extremely capable of.

Q. How do you personally go about blocking out or putting into perspective the greater context, whether it's what happened last year or the frustration of yesterday or the fact that the season could end today? All that stuff, do you consciously try not to think about it, and how do you do that?

COLTON COWSER: Yeah, I think you have to do your best to not think about it. I think having a short memory -- it's a pretty cliche answer, but having a short memory in this game is extremely important.

I think just going out there and just competing one pitch at a time, not really trying to win a game with one swing but just going out there trying to string together quality at-bats as a team and as an individual is something that'll help the team win.

I think that mindset throughout the whole year doesn't have to change going into a certain game just because if we lose we're done. I think that you've just got to go out there and compete to the best of your ability.

Q. To go back to the pressure, different kind of pressure you were talking about, does it just feel like once you scratch one run across, some of this tension will ease and you guys can play the way you want to play, loose and fun like some guys have been talking about in the clubhouse?

COLTON COWSER: Yeah, I don't even necessarily think just to scratch one. Yeah, we didn't score yesterday, but I think that as the game went on, it felt like our bats got a lot better.

I think going into today's game, we were just missing one big hit yesterday. That's all it was. I think that we know that, and the team knows that.

I think today we're just going to go out there and try to have as much fun as we can, and those things will take care of themselves.

Q. Depending on who you ask, Seth Lugo has anywhere between 9 and 12 pitches that he throws. How do you approach someone who has the amount of variety that he does?

COLTON COWSER: Yeah, like I said, I think that it's just really being extremely disciplined to your zone and not expanding too much. Just letting them come to you. I think that's a big deal. Not go out and try to get him. Just stay relaxed and confident in the zone and just be on time.

Q. With the offensive struggles, not just yesterday but really the last three months, where does the confidence come from that this lineup can put together a complete performance? What is it rooted in?

COLTON COWSER: Yeah, I think it's rooted in just the game of baseball. Baseball is one of those funny games where you can go through little slumps here and there and they can be for an extended period of time or they can be for one or two games. The thing about postseason baseball is if you have two of those games in a row, you're done.

But I think the confidence just stems from the fact that we've been able to bounce back before. I think as a team, we have a pretty healthy mindset as a lineup, and I think today's plan is just to go out there and compete, take it one AB at a time and try to string together as many good ones as we can.

Q. You said earlier that even though yesterday didn't go the way you guys would have liked that you're still grateful to be here in this position. Is that something you learned this year, to have gratitude after last year didn't go the way you wanted and this year has, to approach the game with that mindset?

COLTON COWSER: Yeah, I mean, speaking from an individual standpoint, I think just the way last year went as a whole, didn't go as well as I wanted it to, and I think the offseason I had a lot of time to reflect upon that, and even going into the spring this year I wasn't guaranteed anything.

I was grateful just to be the fourth outfielder on the team and being able to earn this role that I'm in now, it's something that I'm not going to take for granted.

The game of baseball is extremely hard, and I think that it kind of gives me a healthier mindset going into situations like this today. It's do or die, and this is why we play baseball. Go out there, compete, have fun, and not take anything for granted.

Q. You've said a few times talking about quality at-bats. Can you pull back and tell us what that means for an Orioles hitter to have quality at-bats and string those together?

COLTON COWSER: Yeah, it can be numerous things. I think the biggest one is kind of getting the job done, whether that's moving a guy over, whether that's a sac fly, whether that's a long at-bat, getting the pitch count up, 0-2 and then seeing four or five pitches after that.

That's a quality at-bat in my eyes, a barrel, a base hit, RBI, things like that. Not necessarily like -- yeah, home runs are great, but I think as a team we string together five, six at-bats in a row like that, that wears on a pitcher, and I think that that's kind of how we view it.

Q. You mentioned the gratitude to even be in this position. When you consider just retrospective of where you were in Spring Training and now 25 home runs in your first physical major league season, did this kind of go as well as you could have imagined back in February?

COLTON COWSER: Yeah, I mean, if you would have told me in February this is the outcome I would have had, as a team and as an individual, then yeah, I would have been pretty excited.

Now I think that sometimes mindset and things like that get skewed just because you go through those struggles throughout the year, and I'm not going to say I was the most consistent guy, but there was definitely some low points where I could get frustrated, but I think that's a healthy reminder when you think about where I was at in February, just to be where I am now is extremely grateful and blessed.

Q. A lot of guys came up together through the Minor Leagues. How did a place like Norfolk get you ready to be on this stage and help you improve and get you ready for now?

COLTON COWSER: Yeah, we had a really, really talented team last year in Norfolk. A lot of these guys are contributing at the Big League level now.

Honestly, being able to play in some meaningful games there helps a lot. I think Buck Britton and the staff there, they do a great job of getting you ready, what to expect, what's going to fly at the Big Leagues and what's not.

I'd say the biggest contributing factor to that is just the staff down there and the communication that they have with the Big League club is something that really does get you prepared for this.