AL DIVISION SERIES: TIGERS VS GUARDIANS

October 4, 2024

Tyler Holton

Progressive Field

Detroit Tigers

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. What are your thoughts about tomorrow and getting the second straight start?

TYLER HOLTON: Excited. You know, going to be a really fun atmosphere. You can already tell. You can already feel being out there. Just excited, hoping to get us off to a good start.

Q. The familiarity between these two teams, particularly with you guys in that Cleveland lineup, how does that play when you're going into a postseason series like this where every matchup is important and every at-bat is important and you know that most likely you're going to see these guys more than once in a series?

TYLER HOLTON: For sure. I think you expect that going into a five-game series, there's going to be a lot of familiar matchups. But I think every time that we play this team at home or on the road throughout the year, it's always good matchups. It's always close games, and I think just this stage is going to magnify it, those moments. So it's going to be a lot of fun.

Q. Tyler, what's it been like to see so many other guys in your bullpen thrive in the second half, guys like Hanifee and Hurter and Madden who were here for most of the year?

TYLER HOLTON: It's incredible. It's why we're here, I think. There's been a lot of young guys that stepped up in the second half, and that's the testament of why we are here in this moment.

Q. How does the extra off day between Game 1 and Game 2 affect you guys? On one hand, I imagine any rest you guys can get is big, but on the other hand, since you guys have been thriving on adrenaline, I imagine, for so long, is it a little bit of an interruption?

TYLER HOLTON: I don't think anything is going to be seen as an interruption for this ball club, but definitely anytime that you can get some extra rest for arms, I guess, is beneficial. But I think everyone in the clubhouse is looking on the positive side of every opportunity. So it's definitely not going to hold us back.

Q. Not to mess up this quote, A.J. called you a strike zone bully or a bully in the strike zone or something like that earlier today. And I wondered what allows you to be so effective in the strike zone?

TYLER HOLTON: Just trust in my stuff, you know. Go out there and trust it. To me I think it's nine versus one whenever you're out there on the mound. And so I'm just trying to use all the strengths to my advantage and go out there and have fun. There's a lot of ways to get outs.

Q. I think you pitched in that game July 30th last time you guys were here, and the team was on the brink of some trades, under .500 or whatever. Where did you think the season was going at that point?

TYLER HOLTON: I'm a guy that lives day by day. In this sport in particular you've got a game pretty much every single day. So by no means was I looking at a big picture on July 31st or whatever it was. But for sure just -- you said I opened that game or started that game?

Q. Yeah. You pitched two and two-thirds.

TYLER HOLTON: I was probably getting in the same mindset as I will be tonight and tomorrow just going out there and doing my job.

Q. As this has grown, then, over the last 40-some games or whatever, where did you really feel like or believe this team could be on the brink of something special?

TYLER HOLTON: I said it before. We had a comeback win in San Diego. Parker hit a grand slam in the top of the ninth inning, and we ended up winning that game by one run. And to me that was like, oh, my gosh, that was incredible. I even heard -- I think it was Dan Petry had said we might be circling this game in the near future of like this is when things started to go right, that sort of thing.

But after that definitely we strung a lot of wins together, and the guys in the clubhouse just started to realize, you know, if we keep winning, we're going to put ourselves in really good position to be in contention for a wildcard spot at the end of the year.

And the guys kept their head down each and every day and found a way to win. It was a new hero every night. It was pretty awesome. It still is. So we're just riding that wave right now, and we got a game tomorrow and going to go out there and try and win it.

Q. You've thrown in pretty much every situation imaginable, but was throwing the first inning of a postseason game on the road any different for you?

TYLER HOLTON: Mentally it was not any different for my preparation, but it was very special. I had family in attendance, and it was something that I will look back one day and be really thankful in having that moment with them and celebrating with them after the game and whatnot, just because that's the first time that I've had that many family being in attendance and watching me pitch. So that was special.

But definitely it hasn't quite hit me yet. I still have more games ahead of us and whatnot, and hopefully the family can come out again and see us play some more baseball.

Q. Did they know you could start like every game?

TYLER HOLTON: Did they know -- I mean, we'll see.

Q. It felt like with the pitching chaos A.J. talked about in Houston, a lot of it revolved around how you guys matched up for Tucker and Alvarez. How much different of a matchup is this Cleveland lineup particularly given the presence of José Ramírez up there?

TYLER HOLTON: We haven't had a pitchers' meeting. It's been a couple months since we've played this team, but as far as I remember they've got a lot of lefties and they have a few switch hitters as well and José Ramírez being right there in the middle of the lineup. He's probably going to be the most important matchup. I know we had intentionally walked him in past games and whatnot.

But it's going to come down to just a few pitches in the game that's going to turn the direction their way or our way. So each and every pitch is going to have huge implications, and don't know who's going to be in the game when those pitches come. But hopefully we're going to be coming out on top.