AL WILD CARD SERIES: RANGERS VS RAYS

October 4, 2023

Aaron Civale

Tropicana Field

Tampa Bay Rays

Pregame Press Conference

Q. What can you take out of your postseason experience last year?

AARON CIVALE: Yeah, I was in Cleveland last year, obviously, and just the energy that was brought every day, never giving up based on the day before, similar to how we've gone throughout this whole year. I think the last month has been really good, competitive baseball, and we just have to keep doing that. Just because it's the postseason doesn't mean we have to change anything.

Q. I guess I meant you personally, just to be on that stage and have it go that way.

AARON CIVALE: Me personally, I'm a part of a team and I feed off the energy of the guys around me, and that's what I'm going to continue to do.

Q. How do you approach that start knowing if you're getting the ball tomorrow, it's with the season on the line?

AARON CIVALE: At this point in the season, the season is on the line regardless. Like I said, the goal is not to change anything. It's to go out there and trust the work that I've put in all year and trust that the guys around me are going to do the same. A lot of the guys in this clubhouse have been here before. So fifth year in a row for the Rays being in the playoffs. So just have to take the confidence that we've had all year and continue to do that.

Q. How do you feel with your stuff as far as going into this start? Where do you feel like you're are?

AARON CIVALE: Yeah, I feel really good. Like the stuff has been good. I'll just continue to go into the start with confidence.

Q. What have you learned in your couple months here about how the Rays do what they do? Seems like they always defy the experts and weather injuries and just usually keep winning. What have you learned about how that is?

AARON CIVALE: Yeah, I think there's a big sense of perseverance. There's that next-man-up mentality with the team. Personally, I think there's a lot of simplification and just focusing on the things that you individually are really good at and exploiting that and doing that the best that you can.

In a game with so many uncontrollables it's just focusing on the things that you can control and trying to do those to the best that you can.

Q. How much does it help you to have seen Texas earlier this year?

AARON CIVALE: We play every team now, so we're always seeing every team. The more you play in this league, the more experience you have against each team and can draw back on memories from two, three, four, five, six months ago. But what we're playing right now is the team that we're playing right now, and just got to go out there and compete.