AL DIVISION SERIES: TWINS VS ASTROS

October 11, 2023

Caleb Thielbar

Emilio Pagan

Target Field

Minnesota Twins

Pregame 4 Press Conference

For either of you guys, is there any difference in the vibe after last night, whether in the clubhouse last night or today, as you guys come in knowing the task that lies ahead right now?

CALEB THIELBAR: I don't think so. We know what's going on. We know our back's up against the wall right now. I think, if you walk through the clubhouse right now, you really wouldn't know what the situation is.

Guys are having fun. Guys are loose. Guys are laughing and joking around, just like we do every other day. We know what we need to do tonight. That's the plan, go forward and accomplish what we need to do.

Q. Emilio, you had spent some time with Chris Paddack together while you were on the San Diego Padres. You may have seen him before his injury woes more than anybody else. What have you seen from him that shows he's back at his best, and how have you seen him transition to the bullpen so well?

EMILIO PAGÁN: Honestly, I would say he's better now than any time I saw him in San Diego. His stuff has ticked up a little bit. There's a little more of -- he's just more comfortable in who he is as a pitcher and as a person each and every day. He's had a long road.

I think any time you have an injury or something that takes you away from this game, you realize how much you love it and how much it means to you. So he's been able to -- not that he ever lost the joy of pitching, but he found a little bit of what helped him burst on the scene his rookie year, where seemingly every start he was going deep into a game and making headlines.

His stuff is better than it's ever been. I think he's more comfortable in who he is than he's ever been on the mound. So he's in a really good spot. I'm really happy for him.

Q. Whatever prompted you guys to wear Joe Ryan Grateful Dead shirts there? And why does Emilio's look a hundred years older than Caleb's?

EMILIO PAGÁN: I think I've worn mine more on the field than Caleb has. When they asked me to come in today and I knew Joe was pitching, we're confident in Joe every time he takes the mound. He's been one of the best pitchers in the game since he's gotten over to Minnesota.

It's a really comfortable shirt, but it also seemed fitting since he was pitching today.

Q. Compared to the regular season, just kind of what's the tenor of the bullpen these days in the postseason?

CALEB THIELBAR: I think we all know exactly the situations that we're going to be in. I'm not going to say that we don't manage to win every single game in the regular season, but there is a point of needing to stay healthy over the course of a season.

We win three, four close games in a row, you can't just throw your same guys all year doing that. Otherwise, we're going to get blown out by the end of the season.

But now we're looking for the right matchups. We're looking to put a zero up and win every single game, every single inning, every single pitch right now. I think that the way that it's managed is based on that, and that's why you see some different things happening now.

Q. You guys have won a playoff game. You've won a playoff series. You've played on the road. Is there something to have been learned within the first five games of just a playoff experience for the guys that haven't been there before that might help into today?

EMILIO PAGÁN: I think just we talked about it before the playoffs started. The intensity behind everything that's involved with the playoffs, the media coverage, how much your phone is going off, the phone calls, the texts from your family, your friends.

I think guys are starting to understand the magnitude of the opportunity we have in front of us, and so I think guys each and every day are going to get more comfortable. Each and every year as the team gets back to the playoffs should be more comfortable in that situation.

I think guys are getting used to everything that comes with being a playoff-caliber team. The Twins are in a good spot. They have a chance to have a run here for a few years and be here consistently. So each and every day, the young guys are getting more and more aware of what's going on around them.

We're grateful for the opportunity. We're definitely excited to keep it going as long as we can.

Q. How did each of you guys kind of handle the potential for a 1:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m. start time last night?

CALEB THIELBAR: I guess the game got over fairly early last night, so me personally, I was just going to adjust the time I went to bed versus for a 1:00 game versus a 6:00 game. So just went to bed a little bit later and slept a little bit later and got up and had my normal routine that I would have any other time in the regular season.

EMILIO PAGÁN: For me, I'm pretty much just running on adrenaline at this point. I watched the game last night, huge fan of baseball. So I'm watching all the games pretty much from start to finish. When Texas got out to that lead, we kind of had the idea that this would be the game time. So it was an easy adjustment. That's really all that goes into it.

Q. Did you guys prefer either, day or night game?

CALEB THIELBAR: Night.

Q. Why?

CALEB THIELBAR: Hate day games. It's no more simple than that.

Q. Caleb, it looks like Louie Varland also had a pretty seamless transition into the bullpen this season. What have you noticed from him making that transition, and what about his game do you think is so effective coming out of the bullpen?

CALEB THIELBAR: He was kind of a natural fit for it. Not that he's not going to get the opportunity to start again, but if you watch his starts, he was always amped up in the first couple of innings and then settled into the game a little bit, and the velo would go from 97, 98 in the first couple innings down to 94, 95, and that's where it would sit the rest of the game.

It was kind of natural for him to come out of the bullpen for a one- or two-inning outing, just knowing the stuff he has, the things we see the first couple of innings of his starts every single time.

I think he's just got the mentality for it too. He's just a bulldog. He wants the ball. The way he warms up in the bullpen is very suited for it. I think it's a good fit for him right now. Hopefully he's allowed to get another chance to start.

Right now we like the way he looks, and he's definitely helping us out out there.

Q. And a follow-up on Louie Varland. With you two both being from Minnesota, have you guys ever taken the time to talk about the opportunity you guys have here and the emotions that get brought up when you either, A, come out of the bullpen, or just looking on the field and you see all the Minnesotan fans that you guys once were packing out that crowd?

CALEB THIELBAR: The crowds lately have been unbelievable. That's a lot of fun. I know I personally have a lot of friends and family at these games. I'm guessing he's the same. We haven't really talked a ton about that, but I think that's something we'll definitely reflect on at some point after the season when we're talking in the off-season or going fishing together, like we did last year.

Q. I was just going to ask about having starters come out into the bullpen and fit into the routine of what you guys do out there because it's a different life in the bullpen, I'm assuming, during the regular season. Then to acclimate these guys, are there rules that you set down for when the starters come in and join you out there?

EMILIO PAGÁN: No, we're a pretty laid-back group. We all sit pretty much in the same spot every day. So that's probably the only thing, like you take somebody's spot or you've got to slide over.

In Kenta's situation, he can sit wherever he wants. He's been around. He's done that. But no, it's easy, man. Those guys -- number one, our starting rotation has been probably the biggest strength of this team all year long. So they've earned the right to come down there and help us.

Other than that, it's just -- right now we've got to win at all costs, and so whoever can help, whoever's fresh and feels good physically enough to take the mound and throw meaningful pitches for us, we'll take anybody down there that we can.

Q. Do they have any questions about watching a game from out there versus the dugout?

EMILIO PAGÁN: No. I think at some point throughout your baseball career, everybody comes out of the bullpen at some point, whether it's high school, college, in a playoff situation. Obviously in the Big Leagues it's more magnified, but at some point you're going to pitch where you're not throwing the first pitch of the game.

So the guys that have come down have all handled it really well. They've been dialed in. They're moving around. They know the situation, being guys that are going to be down there providing length. So you can kind of feel out the situation to feel where the game's going, but we're a confident pitching staff, not just starting rotation. It's been an easy transition for those guys.