AL DIVISION SERIES: TIGERS VS MARINERS

October 5, 2025

Andres Munoz

T-Mobile Park

Seattle Mariners

Pregame 2 Press Conference

Q. Andres, first question. Just how you're feeling after going into yesterday?

ANDRES MUNOZ: I am feeling great. I'm feeling great. I don't feel any -- always the day after, sore, normal. I don't remember the last time I went two innings. But feel pretty good, just trying to do my best.

Q. Dan said when it comes to the playoffs bullpen, everyone's available. Are you feeling, if the situation requires it, to go out there again today?

A. Yes. Yes, of course. Like I said yesterday, we are going to push the more we can to take the win, and we know that everybody in the bullpen is really important for us.

But at the same time, you have to be a little bit safe with what you do. You don't have to do crazy things.

But yes, I feel pretty good today, and if the team needs me, I'm going to be there.

Q. Andres, how did the regular season and how they used you help get you ready for the workload to be at this stage of the season, you know, using you in the ninth role consistently in the first half to be able to have the stamina at this time of year?

ANDRES MUNOZ: I think that changed a lot. Like you say, the workload that they put, they were really careful with me this year on when they were going to use me, not use me in one plus.

And the way that they managed the -- my workload this year was great, what -- is all I can ask for. The way that they treat me and they worry about every day -- they ask me if I am ready. They didn't ask me to push more than one inning, and I feel like that is why I feel pretty good today.

Q. Just along those lines, is this something you're embracing now too as you get to the playoffs? You talked about they're going to ask more of you, obviously, two innings last night. Is this something you're excited about and prepared for here going into the postseason?

ANDRES MUNOZ: Yes, of course. The fans over there were awesome yesterday, helped us a lot with that energy that we need to go through those things.

And yes, every time that I get the ball, I'm going to try to do my best. Sometimes it's going to be good. Sometimes it's going to be bad, but never doubt that I gave my 100 percent that day.

Q. Andres, are there any lessons or experiences from the 2022 run that maybe you've taken into preparing for this run and that helped you become a better pitcher?

ANDRES MUNOZ: Probably -- I remember in 2022, if I have to pick one thing that I learned, it is don't try to do too much. Sometimes we get that mentality of because it's the playoffs, it's more important and all those things.

You try to do more, and that is the worst thing that you can do. You just have to do the same thing that you do every day. And that is why you have a really good results in the regular season, because you didn't try to do too much. You just try to do what you have that day. And I think that is the key here.

Q. Andres, these guys have talked about the word "fight" over the last several weeks. So how urgent does Game 2 feel given that you're working in the scope of a five-game series?

ANDRES MUNOZ: I don't know. The only thing that I can say about that is we have a really good team and we have a really good chance here.

Obviously we would love to get that first game, but this is not finished yet. We have a lot of work to do, and we -- I know everybody individually and as a team, we're going to do the best that we can to get the Game 2. And just take everything game by game. Don't think too much about the future. Don't think too much about what is going to happen.

And it's the same thing that I say personally, me. I just take everything pitch by pitch and see what happens.

Q. Andres, you've had fewer of the one pluses this year. What's the experience this year in the dugout like and when you come off the field after your first inning and you still have to go out there again?

ANDRES MUNOZ: Obviously it was weird for me. It didn't happen in a long time. But as soon as I got out of the first inning, the first thing that they say is -- they came to me, and they said, "Are you ready for another one? "

I say, "Of course." And I get down a little bit, downstairs, and then I just breathe, try to recover.

And as soon as I got to outside, I went out, and I was like -- same as I always think: I'm going to do my best.

Q. Andres, you've been -- you're just 26, but you've been here since 2021. You're one of the longest tenured members -- the longest tenured member of this bullpen, I think. How have you grown and changed as a person and as a player over your time as a Mariner?

ANDRES MUNOZ: I think that the only thing that has changed is the mentality that I have. Before, it's not that I used -- I just got the ball and throw, and right now I have a little bit more of how to manage those situations of pressure.

I see having a hard time because you're never going to get used to it, especially when you're in the ninth inning, but with the help of my teammates, I feel like I've been getting better. Every time that I have -- when I have -- when I am struggling or something, I have JP over there. I have Geno. I have Naylor. I have Polanco, who always -- I have Cal, of course, who always know me really good. They know me for a lot of years, so they know when they have to go with me and talk to me a little bit to make me feel better.

And I think that is -- that has been the most important thing for me. They pick the right time to give me some breath, and that's it. I think that has been the difference.

Q. Talk about that catch last night, and just kind of coming off the field after a play like that.

ANDRES MUNOZ: To be honest, I always throw, and I don't watch when I am throwing the ball, because I fall that way (indicating). So I know it wasn't, like -- the ball wasn't coming really hard, but I looked really hard because I didn't watch the ball. I think I didn't see -- I saw the picture where I didn't see when I catch the ball because, of course, I was, like, first thinking, I forgot that ball, but I just got scared. That's it.

Because I think in my career, it never happened that before. The ball never come towards me. Only if any -- I remember one time it hit me in the ankle, and that was the only time that I remember. Nothing to my face.

Maybe it wasn't that close to my face, but it feels like it was really close.

Q. The replay showed your eyes were closed.

ANDRES MUNOZ: Yes. Yes. I saw the ball -- I saw a little bit, a little bit of the ball, and then I just remember doing this, and I got it.

And the other thing why I fall was because I felt like sometimes when we are in situations like that, we try to get your body tight, and then is when some things can happen, like you feel something in your legs or something. That is why I just fall, to make sure I didn't get tight anywhere. And I know that (indiscernible) the second one, so I have to be ready.

Q. Do you think Matilda helped you?

ANDRES MUNOZ: Oh, yes. Of course. Every time we leave the apartment, we leave the game on so she can watch it.