AL DIVISION SERIES: TIGERS VS MARINERS

October 8, 2025

Dillon Dingler

Comerica Park

Detroit Tigers

Pregame 4 Press Conference

Q. You guys were in a very similar situation just a few days ago. What did you learn from that game in Cleveland, and what can you take from it?

DILLON DINGLER: Yeah. Obviously being an elimination game, everything's at stake. Everything's on the line. So I was saying this after the game yesterday. We're going to have the energy. We're going to have the focus that it takes.

Everybody's looking forward to it, and we're going to come out.

Q. Dillon, you're kind of in uncharted water here in terms of the length of the season, the grind, you know, and the magnitude of the game that you're playing in this late. How has your body held up? How are you feeling leg-wise, and is it kind of a testament to your workout regimen in the offseason that got you here?

DILLON DINGLER: Yeah. Obviously you don't feel all that fresh at this point in the year, but you feel good enough. And a lot of the times the adrenaline and the magnitude of the games kind of drives you through.

So, like, during the game, I'll feel money. I'll feel as good as I'll ever feel. But, yeah, we do -- our organization does a great job of getting us to this point physically. We have great strength and athletic training staff, and everybody's good. Everybody's up for the task.

Q. Dillon, I see you've got an Ohio State teammate on the other side for this series, and you've been able to visit with him at home plate a few times. Have you been able to visit with him outside of that, and if so, what can you tell us about him?

DILLON DINGLER: Yeah, Dom. Dom is a great guy. I played with him for two years. We haven't been able to get with each other outside. Obviously there's a bunch going on, and I'm sure he has family in town because he's from Cleveland as well. So I'm sure he's meeting up with family. He's probably got a lot of family in town.

But, yeah, I love playing against Dom. I love seeing him again. It's been a while since I've been able to see him. So it's always fun playing against a guy that you've played with.

Q. Dillon, after yesterday, the tough reality is you guys haven't won here at home in over a month. Does it get to the point where that just becomes its own pressure in itself?

DILLON DINGLER: No. None of us are thinking about that. Obviously that's the narrative right now. You know, we hear it enough, but I don't think that was in any of our minds yesterday when we came back home. We were excited to finally be back home. We've been on, what, a two-week road stint, so it was nice to finally come home.

But all that goes out the window. You know, we'll be ready to play today. We'll be ready to play in front of the fans, and it's going to be exciting.

Q. From game planning against the Mariners for a week or so now, what distinguishes them? What makes them a difficult offense?

DILLON DINGLER: Yeah. They've got a lot of good players, and they got a lot better too at the deadline. They added some thump, especially with Geno coming over.

But yeah. They have a complete lineup, and like everybody too, they have weaknesses, and we just try -- we try to stick to our game plan.

Like I said, I give props to our pitching staff and our game planning. Everybody's involved. We have a really good staff as well, and I feel like we've done a pretty good job. Obviously yesterday kind of got away from us, but other than that, you know, I like our pitchers. I like our pitchers. I like our plan.

Q. Dillon, just what difference have you seen in Casey over his past few starts compared to where he was at maybe earlier in the second half?

DILLON DINGLER: Yeah. You know, I love working with Case. I love working with Case. He's got the intensity. He's a big-game pitcher. I mean, you saw it in New York. You saw it in -- at Fenway. I feel like he always rises to the occasion.

He has a great feel for all of his stuff, and we're really confident with him today.

Q. Dillon, knowing Tarik is lined up for Game 5, how much does that kind of provide an added boost for you guys going into Game 4? If you can win this game, you've got your guy lined up for winner-take-all.

DILLON DINGLER: Yeah. Obviously we're very excited for that situation, but at the same time we've got to get there. We've got to get there, which means we've got to take care of business today. We've got to put our best foot forward today, make sure we have all the energy in the dugout, have good at-bats, play good defense, have good pitching today.

So that's going to be a really good feeling after we win the game today.

Q. And getting back to Dom real quick, were you guys in the same outfield? Was that during your time when you were playing center field at Ohio State?

DILLON DINGLER: Yeah.

Q. And how much did he help you get used to that in college ball?

DILLON DINGLER: Yeah. I completely forgot about that. I'm not going to lie. Yeah. That's funny. He was the right fielder. Yeah. He helped out for sure. That's actually really funny. I didn't even think about that. But yeah. It's really cool.

Q. Hey, Dillon. How would you rate the atmosphere of Detroit last year?

DILLON DINGLER: It's good. Obviously a lot of people showed up. A lot of people showed up. You know, hopefully the same thing happens today. I know people will show up, and hopefully it gets loud.

We thrive off the atmosphere, and I know, being a visitor in an electric stadium, it does create a lot of anxiety or a lot of pressure for the opposing team. So I just hope that everybody's loud, everybody's loud and everybody's cheering pretty hard.

Q. Talking with Tarik after Game 1, he had noted your reputation for low line drive throws to second base and how you kind of have to have your head on a swivel there. Has that always been your style of throws? And how much do you warn pitchers like, "Hey, be alert, because if a guy is going, it might be coming in pretty hot"?

DILLON DINGLER: Yeah. I advise pitchers to please get off the mound, because I've hit two now. One was Shelby last year on a rehab assignment, and that one didn't feel too good.

I have to work downhill in order to get my best throws off, so sometimes, you know, they don't -- it doesn't make it over their head. So I would need them to get off the mound. But it's just one of those things, you know?

But in order for me to throw my best, I need to have that downhill feel.