AL DIVISION SERIES: TIGERS VS MARINERS

October 10, 2025

Dan Wilson

T-Mobile Park

Seattle Mariners

Pregame 5 Press Conference

Q. Dan, you were a part of some do-or-die-type games like this as a player. What are the emotions? What are the feelings? How are they similar? How are they different in your seat now?

DAN WILSON: Yeah. I think it's very similar. You feel all the emotions. You kind of cycle through it all.

But I think, you know, you get to the point where the first pitch happens, and you get back to sort of groundedness and, you know, you're ready for kind of business as usual at that point.

And I think this has been a long journey for sure, and that's where there is so much emotion to it, but once that first pitch is thrown, you're back to where you want to be and back in that state where you're ready for anything.

Q. Dan, Randy just talked about how important communication is in the dugout during the game, and we saw in Game 4 just Josh relaying the signals and all of that, just constantly making sure everyone's updated. What have you noticed in this series over just the constant communication and relaying them information between players and coaches and everyone throughout the game?

DAN WILSON: Yeah. I think it just kind of highlights and reiterates this is a group effort, and the guys in that clubhouse -- you know, they care about each other so much and it's about giving everybody the best chances to succeed. So any information they have, they're going to pass it along.

And that is a big part of this time of year, is what they're seeing out on the field, what they're experiencing out there, and sharing that with the guys around them. That's the beauty of baseball. That's the beauty of this time of year.

It may be something a guy tells you right before you go up to the plate that helps you get that knock and win a game for your team. So this -- that is such a big part of this time of year, and our guys have been phenomenal at that all throughout the series for sure.

Q. Dan, if you guys advance tonight, would you expect to have Bryan Woo on the next roster? And how is he coming along?

DAN WILSON: I think Bryan's got a bullpen today, and we'll see how he kind of bounces back from that, and these are the decisions we're going to have to make pretty quickly once this game concludes tonight.

So yeah, we'll cross that bridge when we get there, but we're certainly hopeful.

Q. It's been an all-hands-on-deck situation tonight, but specifically Logan Gilbert, would he be available on two days'?

DAN WILSON: Yeah. It is all hands on deck. You want to do everything you can to see another day. So I suspect Logan and The Rock and even Bryce Miller are probably down in the bullpen tonight available and ready to pitch.

I know these guys want the ball in these situations, and it's exciting. This is what this time of year is all about, and these guys are ready for the moment.

Q. Dan, four games now into managing in the playoffs for you as well. Anything you've taken away from the experience of the first couple days as something to kind of build off of as being in the heat of the moment?

DAN WILSON: Yeah. Every game presents different puzzles, and each game takes on its own life and its own uniqueness. And it feels like each game teaches you something different. And you just have to continue to lean on the people around you that help you make decisions, and we have such a great staff that that's -- you just rely on them a lot.

But it's been a journey, like I said. It continues to be a journey. It's a learning experience every time you go out there, but it's -- these guys in that clubhouse -- you know, they fight so hard, and that's really what it's all about, and that's how these games have gone.

Q. Dan, how flexible do you guys have to be with your approach at the plate against Skubal, just going off of what you're seeing early? You like to put pitches on him, but if he's able to command early, you don't want to be behind either. How flexible and how -- can you get a read even in the first two innings off of him?

DAN WILSON: Yeah. I think a couple things. You have to kind of make the adjustments as you go. And you're right. We've been able to put some pitches on him over the course of the games that we've seen him this season.

But, again, it kind of goes back to that communication factor that we've talked about, and the first couple guys getting their ABs, seeing what they see, coming back in the dugout and sharing that information and kind of relaying that to the next hitters so they have an idea. And that's how it grows, and that's how it's going to continue to go tonight.

We'll just -- you have to be ready to make those adjustments. It's a fine balance between being too selective and getting behind or being too aggressive and swinging at the pitches you don't want to swing at.

But our guys have been great. They've been able to solve that part of it when they faced Skubal before. So I think they have a good track record of making those good adjustments.

Q. Dan, when you first got to know George Kirby, what was the impression that you took away that helped prepare him to meet this moment?

DAN WILSON: You know, George has -- he's got something inside that's special, and I think you don't see it sometimes until he takes the mound in these big moments.

And we've seen it this year, and we've seen it in some big ball games that he's taken the mound. And I think there's nothing -- there's no bigger moment than tonight, and I think that's what we're going to see from George again tonight.

And it's that voice inside him that won't take no for an answer. And you've got to love to see that from your starter, and I'm looking forward to seeing George out there tonight.

Q. Dan, since you have that full bullpen at your disposal, would you be willing to use Andres Munoz before the ninth inning if you felt it called for it?

DAN WILSON: Yeah. I think we have to be open to anything tonight. That's what this game calls for, and, again that's what these moments call for. And you don't want to get too far away from what we've done. It's helped us be successful, but at the same time, you want to live to see another day.

So again, there's a balance there that you have to strike, and I think we'll be ready for whatever adjustments we have to make.

Q. Josh mentioned last week the potential of the big inning for you guys that you hit on, especially in that last month of the year. In this series you guys have strung together good innings, good at-bats, and generated traffic, but there hasn't been quite that massive inning yet. You've mentioned how even-keeled the team has been throughout this whole series. Does it help knowing that there's that gear that you guys put together in that last month that you guys know that you're still capable of hitting?

DAN WILSON: No doubt. Again, this is an offense that is very deep and has -- when they work together as a lineup, they're very strong and can put runs up, can put them up quickly, and can put multiple runs up in an inning.

And in the postseason that's a little bit more rare, but there's always that potential. And this is a lineup that can do it, and we've seen it play out. We're able to put a lot of them -- you know, a lot of runs on them in Game 3 in Detroit.

So we just continue to do the offensive things that we do well as a team. I think it goes back to identity again, and we'll be in good shape tonight.

Q. Dan, I got from some of the guys in the clubhouse in Detroit after the game, it seemed like a feeling of they were embracing this opportunity today. And I think I saw that from you when you came in as well. How do you and how do they embrace this game today?

DAN WILSON: Well, I think T-Mobile is legendary for the feeling that it invokes in players and coaches and whoever's out there. This is an electric place, and this is an electric fan base. It's an incredible fan base, and they're going to be out in full force tonight. We know that.

And I think our guys really do feed off that energy and know that that's going to be a big factor tonight in the game.

And so I think, yes, we were obviously disappointed in the Game 4 result, but we're really excited to be out here tonight and ready to play.