AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: MARINERS VS BLUE JAYS

October 16, 2025

Dan Wilson

T-Mobile Park

Seattle Mariners

Postgame 4 Press Conference

Toronto - 8, Seattle - 2

Q. What did you see from Luis that made you want to go pull him quick? And kind of walk us through the thinking behind all the moves there.

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think we talked about it beforehand that we had the ability tonight to be aggressive with the bullpen, and in that situation, Gabe was ready to go, and it was a good matchup for us and we felt like that was a time to go.

I think you make tough decisions, and that was a tough one, for sure. I think Gabe did a good job. He walked Varsho but then able to get the next two guys.

Q. What were you seeing from Luis that made you feel like, okay, this isn't working?

DAN WILSON: Again, we knew ahead of time that we could be aggressive tonight, and I think in that situation -- they struck quickly last night, and so tonight we had a chance to send Gabe out there and we did.

Q. With Gabe, I think he was at 26 pitches or so when he faced Springer. Was there any inclination to going and getting him with Brash warming at that point?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I mean, again, you make decisions and you got to live with 'em and still thought he was throwing the ball well, but Springer was able to get him.

Q. Did the way the third inning went yesterday for George impact or inform the decision-making process for Luis today?

DAN WILSON: We know about this offense and they can -- they struck quickly and, again, just felt like it was a situation where we knew we could be aggressive, and tonight was an opportunity to do that with Gabe there and we went with it.

Q. At this stage of the season you guys know who you are pitching-wise, you're going to attack, get after it in the zone. At the same time they want to be aggressive in the zone too. At this stage in the series what kind of adjustments can you make pitching-wise in that regard?

DAN WILSON: I think our guys have thrown the ball well all season long and have done that. This is two good teams going at it. This is what the Championship Series is all about. We will make our adjustments and continue to do that and continue to do the things that we do that make us successful as well.

Q. There were a couple base-running errors, there was a wild pitch that scored a run, there was a walk that scored a run. Toronto outplayed you today, but what can you say about just those little things adding up today?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, little things, that is what happens in this time of year, and they can make a big difference. We've talked about that a lot. Tonight it seemed like there were a couple situations that hurt us that way.

Q. Kind of on that note of the little things adding up, it seemed like Scherzer today the fastball was working right away, but the off-speed stuff took a while to get there. Was there a feeling like there was an opening early on to get to him that maybe just didn't happen for you guys today?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I mean, again, we talked about Scherzer and his ability as a veteran to kind of step up. I think he made some good pitches tonight when he had to. I thought he mixed up his arsenal pretty well. He had a good fastball and then was able to use his changeup, his curve, and his slider as well. I thought he had a pretty good mix with it tonight and kept us off stride.

Q. With using some of your relievers tonight, how can you activate the Bryan Woo component of this? Because they haven't seen him yet. Is he someone you're eager to get in there tomorrow? Could he be a factor tomorrow?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think we did use bullpen guys tonight, but they were very well rested again. So I think that we're still in good shape in terms of our bullpen and also, we have Bryan down there as well, and we'll utilize him when the time is right.

Q. With Naylor running there in the sixth inning, take me through that play. Was that the right play to go there, to go to third or what?

DAN WILSON: I mean, I think we tend to be aggressive. Sometimes when we're aggressive, it can backfire.

Q. When you went to the mound, you talked to Castillo before making the move. What did you tell him?

DAN WILSON: Just that we were going to go to Gabe in that situation. It was tough. Again, it's a tough decision and it was not an easy one and not an easy one to tell him. But that's what we went with and just an opportunity to let him know.

Q. You had five walks on Scherzer. I mean, what did you see in the approaches otherwise, though? It looked like sometimes you guys got a little overaggressive on him on some pitches out of the zone.

DAN WILSON: Yeah, again, we talked about it. I think he made some pitches when he had to in some key situations. We were able to get some traffic going, but nothing that we were able to drive that guy in. And just, again, he made a couple -- he got himself out of a couple situations and that was the story for tonight.

Q. When you zoom out from this game, even offensively, there's a number of players who are slumping at this point. I was wondering, do you feel like some guys are pressing in the situation or how would you kind of explain some of the issues offensively?

DAN WILSON: I think, again, we had opportunities, just weren't able to cash in tonight. I think that this is a team -- we've talked about bouncing back, that the series is tied up now at this point, and this is an opportunity really for us to bounce back and get back on it and tomorrow we come out and do that.

Q. How would you describe the psyche of your team?

DAN WILSON: Obviously we wanted to get a couple series, or a couple wins here in the series at home. We haven't been able to do that. But, again, tomorrow we have a chance to bounce back, and that's where our focus is going forward.

Q. How do you get back to playing your kind of game? You're not used to teams coming in here and doing what they have done to your pitching staff, it just doesn't happen?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think, again, doing the things that we do offensively, grinding out our at-bats, getting guys on base, and getting them in. Driving the ball in the gaps, that's what we do. And on the mound, we attack zone and we just need to continue to get back to that, and that's what we do well, and we'll get back to that tomorrow and bounce back in the series.