AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: MARINERS VS BLUE JAYS

October 17, 2025

Dan Wilson

T-Mobile Park

Seattle Mariners

Pregame 5 Press Conference

Q. Gabe, George, a couple pitchers this series have talked about continuing to stay aggressive, continuing to stay who you are, but also making better pitches and kind of just looking at what went wrong and what went right. How do you guys balance sticking to the game plan while also looking at film and making the adjustments where you have to?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, that's really the nuts and bolts of it. That's sort of the line of scrimmage, so to speak, is making the proper adjustments. We've talked so much about Woody and Trent all season long and just the job they do and how they prepare our guys. We talk about how hard our guys work. They're willing to make the adjustments. That's really where it all comes down to it.

I know these guys will do it and making quality strikes in the zone, getting ahead is the key. I think we've done that to some degree and when we haven't, then they have been able to take advantage of that. We continue to make adjustments and I know our guys will be able to do that and they have done it all season long.

Q. At the plate, given the last couple of games, where are you at with the state of the offense, the at-bats being taken and the adjustments that you have to make here for Game 5?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think, again, yesterday we were able to get some guys on, not able to get them in consistently. I think when we're at our best, we're grinding out at-bats one after the other and seeing a lot of pitches and getting deep into counts and making that pitcher work and drawing walks and whatever we can do to get on base. And I think that's where we're at and that's what we need to continue to do and find ways to do that more consistently, and then once we do that, being able to get 'em in.

We have hit some home runs in this series, which has been good, but again, to have a more consistent offense it takes, I think, hitting home runs as well as sort of scoring traditionally and that's when we're going to be at our best. So being able to do both is where we need to get to.

Q. How has Bryan Woo been prepared to come out of the pen, and what was kind of his input in that as well? I know he did actually relief a lot this college.

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think, again, just learning from other guys, being down there the last couple nights and understanding the ins and outs of it, having done it in the All-Star Game. I think there's some experience there to draw on. Until it happens, I think that's when it will really work for him.

But I think he's going to be as prepared as possible. Whether that happens today or in Game 6, that remains to be seen. But I know Bryan, and I think at the end of the day, you need to be prepared physically, for sure, but also mentally, and that's where he's really thrived this year on the mound is just the mental side of things, and I know he'll be in the right spot when he gets out there.

Q. We know the potency of Toronto's offense when they get going. I think it's 29 hits over the last two games. When you look at the collective of that, a lot of extra base hits, hard hit balls, what have you seen from the pitches they're getting to? Is there lacking execution that you guys are seeing? Where is it coming from, in your mind, the hits are kind of piling up against you at this stage?

DAN WILSON: I think when you're able to do some things offensively, as they have, they have hit some pitches that were on the plate, and we talked about that a little bit. They have also hit some pitches that were good pitches that they were able to get to and put into play. That's what that team does. They have done a little bit of both. They have been able to put together a more consistent approach than they were able to do in the first couple games of the series.

Our objective is to continue making good pitches, getting ourselves into good counts, and getting weak contact when possible, and then striking guys out when possible. So that's going to remain the same, and our guys are going to be able to execute that going forward.

Q. The last couple of days you had to face Bieber and Scherzer who you hadn't seen this season. Now you're back to Gausman who you've already seen. In this postseason, when you guys have faced pitchers you've already seen, you've managed to get the better of 'em, execute the game plan better. How do you think that could help you guys today?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think that is helpful for sure. Our guys have learned from the first time facing him in Toronto. Obviously, with his repertoire a lot of sliders to the right, uses a lot of splits to the lefties. I think getting him up in the zone is going to be a key for us again today. We talked about it the last time, making him get in the zone and hopefully finding a mistake there and doing damage to it.

Again, that familiarity is super helpful in game planning, it's super helpful in their preparation as they get ready to get in the batter's box, and I think we'll be in good shape offensively today.

Q. It's often said that you turn a page after a loss and guys tend to be compartmentalized here in this game, but given the gravity of this situation, how big is the clubhouse measuring this game and how do your veterans set the example?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think this is very emblematic of where we find ourselves a lot during the season. It's a two-out-of-three series at this point and we have been successful a lot of times in a two-out-of-three series. I think our guys, they know what it takes to fight from this position. That's been sort of a key to our entire season, really, has just been their ability to be resilient, to fight back, to fight hard, and fight from inning one to nine. And that's really going to become front stage and center here these last several games, and I'm comfortable and I think they're comfortable in that environment as well.

Q. Gausman, obviously, has a great splitter, but across the whole sport, the percentage of splitters is way up this postseason. In general, what makes that pitch so tough for hitters to attack, and do you remember who had great splitters when you were playing?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think when you think about a splitter, it's unpredictable in a lot of ways. Depending upon whose splitter we're talking about, it can act a little bit more like a knuckleball where you're just not sure where it's going to go. You see catchers having trouble even catching it.

So sometimes it's the unknown of how it's going to break. It's a strike-the-ball pitch. It starts in the zone and breaks down below the zone. That makes it difficult. It's a tough pitch to do anything with. If it's executed at the bottom of the zone, it's a tough pitch to get in the air and hit hard. It's a good pitch, no question.

But again, I think that kind of shows the importance of getting one that's up in the zone and being able to handle it there, and if you can do that I think then you're going to be able to have some good success.

Q. What do you see from Leo Rivas during the season and during this postseason that made you put him again today in the lineup?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, Leo during the season and even in this postseason, just the quality of at-bats that we've gotten from Leo have been just outstanding on really both sides of the plate. He hit some big home runs for us since coming back up in September. Left-handed, big, huge pinch hit base hit in Game 5 from the right side. So he has really swung the bat well. He's just put up good at-bats, found his way on base.

And then the defense that he plays. He's so versatile on the infield, whether it's second, short, he could even play third. He's played everywhere, even had to play in the outfield one game. So he's a guy that gives you a lot of versatility, and his defense is outstanding. What we have seen from Leo has been awesome, and just his approach to the game, how hard he works, how he enjoys playing, and it's been good to have him in the lineup.