AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: MARINERS VS BLUE JAYS

October 17, 2025

Dan Wilson

T-Mobile Park

Seattle Mariners

Postgame 5 Press Conference

Seattle - 6, Toronto - 2

Q. 8th inning, leadoff home run, two walks, hit by pitch, you talked all along about getting on base and then setting yourselves up. Do you feel like that 8th inning was just the perfect encapsulation what you keep talking about with this offense.

DAN WILSON: Oh, it was no big deal. (Smiling.)

Yes, that's exactly what our guys do. Obviously, a huge day for Geno, a huge day for Cal. Ironically, the two guys that didn't switch spots in the lineup. But when you look at what happened before that, a walk to Polo, a walk to Naylor, and then the hit by pitch to Randy, those are huge at-bats to get on base and to get something going there, and then Geno took it from there. What an afternoon for Geno. To not try to do too much with that pitch and to hit it the other way like he did, just a phenomenal at-bat right there all the way through.

Then the homer earlier in the game to get us on the board. You know, you can't say enough about just how good it must feel for Geno picking up those five RBI for us today and giving us a victory. This was just a great day for him. And again, a great day up and down the lineup. That's how we roll and that's what we do well and today it came through for us big-time.

Q. You've been in that dugout for some of the biggest moments in franchise history, but that 8th inning, just what did that feel like just being in there feeling the crowd, feeling the momentum? What was that like for you?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, first of all, it felt like Cal's ball was in the air for, like, an hour. But to see that one go over and tie the score. And then after Geno's grand slam, I'm not sure I've heard that building any louder than that. Again, just can't say enough about the fans here in Seattle, just how much they support us, how they come out, how they turn out, how they give us the energy we need. Another phenomenal day from the people here in Seattle. It makes you emotional just thinking about that and just how loud it was at that moment.

Talking to a lot of people who have been around here since the 2001 days, they don't remember a time that it was this loud before. So just an incredible moment, I think, at T-Mobile Park, and you can't say enough about the support we've received from these fans this year.

Q. How can you articulate what your two big trade deadline acquisitions have meant to this team?

DAN WILSON: Again, you look at our club and just how much deeper it got with Josh and Geno, just the number of big hits that they have come up with for us along the way, along the stretch. Nayls has been so good defensively at first, but also just picking up huge knocks all over the place for us down the stretch. Then Geno, big home runs and then certainly today, just an absolutely huge day for us.

I can't thank the front office enough, you can't thank the job that Jarrod, Justin, and Andy McKay have done to put this team together. We still have work to do. We still have a lot of work to do here to get through and to get to the next step. But just a huge day all around and a good way to get on that plane.

Q. When Geno struggles, it can often look really ugly, but have you ever seen a player that doesn't seem to show his struggles pregame, post game. I mean, people are around it, but can you articulate what it's like to be around him? Because it doesn't seem like it's any different than when he's rolling.

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think as good a player as Geno is he's an even better person. I think that's what shines through with Geno. You can't tell if he's in a slump, you can't tell what he's going through, because he's always picking everybody else up. He's just a selfless player, and that's why everybody in the clubhouse roots for Geno so hard, because he just doesn't think about himself at all.

Again, just being able to give Geno a hug after the game and knowing how much -- how good it feels for him to do what he did today. He's just an incredible person, an incredible leader, an incredible ball player, and today just a huge day for him.

Q. On the defensive side, Naylor makes that amazing play on the Giménez liner. I wonder, on that one, is that his positioning, is that some guidance from infield coaches? I wonder a play like that, that's massive early in the ball game.

DAN WILSON: Yeah, no doubt. It's a combination of both. I think Nayls has ability, he's quick, and he's able to play off the bag pretty well and had it positioned very, very well. But I know Manny and our analytics team do a great job of positioning guys too. So yeah, a combination of both there, for sure.

I told him afterwards that if he's going to have a quick release like that, we might start putting him behind the plate because I thought he got rid of the ball pretty quickly after the line drive. Great play.

Q. With Woo, how close was that to being exactly the circumstance in which -- you wanted to get him into the game and just the overall all pitch count and circumstances?

DAN WILSON: It worked out well for him to be able to get in there, to get his feet wet again, and to see what it was like coming out of the bullpen and be able to get two innings in. I thought was a great way to sort of bridge our bullpen at that point having had to go to the bullpen a little bit early again today. So giving us a little bit of a bridge and it worked out well and it kept the game close. That's what we're trying to do is keep the game close and allow our offense to do some damage late.

Q. It seems like forever ago now, but I was just wondering your thinking on lifting Bryce when you did.

DAN WILSON: Oh, yeah. Again, I thought Bryce was throwing the ball well. Again, we had the ability with our bullpen again today. We were not as rested as yesterday, but we had a good handle on what guys were able to do today. Again, it was a situation where we wanted to keep it as close as possible at that point, and so going to Brash felt like the natural lift right there with the leadoff guy on.

Again, we've had that luxury here in this series to be able to go early to the pen, and we'll just -- we keep reading it, we keep taking it day by day and situation by situation.

Q. Back to Cal. The double play that he ignited on the ball that was in the ground. You're a former catcher. What kind of wherewithal and awareness does it take to execute that play the way he did?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, it was just a heads-up play. I don't think anybody could have placed it any better than where it ended up, and then for him to be able to pounce on that, touch home plate, and get then get the easy double play at first. In that moment, huge moment, bases are loaded there, with the one out and to be able to pick up that double play was huge.

And again, he's all over it and that's what he's done all season long, both sides of the ball. We saw him make that play today, a lot of nice blocks today, and then to be able to deliver offensively like he did. It's just, again, in my mind, an easy MVP choice and today was just another perfect example of that.