AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: MARINERS VS BLUE JAYS

October 18, 2025

Dan Wilson

Rogers Centre

Seattle Mariners

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. With all the excitement from last night and the way the region is so activated, how do you guys leverage that excitement with keeping on task for tomorrow?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think this time of year being able to focus is a big -- it's a big deal. There's a lot of outside commotion, a lot of outside noise. But our guys have done a great job of it, staying focused, and we know that we have to stay focused on the task at hand and there's still work to do. So that starts tomorrow.

So that's really been our focus is getting ready for tomorrow. Good workout today. Get our minds back where we need to be, and we'll be ready come game time tomorrow to play. But it is, it's a challenge to quiet the outside noise, but these guys have done a really nice job of it all postseason.

Q. Can you talk about the benefit of playing the first two games here and getting used to the environment here going into the next game?

DAN WILSON: Having played here during the season, and then I think getting -- that's always a little bit of a different environment than postseason environment. So getting a chance to play here earlier in the season -- earlier in the postseason obviously makes you feel a little bit more comfortable here. We know what to expect.

Getting out there again today, get a feel for the environment again from a playing standpoint, I think was good. Again, this time of year you have to do things that maybe you don't do all the time, and our guys have done that all postseason. They will be ready to play, and come tomorrow our guys will be focused.

Q. Can you talk about how Bryan came through yesterday and how you might use him next two games.

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think getting a chance to get him out of the bullpen yesterday was big. Again, we were able to go to our bullpen a little bit earlier yesterday knowing that we had Bryan in the wings and available if possible.

So getting him in the game, I think, was big, getting him out there and comfortable. All those things that are important for a guy coming back from something like he's coming back from. All reports have been good. I think he feels good today. Obviously, a little bit of soreness where you would expect it. But again, this is an exciting time of year, and I would expect him to be ready to go going forward here out of the bullpen at some point.

Q. Forgive me if this is already out, but do you have a starter for tomorrow?

DAN WILSON: Logan Gilbert will be on the hill for us tomorrow, Game 6.

Q. Could you talk about, you feel good about sending Logan to the mound in that situation?

DAN WILSON: He had a little bit shorter outing his first time here. We were able to do some things offensively to kind of open it up. Again, Logan is a guy you love to give the ball to. He's that guy that has that focus, that desire to win, and he wants the ball in these situations, and so you love giving him the ball, like with all our guys. This is a group that really -- in terms of our starters, they really feed off of one another, they help each other, and Logan is a guy that just really has learned that mental approach to pitching, and he's a guy that just wants the ball, wants to challenge you, and he's ready for tomorrow, for sure.

Q. Have your impressions of Guerrero changed at all? And what do you make of Shohei's performance last night?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, incredible performance. Unprecedented, really, to see what Shohei did on the mound and at the plate. It's just almost unfathomable to think that one person was capable of that, and just a great ball game for him.

Congratulations to the Dodgers for advancing. So that's a history-making game, for sure.

In terms of Guerrero, he's a great hitter, and he's a guy in that lineup that is one that can do a lot of damage, and so you certainly have to measure that and when you go into game planning, you have to understand that. So that's certainly something that we've talked about, and going forward that's a spot that he continues to swing the bat well, so something that we have to pay attention to.

Q. It's pretty clear that the Mariners and the Blue Jays, not just you and John Schneider, but all the players seem to have a lot of respect, even admiration, for each other. How does that dynamic shape this series where there's so much mutual respect?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think both teams in some ways are very similar, and they're teams that like to play hard 1 through 9, and I think that's where the respect comes from. Certainly that's what this series has played out so far.

But I think that's the exciting part of the postseason, that's what we are here for is the competition and guys going at it and going at it hard. It's certainly been a good series so far, and I think that's a big reason why.

Q. Reliever exposure has been such a talking point in both series. When you get to a Game 6, does that maybe go out the window a little bit just because everybody's seen everybody and at this point you just want your best guy on their best or do you keep that in mind?

DAN WILSON: That's a good question. I think in some ways we have been fortunate a little bit in order that we've had some, we had a couple innings from Bryan Woo, we had a couple games where we were able to open it up offensively, as did Toronto, so you didn't see some of the higher leverage guys. But, yeah, I think this is a time of year, again, where you're trying to go at your best against their best, and you see how that plays out. I think we've had some really good matchups here in this series, and I think that it continues to look that way as we go forward.

Q. You saw what Trey Yesavage did to the Yankees, and you guys handled him pretty well here, what are the keys to getting to him again?

DAN WILSON: Yeah, I think we were able to put some pitches on him early. We were fairly patient when we had to be. I think that was a big key for us.

Then when we were able to get pitches that we were able to hit, we were able to do something with them. Again, that's a big part of the postseason is being able to generate the offense when you have the opportunities, and we certainly were able to do that the first time around, and that's what we'll be looking to do again this time around.