AL WILD CARD SERIES: WHITE SOX VS ASTROS

September 29, 2026

Joe Espada

Daikin Park

Houston Astros

Pregame Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: All right. We'll get started with Joe.

Q. What's Pecko going through that he's not on the roster?

JOE ESPADA: Well, he's not on the roster also due more to availability and how much we pitched him the past week. He's been dealing with a little hip issue, but that's not the reason why he is not on the Wild Card roster.

Q. What's been the key for Ullola to become the factor he's been down the stretch?

JOE ESPADA: Strike-throwing capabilities. I mean, the stuff has always been there since I first saw him a couple of years ago. He came to big league camp. He's overpowering stuff, fastball, slider. He's super aggressive, he's super tough. And the thing that I asked him when we sent him back down to the minor leagues is just get the ball in the zone. You get the ball in the zone, you're going to create enough swing-and-miss, and you could be as effective as any pitcher in the Major Leagues, and he's done just that.

Q. I know you had to fight all through Game 162, but how good do you feel being able to have Hunter Brown, Wesneski, guys like that available if you need them in Games 2 or 3?

JOE ESPADA: Yeah, it feels great. But I never thought that winning that silver bullet was going to be such a big deal, right? We always talk about the importance of winning that, you know, and it put us in a position where it came down to that, right? But going into this Wild Card series, having those guys available for Game 2 and Game 3 is huge. We just got to get past today. Really been scoring early, Blubaugh giving us an opportunity early in the game, and then also the bullpen, like, we did in Game 162, that would be the strategy behind it. But again, having those guys healthy with regular rest, it's super valuable for us.

Q. Could you talk about the consideration of Imai on the roster and also his role in this series?

JOE ESPADA: Yeah, so Imai has thrown the ball really well his last few outings. We know that he can create swing-and-miss with his stuff. He can give us a huge bulk of innings if we need it. So going into today's game having someone like that available, it's very valuable. And that will be his role. He'll be pitching out of the bullpen. And there is -- his stuff plays well against righties and lefties. So the way their lineup is designed we felt strongly about having Imai on our roster and using him at any moment during the game.

Q. Trammell swung the bat pretty well against the White Sox when you played 'em. Does that factor into Game 1 lineup decisions, just that small sample size?

JOE ESPADA: Yeah, he's swung the bat really well. We have a ton of confidence on him. The last couple of games he's been working through a few things, but we know that this is a lineup that matches up really well against them. We also value his defense in left. So hopefully he rebounds and has a good series against the White Sox.

Q. Will you consider the challenges to be more precious in the playoffs or be a little more discerning or is it just status quo?

JOE ESPADA: The ABS you mean?

Q. Yeah.

JOE ESPADA: We were really good during the regular season, so going in there and asking the guys to do something different, that's not going to be my intention. I think the guys know leverage spots. We do a really good job of going through the game, knowing the umpire's strike zone, the misses and our strengths and weaknesses when it comes to our offense, when to challenge, when not. So obviously the only thing I'm always asking our guys is just, the pitchers try not to challenge, you know, that's my only request going into the games. But I feel really good about the job we've done with the ABS system.

THE MODERATOR: All right, Joe, thanks for coming in.

JOE ESPADA: All right, guys, thank you.