NL WILD CARD SERIES: CUBS VS PADRES

September 30, 2026

Michael Busch

Petco Park

Chicago Cubs

Pregame Press Conference

Q. How would you say you're feeling today knowing obviously the season is on the line for you guys tonight?

MICHAEL BUSCH: I think ready to go. I think the fun part about playoffs is the wins, the losses -- the losses are tough, but I think it really is being able to, like, flip the switch fast is important and something I felt like I learned from last year, just from the way that we flipped the switch last year after losses. I think like bringing that into this year, leaning on that, I think it felt good today. Ready to go for sure.

Q. Just from your perspective, it's been incredible to see what Alex has done to get back on the field, but how good does that feel from your perspective, having been where you were at the moment it happened and then just seeing him be okay and come back and be back in this lineup so quickly for you guys?

MICHAEL BUSCH: I think you see it not only in this sport, but just all sports and just life, scary things like that happen. You really lean on just like hoping that he's okay, just like his well-being, making sure that he's okay, especially getting hit in the head and just kind of seeing his reaction and the blood. You just hope he's okay.

Just knowing Alex and who he is as a person and a player, he really wants to be out there. Obviously like doing what he's doing and being out there and playing for us, pretty self-explanatory. Just finding out that he was okay, I think everybody was just hoping that he could be a part of this.

I think from day one of him stepping into the clubhouse, you could just hear how much just talk about getting to the playoffs. Obviously it started in Spring Training, but that was our goal.

Obviously he's one of the voices in our clubhouse. For him, just being okay in that situation, but also you want him to be out there. Not only because he's an extremely good player, but because of that experience and because what he provides for our clubhouse and on the field.

Q. I know you guys are really big on just forgetting the game, whether you win or lose, the next day, but is there any part of this team that kind of wants to just show that yesterday was an aberration?

MICHAEL BUSCH: Absolutely. I think just as a competitor that's how we're kind of wired in a sense. You kind of use that stuff as motivation. No matter if it's a one-run loss or an eight-run loss, a loss is a loss. But at the same time, you kind of want to bounce back. You want to bounce back as an individual. You want to bounce back as a team.

I think that's just the opportunity we have today. I think for me individually and a lot of people in that clubhouse, including staff, that we're competitors. We do want to bounce back from that. I think that's kind of the motivation you bring into today is a little bit from yesterday.

You flip the switch. I don't know if "forget" is the right word in my opinion, but you flip the switch, and you kind of just lean on the stuff that you've been -- what has made us good players as individuals and like what has made us a good team.

I think learning from some of this stuff that has gone south for us this year I think has helped us grow as a team and kind of helped us work through some of those situations to ultimately become a playoff team.

Q. You talk about being a competitor. Just what is it like seeing Gausman get the ball today? He talked last night about seeing where the left shoulder will be. What's it like knowing he's up and wants the ball today in this situation?

MICHAEL BUSCH: I think just the short time that I've gotten to know Gausman, just an extreme competitor. I think just being able to play behind him, I think -- not really sure exactly how many starts he's made for us, but I think I've been out there for the majority of them, if not all of them.

Just the way he goes about his business on the mound is -- as a teammate, you want to play behind that guy. I think hearing that he was going to get the ball, I think there's a lot of happy people in that clubhouse. I think defensively just going out there and kind of do our own thing regardless, but at the same time, being able to play behind Gausman, I think, kind of adds a little bit of extra oomph to the way we're going to do things defensively.

Q. It might be crazy to think with the year Pete's had it could get better from here, but having watched him all year and knowing he's got so many more years ahead of him in his career, what do you think of the idea of him having so much time to keep learning and keep evolving?

MICHAEL BUSCH: The first word that comes to mind is absolutely, there's room for growth. The gifts are there for him. The work ethic is there. Everything is there for him to become a better baseball player even though he's had an MVP-caliber season.

I think, yeah, there's a lot more -- maybe not a lot, but there's definitely room for him to grow too. He's kind of just tapping into becoming an extremely good player, a superstar in this league, and I think him being the person that is -- he's going to continue to work, and he's going to look for that opportunity to grow. I think it's number one on the list of why he's going to continue to get better over the next several years.

Q. You came up around the Dodgers when they had all those superstars. Your locker at Wrigley kind of gets a lot of Pete overflow sometimes after games. How has he handled kind of being that center of attention really kind of all year and kind of carrying that burden of being a superstar-type player?

MICHAEL BUSCH: I think he does it super well. I think Pete, just the person that he is off the field, I think he's just -- I think it comes natural for him. I think just because he's a good teammate, he's a good person. He looks at things from a perspective of not only himself, but the fans of the game, the kids playing the game.

He just understands and looks at it from a perspective of not only himself, which I think is why he's able to handle it so well. Yeah, I think one of the coolest things I've seen from Pete over the last few years is just his ability to take into account the fans of the game, the kids who are watching him, understand that like it's not all -- he's not always the perfect player when it comes to emotion and stuff, but he also can understand like he wants this game in a good spot, like he wants to provide an impact to the youth that's positive.

I think he's always looked at it that way ever since I've known him, and I've thought that's really cool. I think just being able to see him in the position that he is, it's only good for the game of baseball.

Q. Is there anything to lack of familiarity between these two teams where you guys haven't played each other since July? The last game you played was that weird 23-3 win you guys had at Wrigley. And the second part of the question is is there such a dynamic between playing at Wrigley as opposed to playing at Petco? The Padres are 53-30 here.

MICHAEL BUSCH: I think to answer the first question, if I'm answering it correctly, I think the game of baseball, you talk about a game that is -- the last game that we played against San Diego was the 23-3 before yesterday? I think that's just baseball.

Q. And it was in July.

MICHAEL BUSCH: I think that's kind of the name of the game in a sense. You've got to show up with your best stuff every day. I think these teams are good enough that even if you do win by 20 runs, that team the next day is good enough to beat you if you're not playing really well.

Just today being able to play them, have familiar faces there, they're a good team, and they're going to bring it. We have to as well.

Q. How about the home field, playing at Wrigley as opposed to playing here?

MICHAEL BUSCH: You want to be at home in front of your own fan base, but I think when it comes to maybe some of the advantages, like weather or anything, I think we both have to play in those. So I think a game can be affected by the wind for sure, but it can be affected negatively or positively for both teams.

Q. Finishing it up, back to the familiarity, if you guys come back and win, you guys are playing the Brewers who you've played all year. Yankees-Red Sox, they play each other all year. There's a bunch of those series like that. White Sox, if they win, they're going to wind up playing Cleveland that they've played all year. The familiarity with these teams, is it a plus or a minus? Does it matter?

MICHAEL BUSCH: That's a good question. I don't know if it's necessarily a plus or a minus because we get to see them, they get to see us. I think I can only speak from maybe a hitter's perspective. I think the more that you can see a pitcher, I think it helps, but also like maybe as a pitcher they think that the more that they see a hitter, it helps them. I'm not really sure.

Also, their hitters are seeing our pitchers and our pitchers are seeing their hitters. I think maybe that's the only thing I can think of. Is it positive or negative? I'm not really sure because both teams are kind of getting the same amount of exposure for each other.