AL DIVISION SERIES: YANKEES VS RAYS

October 5, 2026

Ian Seymour

Tropicana Field

Tampa Bay Rays

Postgame 2 Press Conference

Rays 5 – Yankees 2

THE MODERATOR: Ian, congratulations, great job tonight. Who's got the first question for Ian?

Q. Ian, you spent a lot of time in the bullpen early in the year and then went in the rotation and Kevin mentioned you got comfortable in Philly coming in. How prepared were you for coming in today and getting the nine outs? How did you feel out there?

IAN SEYMOUR: Honestly, over the course of the season, being able to do so many different roles just sort of made that transition easier. I had a routine for pretty much any starting, relieving, the opener. I've done a little bit of everything.

I had my routine, and I just sort of stuck to that and was able to execute.

Q. The type of performance that Drew put yesterday and Peralta today, how much do you feed off of that when coming out of those types of performances?

IAN SEYMOUR: I would say especially for me, being this is my first full season in the big leagues, having those guys, Drew, Nick, Shane, Griff, Freddy, like getting to watch how they go about what they do, getting to watch how they prepare, how they attack lineups, I've been able to learn so much from those guys and to see the success that they have just, like, I'm kind of a by-product of them and their habits and their routines.

They elevate you as a player and I'm really grateful to have those guys as a mentor for sure.

Q. You mentioned first year in the big leagues. How much do you feed off the energy of the clubhouse? Seems like you guys have a never-say-die attitude. No matter what the situation is. For whatever reason, you guys have confidence and can go out and get the job done.

IAN SEYMOUR: It makes it so easy to do your job, knowing every single guy in the clubhouse has your back. From day one of Spring Training, we've sort of bonded together as a group, and it just gives you all the confidence in the world you'll succeed when you have those guys behind your back.

Q. What's it like watching the 5th inning unfold with the offense? The hits by Aranda and Cammy. Liam puts the ball in play, Chandler puts the ball in play then DeLuca. You've seen this before, right?

IAN SEYMOUR: Yeah, they fight start to finish for a game, like, whether we're up, down, tied, whatever it was. I wasn't really able to enjoy it as much because I was warming up to come in.

But, yeah a four-run cushion is certainly a lot easier than a tie game.

Q. (No microphone)?

IAN SEYMOUR: Yeah, definitely.

THE MODERATOR: Ian, congrats on a big night. See you in New York.