AL DIVISION SERIES: WHITE SOX VS GUARDIANS

October 8, 2026

Tristan Peters

Rate Field

Chicago White Sox

Pregame 4 Press Conference

Q. Tristan, you guys have had bad losses before, losses before you've bounced back right away. Is that the muscle memory you use going into tonight's game, that you guys have fought back all year and have been that type of team?

TRISTAN PETERS: Yeah, I mean, I think that's part of baseball is you're not always going to play your best game. But, yeah, I think we've shown all year that we bounce back from those kinds of games really quick. Yeah, that's what we plan to do today.

Q. Tristan, you mentioned postgame last night that you guys have seen Messick a lot and obviously recently. Even like today where you have video and Trajekt. What do you key on or try to take advantage of after having seen a guy repeatedly in person and earlier this week, I guess?

TRISTAN PETERS: Yeah, we've seen him a lot. I think we know kind of how he's going to pitch us. Maybe he changes it up a little bit, but we know what he's got. I'm very confident in our guys that I think we'll hit him well.

Q. Tristan, there was such a big crowd out here. I know you guys were amped up with that part of the game, yet you guys struck out 19 times. Was there an element of just, speaking for yourself maybe, wanting to do not too much, but maybe be a little overanxious because you wanted to do so well for the crowd that was out there?

TRISTAN PETERS: Yeah, I mean, that's completely possible. Obviously, you play in front of a crowd like that, you get amped up and maybe swing at pitches you wouldn't normally swing at. I also think, too, the offense yesterday, I mean, we ran into a few balls, but they also found gloves. That was a tough side of it too.

I think we put together some pretty good at-bats. But, yeah, I think maybe having a little more patience is going to help.

Q. Just another crowd-related question. I know we asked you guys yesterday about it. Primetime tonight, under the lights, what are you guys expecting from the Sox crowd?

TRISTAN PETERS: They were incredible last night -- night, I guess. I think it's going to be even more rowdy. So that's what we're expecting, and we're going to try to use that energy. I think we run off of energy like that. So, yeah, just not try to get too amped up, but that's kind of what we do too.

So it's exciting. It's going to be fun.

Q. Tristan, you said bouncing back has been kind of your identity as a group. What do you think it is about this mix of young guys experiencing it for the first time and some veterans that has led to your ability to do that?

TRISTAN PETERS: First off with the vets, we've got great leadership in Grichuk, Pham, and Benintendi, other guys stepping up as leaders too. We've got a very mature group of young guys who are able to lead too. But guided by those older guys.

I think just being young, I feel like we forget quickly and move on to the next. And I think that's a trait that not a lot of teams have. I think that's helped us get to this point.

Q. Tristan, I'm not sure if you saw this today. I'm guessing not. But Major League Baseball is proposing shortening the season from 162 games to 154 and making the Division Series best of seven and also adding more off days in the postseason to kind of give pitchers more time to use the best pitchers and everything like that.

Knowing that this is part of a labor negotiation, there's a lot of give-and-take going on. At first blush, what's your reaction to that? What do you think about that proposal?

TRISTAN PETERS: I haven't had time to think about it. I haven't really formulated an opinion yet.

Q. I know your job is to look at your teammates and stay within your group. When you watch a performance or a player like José Ramírez, what are your thoughts? I mean, is there some extra admiration, even though you're trying to beat him and his team at the same time?

TRISTAN PETERS: Yeah. I mean, he's a really good player, especially if the past has anything to say about it. I know he's had some struggles this year, but I'm fully confident in our pitching staff that we can get somebody like that out, and we've shown that we can do that too throughout the series against them at their place. But yeah, obviously he's a good player. We're not going to just treat him like he's a nobody. That goes for every player too. So, yeah.

Q. When you kind of testifying to the resilience of this team and how you're able to bounce back, what role does Will and the coaching staff play in that, whether it's messaging or the demeanor they project?

TRISTAN PETERS: I mean Will especially, he's a very even-keeled guy and I think that helps too. If you're getting overly emotional, and especially with a young group of guys, that shows those young guys the way we should be overly emotional about these situations.

I think he doesn't panic, and I think that shows us that we don't need to panic, and I think they've been so helpful in that aspect.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks for coming in.

TRISTAN PETERS: Thank you.