AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: GUARDIANS VS RAYS

October 12, 2026

Joey Cantillo

Tropicana Field

Cleveland Guardians

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. Joey, what do you make of the Rays offensively? You saw them a few times this year, obviously, but after they get a 162 resume on them?

JOEY CANTILLO: Obviously I think they've got a really talented team. They do a good job of executing on their plan, like we've seen all year, they've been obviously one of the better teams in this division, in this league.

They've got good guys to put the ball in play. They had a good series against us. But I think at the same time it's us executing on our plans, and I think the game takes care of itself from there.

Q. How do you think you're going to be used in this series?

JOEY CANTILLO: I'm not sure. Obviously, I think, just like the rest of us, we'll be ready to go at any point. Obviously a little less off days than the last series we were in, right?

But, yeah, just all hands on deck every single game. We've got guys throwing that we know can give us length, and everyone down there, including myself, will be ready to get outs whenever we're called upon.

Q. To follow up on that, how important do you think that is when you can see the whole league landscape of pitching, what it turns into this time of year, when it's kind of all hands on deck and guys are put into different situations than the regular season?

JOEY CANTILLO: Yeah, it's huge. Obviously, I mean, these games are important. We want to win. They obviously mean a lot. We just had our pitchers meeting in there, and we won't over some of the game-plan stuff. And B.G. said it, none of these outs are small; every out is huge.

But we've seen that. Whether you're throwing with a four-run lead in the third or fourth inning, whether you're down three runs in the eighth inning, every out is huge. And I think that's important to remember when you're obviously out there.

We have got a lot of guys with playoff experience, and we have a few guys down there with a little less. But I think everyone getting in there is obviously understanding that.

And the guys that have thrown all done a really great job, and it's kind of on everyone to remember that -- hey of pitch you throw is really important. And the momentum is huge, obviously, so prioritize each pitch you throw, prioritize every out you can get.

Q. You just came out of the pitchers meeting, you hear the phrase, don't let this guy beat you. I'm sure the White Sox are thinking about José Ramírez that way. Is Junior Caminero coming up that way specifically him in your pitching meetings?

JOEY CANTILLO: For sure, I mean, they've got a few guys at the top of the lineup. I think he's one of those guys that obviously the name sticks out. What he's been able to do the last few years, this year, the last few years, for sure.

We have our game plan, I think Pat and Hedgy and Dave and all the pitching coaches go through a bunch of different scouting reports and go through their plans with everything, obviously. And it comes down to us. Hey, they're going to put their finger down, they're going to call the pitch. And we've got to execute on that.

And I think kind of have trust in what they decide to do in those situations and the pitches that get thrown. And then obviously understanding, hey, if you're the guy with the ball in your hand, what's the objective with this pitch, what's the idea, what situation in the game, knowing when you can take a chance, knowing maybe, hey, you've got a little more room than you think.

But I think obviously understanding that and saying, hey, everyone's human, and we're going to go out every single guy with the intention to get them out.

Q. This team thrives on contact and the speed game. From a pitching standpoint, how do you mitigate the running game and try to contain them?

JOEY CANTILLO: Yeah, I mean, we've worked on that a lot this year. Tony, our bench coach, has done a really good job of kind of working on that with us.

I speak for myself personally, I feel like that's something that I've been able to work on a lot more as the year's gone on and just having a better idea of what I can do to work on that.

But, yeah, that's obviously one of their keys to success and what they try to do. I think that's on us to obviously continue to pay attention to that stuff in the right way and prioritize getting outs over the plate, but at the same time saying, hey, that's something they're going to look to do, and what do we do to, obviously, combat that a little bit?

Q. What was your reaction to that home run by José Ramírez in Game 5?

JOEY CANTILLO: We were fired up. I was down in the bullpen. I think everyone out there was screaming and just very stoked to see José come through like that.

I know it meant a lot to him, but it meant a lot to all the guys that get to see what he does every single day and I think especially the year he's had. I think he's not done. It was really cool, though.

Funny enough, right before that I was looking at a fan down the right-field line that was, like, just one random, drunk fan that was, like, hit it over here, hit it over here. And 30 seconds later the ball went five feet over to him. I thought that was really cool.

Q. Did he catch it?

JOEY CANTILLO: No, but he helped. God willing, it worked.

Q. You mentioned the pitcher meetings and the Rays, obviously, great offense. But maybe one of the weaknesses this year they were one of the least productive teams against the left-handed pitching. Was there any discussion about you and some of the other lefties -- of course, in a seven-game set you'll have to have a little bit more length anyways -- but maybe with that being a Rays weakness, having the lefties go a little bit longer in some of these outings?

JOEY CANTILLO: Yeah, I think we have guys that I think we're confident in that are righties, and we have got guys that we're confident in as lefties. I think, obviously, understanding that numbers are numbers. We still have to go in and execute.

But, like I said, I think everyone's ready, all hands on deck, every out's important. I think for the lefties, me included, down there, we're excited to obviously be able to contribute and help win in whatever capacity that is.