AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: GUARDIANS VS RAYS

October 13, 2026

Freddy Peralta

Tropicana Field

Tampa Bay Rays

Postgame 2 Press Conference

Rays - 3, Guardians - 1

Q. We asked Liam about how often you were going to your fastball tonight, especially for it to be the hardest and most consistent you've thrown it all year. He said he had to ask you. What was going or to you with that particular pitch?

FREDDY PERALTA: It's no secret that I trust in my fastball a lot and it's my best pitch. I think he was the one -- he was amazing behind the plate calling the fastball and I was trusting the pitch and letting it go there. And it worked pretty well.

Q. You obviously did a lot of things right today -- fastball command, kept your pitch count efficient, no runs on the board. Just when you evaluate your outing, what are you most proud of?

FREDDY PERALTA: I think obviously that I was able to put zeros on the board, but also that I was able to get out some innings without damage because they were very tough. They were taking a lot of good at-bats, and I was able to get out of the innings without any runs.

Q. You actually threw the hardest pitch of your career tonight, 99.4 miles an hour. How much of that is due to the emotions of playing in the playoffs and playing in the ALCS? How much of the adrenaline do you think is feeding into the velocity uptick?

FREDDY PERALTA: It plays a big role, the adrenaline. And also I define myself as a competitor, and I like these kind of games. I've always said in the past, that I enjoyed this as a Dominican pitcher.

We always -- I grew up watching the games in D.R., and that's the game that you see. And I got used to that because I grew up watching it. And I feel that I have that in me, in myself. And that's the way that I feel when I am on the mound in these kind of games.

Q. Speaking of that, last night, when you were leaving, we bumped into each other and I asked how you are doing and everything, and you said, I'm good, I'm good. The confidence level, can you speak about that? And did you envision yourself having this kind of game today?

FREDDY PERALTA: Not really. What I can tell you is I was confident in myself, confident in the defense and the offense that I have behind me.

But this game is unpredictable, because sometimes I feel amazing and when I release the ball, you don't know what's going to happen after that.

But I was confident in myself and feeling really good in general. And thank God always for the opportunity to be part of these unbelievable games.

Q. I'm curious, can you go through that last at-bat to Halpin, that nine pitch at-bat, long at-bat, and why you ultimately went to the change-up as kind of the outpitch?

FREDDY PERALTA: Since the first at-bat, he was a little, for some reason, uncomfortable for me because he was making adjustments to all my pitches. But for some reason, I felt that I had to go back with my change-up and land it in the strike zone. I was able to finish the inning and the outing with that pitch.

Q. Are you aware that Steve Cohen was in attendance tonight? And what does it mean that he came out here to watch you pitch?

FREDDY PERALTA: I had no idea. I don't even know what to say because I don't know if he came to watch just the game or maybe me, too.

What I can say is that we have a good relationship. When he traded for me, he texted me. We spoke. Also when we were in Spring Training, we had a really good communication also. He spoke with me when I got traded back to the Rays.

I think he's awesome. And I'm happy that he was here watching, not watching me, watching the Rays.

Q. Do you remember when you were in the minor leagues, you were a younger pitcher, when you realized that your fastball was going to be really your pitch, that it was maybe different than some of the other fastballs out there?

FREDDY PERALTA: I had no idea back then how special it was because I started learning about it when I got to the big leagues back in 2018, that I started seeing the Trackman and all the stuff. Then I started learning about the spin rate and all that.

I didn't know. I knew, when I started thinking about it, I knew that I had a lot of pop-up and all that, my whole career in the minors, a lot of swing-and-miss. But I had no idea about how special it was going to be.

Q. It's pretty remarkable to look at your first half of the season until now. How grateful are you that this all happened, that you got traded here and everything that led up to this October moment for you?

FREDDY PERALTA: I said it before, that it was very hard for me, for my family, too, because I always had success in my whole career. And it was the first time that I was struggling like that. And also in New York, an organization that traded for me, an organization that trusted me, and I wasn't able to give the best of myself.

It was a little disappointment for me. I didn't feel good about it. But when I got traded here, I just felt different. For some reason I got here, and I felt like myself again.

But I'm grateful because I'm here. But I'm very thankful because the Rays organization traded for me, and they trusted me and the work that I'm doing now.

Q. You were really fired up walking off the mound after you struck out the last batter in the sixth. What was going through your mind at that moment? And did you know that was going to be your last hitter?

FREDDY PERALTA: I had the feeling, yeah. I was able to -- I don't like to step off of the game, but I just enjoyed the moment because it was a really good at-bat. It wasn't an easy game since the first pitch that I threw until the last one. It was a lot of competition between me and the hitters, because they were, like I said, they were tough to face. They were really, really good, very disciplined at the plate.

And I think it was a very difficult challenge for me. And I think that was why I was fired up like that.

Q. You were just talking about how you felt different when you got here in the trade. When you get traded at the deadline, it's obviously go-time when you join your new team, you have to perform. How did that maybe help you? And now that you're having these performances in the postseason, how does that make you feel about your contribution to this group?

FREDDY PERALTA: First, when I got here, coming to a team in the first place that I didn't do anything to contribute, at that moment, I didn't do anything for the team to be in the first place back then. And I was just, like, I've got to do what I've I gotta do because I want to be part of this.

And also with the help of Kyle, Jorge and also Charlie, the bullpen catcher, we've been together on this. And I think that they played a huge part of what I have done so far in the Rays uniform.