AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: GUARDIANS VS RAYS

October 15, 2026

Kevin Cash

Progessive Field

Tampa Bay Rays

Pregame 3 Press Conference

Q. You've seen how good Gavin Williams can be, especially with the strikeout stuff. What do you want to see from your lineup against them?

KEVIN CASH: Yeah, he's really good. I watched the game live, I think it was Game 5, and then watched it again a minute ago. It was a lot of power in the strike zone, the hard curveball and then the harder slider that he had good feel for.

I know he relies on the fastball and probably gets some chase above the zone. So ideally not doing him any favors.

But if he throws like he did against Chicago in Game 5, we gotta be ready to go. If he starts carrying balls out of the zone, looking for chase, maybe try to lay off that pitch. Easier said than done.

Q. Your big three obviously haven't done too much yet -- not a lot of guys have done much. Are you noticing anything different how they're pitching them?

KEVIN CASH: No, I think it's a credit to the Cleveland's pitching, kind of postseason baseball. But very confident the guys will get going. One of them, two of them's gonna come up and get a big hit for us here soon.

But no, I feel like their bats are very competitive, they're just not getting that end result right now.

Q. When it comes to game-planning, obviously baseball can be a chess match. You have to go up against the top three of their order -- Kwan, José Ramírez, and Chase DeLauter. When it comes to managing and figuring out which match-ups you want to look at, how do you go about doing so?

KEVIN CASH: A lot of conversation, a lot of discussion, a lot's dependent on who's available. But in the postseason, generally everybody's available on every given night.

I don't know if we have the right answer, but you can forecast it a little bit going into the game. Stuff changes throughout the course of the game.

With contact, I mean, Kwan's contact ability, he can beat you all over the field, spraying the ball around.

José Ramírez, can, one swing of the bat, change the game.

I think DeLauter's the guy that has really stood out this series, in the first two games, of just how special of a hitter he is, and definitely factoring in how we're trying to attack him.

I'm not saying he has a weakness, but whatever it is, if we can find something where he's not driving the ball down the right-field line, try to avoid those opportunities for him.

Q. Chris Antonetti was joking a little bit yesterday about you during your time here. But the chance that you've got to be a coach -- I mean, backup catchers see a lot (indiscernible). To be a coach in this kind of organization, how much do you think that prepared you for the opportunity?

KEVIN CASH: A lot. I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity that Chris and Cherny and Tito gave me when I came over. Learned a lot. They got a lot thrown at me. And just so many good people that put their arm around me and supported, rather than -- it's very easy to be critical of somebody not knowing what they're doing or their first year at it. They were always kind of that progressive mindset, growth mindset of doing everything to help support me.

I do think the bullpen coach is different than other coaches in the fact that you are kind of managing your own little group down there for three hours of a game. That helps with the managing people.

But to be a part of it and understanding the discussions of what went into game planning, between Sandy Alomar and Brad Mills and the veteran coaches on that staff, learning from them along the way really helps.

Q. Looking at your track record, you've had a lot of different experiences, but when you come into the postseason environment, what's different when it comes to picking and choosing different match-ups and managing in that kind of way?

KEVIN CASH: Everything's magnified. You've got to have probably a better or longer answer the game of why did this work or why didn't it work.

But that's a good thing. We're right now on the biggest stage. There's four clubs left right now. So it's what everybody's talking about, these two games. You'll take that.

I think trying to be as prepared as possible knowing that you're certainly not going to get every decision right, and really rely and dependent on some good players or pitchers in that moment to come through.

Q. Anything else on Friday weather-wise? Have you heard any updates?

KEVIN CASH: Just what I was told yesterday, they're guessing it's going to be a pretty rain-filled day. They're hoping that maybe it will open up towards the end of the day.

Q. There's so much about analytics in today's Major League Baseball. How much do you have to rely on your instincts as a manager as well when it comes to settings like this?

KEVIN CASH: We talk through -- I'll try to hit every scenario, and we're certainly not going to get them all, but your gut instinct, your analytic information. Blend them all together, but you'd like to have a process to the decisions you're making and feel good about the decisions you're making.

You really rely on your coaching staff in the game and before the game, whether it's the coaching staff or talking with our group that I think does such a good job of providing so much quality information that we can kind of bounce off one another and feel good about the direction that we're going into the game.

Q. When it comes to just the element of fun in these types of scenarios, right, because players can kind of overwhelm themselves with the thought process of playing in the playoffs, but you have guys like Victor and Junior who wear their heart on their sleeve, play as hard as they can. What does it mean to have people that keep it light but also have that competitive fire?

KEVIN CASH: Everybody's anxiety is up. I don't care what they tell you, it's up right now. Mine certainly is in these games.

I'm so impressed with the way our guys go about it. I know that they're wanting to come through for their team really badly. But I do think it's impressive how Cami and Victor and Yandy, really all of our guys continue to smile and appreciate the moment that they're getting to experience.