AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: GUARDIANS VS RAYS

October 17, 2026

Stephen Vogt

Progressive Field

Cleveland Guardians

Pregame 4 Press Conference

Q. What's it like to kind of roll out the same lineup almost every day, as opposed to how you've managed the lineup through the regular season?

STEPHEN VOGT: It's been interesting, to say the least. It's been different for us, but I feel like, in talking with the other coaches, front office, this is who we've kind of become. I don't think this was who we envisioned kind of going with.

Also Tampa's got all right-handed starters. So that kind of makes it a unique situation.

But this kind of happened organically through September, where it was kind of like, hey, these guys are playing well, we might want to keep them rolling.

Like I say all the time, this team is ever-evolving, and a lot of the regular season is figuring out who are we and how is everyone going to play their role? What does this look like to optimize this team? And it's kind of just played its way into what we're rolling out there right now versus right-handed pitching.

Q. What stands out to you about Martinez? He's got that funky Vulcan kind of change-up?

STEPHEN VOGT: I'm such a big fan. I faced him when he was first in the big leagues. And you go overseas and, man, he's been throwing the ball well for a number of years now.

That change-up almost acts like a stop ball. I mean, it's such a big difference between his fastball, velo-wise. And you see it as a hitter, it just never gets there.

And he's done a really nice job of mixing the three fastballs with that change-up. And he's got a good breaking ball as well. He's been really tough on us. We've got our work cut out for us.

Q. How much of an advantage is it in a bullpen game in a postseason like this, that, after Armstrong, you've got Slade, you've got Bibee, you've got some length guys?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah, it's an advantage, it's a disadvantage, however you want to call it. We feel like our bullpen has been a strength of ours. We've got, like you mentioned, the three, four starters out there that can provide length. So we have a number of options that we can go to after Army. And we like that.

It also presents some challenges because you're kind of mixing and matching and switching quite often. I wouldn't say it's an advantage, but definitely we feel like starting Army puts us into a good position to navigate the game.

Q. Along those lines, what's changed with postseason baseball that that is the more traditional, you put your starter out there, hoping to get five to seven out of him before you turn it over to the setup guy and closer? What's changed in postseason baseball where the opener/bullpen format has been so successful?

STEPHEN VOGT: I think it's a strategy a lot of teams employed. It kind of depends on who you're playing. Depends on what their lineup looks like. This is a lineup that's, with the two righties at the top and then the rest of the lineup, they can match up with you really well in every position. So it's really difficult to navigate.

But I think a lot of teams will do that against lineups similar to the Rays or to us. We get it done to us a lot. So it's a strategy that's become pretty prevalent in our game.

And the idea is that your starter goes seven, and then you throw the two bullpen guys and the game's over. It's about outs in the postseason. It's about come in, get as many outs as you can until we give the ball to the next guy. And our guys have really embraced that.

Q. To that note, with Armstrong, are you looking at his average amount of pitches for today? Is there a certain batters-faced limit for him? Just anything or is it postseason and leash off?

STEPHEN VOGT: He's starting the game.

Q. There's been a lot made of the weather over the last 24 hours, and Cade last night mentioned that it's a, early on in the season kind of stinks to pitch in the cold weather. It's a privilege now. Is there something special about the cold, crisp air in a game like tonight?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah, I mean it's, I read Cade's quote. It made me smile. He couldn't have nailed it more on the nose. And playing in October is a privilege. It's a privilege that teams earn. We don't take it for granted. We don't take it lightly.

Yeah, it's going to be cold but we have plenty of stuff to keep our guys warm, and both teams are in the same boat. And we're going to go out and play.

But Cade could not have said that more perfectly. It's 100 percent a privilege to be playing right now?

Q. What's impressed you the most about Jo Adell in his first playoffs?

STEPHEN VOGT: Oh, man, I just love the joy that he shows up with. You could just see somebody who's wanted this feeling for a long time. And he's been huge for us.

I mean, the first couple games, you could see some jitters, you could see some -- and then he hits the ball off the wall in Game 2 and the pressure valve was released.

But he's changed our lineup. He's changed our clubhouse. He's changed our team. I'm so thankful that Jo Adell's here.

Q. Just had Jo in here. He was talking about that play that Hosey made to steal the third to open up the lane for the ground ball there. Just when you see a play like that and you see the two of them react to it -- he was talking about how they pointed at each other, just smiled in the dugout, what's your appreciation level for a good baseball play like that?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah, it's obviously Hosey thinking way ahead. And he's always thinking way ahead. And then Jo realized what had happened. And it's two teammates sharing a moment.

It's what you do. That's why we play this game. You play this game for each other.

Baseball's so unique. It's an individual game played for a team outcome. And that's why I love the postseason. No one cares about their stats. They just want to win. And it was really special to see those two share that moment.

Q. As a staff, you guys have pitched particularly well, but especially well against the big three of the Rays for the first three games. Aside from the results what have you liked about the way your pitching staff has attacked Díaz and Caminero so far?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah, they've executed. I mean that's really what it comes down to when you're facing three hitters of that caliber. Really the whole lineup this is a very dangerous lineup the Rays have, top to bottom. And I know the big three get a lot of the focal point.

But our guys have executed against them. And that's what you have to do against the elite hitters like that. And they're ready for mistakes at all times. We don't want to be careful; we want to be aggressive. But at the same time it comes down to execution, and I've been really proud of our guys the way they've executed against those three in particular.

Q. Jo's still a relatively young player. Do you see more upside there going forward after this year?

STEPHEN VOGT: Absolutely. I think the sky's the limit for Jo. We've seen him improve and get better since he's been here. The way he talks about the game, he's a very cerebral baseball player and obviously has the talent to be a 30-40 home run guy.

And he can hit for some average too. He can run the bases well. Plays a good outfield. Jo's got a very bright future. I'm glad he's going to be here for at least another year of it.

Q. Both Patrick Bailey and Liam Hicks are among the top catchers of being on one knee in the majors. They both give up, maybe at least statistically, more -- or don't block as well as others. I'm just wondering for you, where is the balance between valuing framing versus blocking at times in the postseason especially?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah, this has been a conversation now for, what, eight, nine years. Catchers are better on one knee. They're just flat-out better. If you look at the percentage of pitches that are actually in the dirt, it's so slim.

And there's a time to block. There's a time not to. There's a time to -- it's whenever a block gets missed everybody wants to bash the one knee down. They don't see the hundreds of pitches that they pick or that they keep in front. They only talk about the ones that are missed.

It's unfair. The game has changed. There's no more traditional catching. It's gone. One knee down makes everybody more athletic. Makes them better. It's a conversation that should go away, in my opinion.

Q. The first time you were asked to go down to one knee, what did you think?

STEPHEN VOGT: I kind of had to do it out of necessity because I couldn't catch Kendall Graveman's sinker. I didn't have the hands.

It was uncomfortable. You're growing up your whole life saying if you're down on a knee you're lazy. I heard all of it. I fought some of it.

But in 2020, when I signed with the Diamondbacks, they showed me, hey, this is going to make you better. And I had to work on it and learn how to do it at 35 years old. It bought me another three, four years in the big leagues. It really did.

It's something that you don't realize it until you try it and you start diving into -- those guys are working really hard. They are not just back there on a knee. It's about creating angles. It's about getting your hands in the right position, more athletic to throw, all of the above.