AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: GUARDIANS VS RAYS

October 19, 2026

Stephen Vogt

Tropicana Field

Cleveland Guardians

Pregame 6 Press Conference

Q. Why Shawn Armstrong again tonight?

STEPHEN VOGT: Shawn's been throwing the ball excellent. We talked through all the different scenarios, all the different strategies, how do we want to start this game off. And with the way Shawn's been throwing the ball, it was a no-brainer to have him kick it off tonight.

Q. What is Daniel Espino's availability tonight?

STEPHEN VOGT: He's ready to go.

Q. Separate from that, you've kind of been on both sides of this, after having been part of a World Series championship team a few years back, and obviously chasing it here. Is it easier to chase it when you are maybe down a game late in a series, or is it easier to be up and feel like you've got an upper hand late?

STEPHEN VOGT: I don't know if either position is easy. Obviously, we'd prefer to be winning the series. But at the same time, we still have an opportunity to move on. We're not dead. We're not eliminated. It's win or go home.

We've been joking, we've had three dress rehearsal at the this already in this postseason, so it's time to go. We are in the position that we are in. And now we just need to win a game tonight and give ourselves an opportunity tomorrow.

Q. Steven Kwan was in here talking about be ready for the fastball against Freddy. Obviously easier said than done. How do you view it this second time around again? How do you get ready for it?

STEPHEN VOGT: Obviously it's a real heater, with some real ride and cross-fire. Kind of be willing to go down looking at the top. I know it's way easier said than done, but I feel like if we strike out 27 times looking at the top of the zone tonight, we're going to probably win the game. You cannot fight with him up in the zone.

Get the ball down. When it's down, be ready to hit it, when it's up, let it go. And if he hits the top rail three times against you, tip your cap.

Again, way easier for me to say that than for our guys to be able to go out and execute that. But you have to get him down in the zone.

Q. What was your reaction to Yandy Díaz's comments last night?

STEPHEN VOGT: I didn't see them.

Q. About being motivated and saying it's going to end tomorrow. Does that give the old cliché of sports bulletin-board material for you guys?

STEPHEN VOGT: He did that? He said that? I literally have no idea what you're talking about.

Q. More or less. He's, like, it's going to end tomorrow, we're going to win tomorrow. I'm paraphrasing it.

STEPHEN VOGT: I'm sure our guys saw it and they know about it.

Q. When an opposing player does that in this day and age, does it still resonate as a bulletin-board material type of thing for you guys? Or is that kind of blown out of proportion in this day and age in sports?

STEPHEN VOGT: Probably somewhere in the middle of that. The thing I love about our guys, we worry about us, we focus on us. If that gives our guys a little more motivation, great.

Q. You touched on the approach against Peralta, about trying to stay off that high fastball. Is that any more difficult when you're in front of crowds this large and the emotion, usually for a hitter trying to lay off that type of pitch?

STEPHEN VOGT: For sure. I definitely think the crowd can get you excited. The crowd can get your adrenaline pumping maybe a little bit more.

But, again, our guys have played in these environments before. They've played in hostile crowds. And I feel like they've done a really good job of staying within themselves.

Like I said, we survived two elimination games on the road. That was an unbelievable environment in Chicago that we were playing in. And, so, you slow your heart rate down, make the moment. You can really block that noise out when you're focused on the game.