Oct. 8 Justin Verlander postgame interview

Q: How do you balance it's another game with it's not just another game in these situations?

JUSTIN VERLANDER: Well, you don't pretend. It's not just another game. The season is on the line. It was on the line for us tonight, too. This whole season, the way we battled and played as a team, comes down to one game, may the best team win. You can't treat it just like another game, you know. It's a little bit different. There is more to it.

Q: Follow up on that since you're going into the same venue and same situation as you did a year ago?

JUSTIN VERLANDER: Yeah, and I just pitched there my last start. So I guess you know what to expect a little bit, what the crowd is going to be like, and it's going to be fun. It's what you play the game for. It's exciting. This is what you deem of as a kid, be on the mound in a clinching game.

Q: As soon as you were done with Game 2, did you tailor your preparation as if you were going to be in line to pitch Game 5 or was there an adjustment along the way?

JUSTIN VERLANDER: No, no adjustment. I prepared myself like it was possible to pitch Game 5. I didn't know what anybody had planned or what the plans were coming in, but I knew there was a chance. So just threw my bullpen on my normal day and prepared as best I could.

Q: Justin, your season had it's up's and down's, you put things together the last few weeks and into the postseason. What has locked in so well for you?

JUSTIN VERLANDER: I think it's been some of the adjustments I made, well, one of maybe a thousand that I tried to make this year. It was definitely a grind all year. Then you know it reached a point where I realized it was going to take a while, it wasn't going to be one thing that I had to fix. I knew it wasn't going to be a quick process, and I set a date for myself that I needed to be ready at all costs for the postseason. The last month of the season, I think I found some things that really benefited me, my location, just my stuff in general. I felt like I pitched better, especially the last three, four starts.

Q: Any comments on how your starting cohort did in relief today, Max Scherzer?

JUSTIN VERLANDER: That was amazing! He got himself in trouble and got himself out of it. That was pretty intense. I think all Tigers fans and Tigers players would have rather it be thee up, three down, but it made for a great story, didn't it? Pretty intense.

Q: Why is it you think you had the struggles you had, age catching up to you?

JUSTIN VERLANDER: Nice question! No! If I could tell you, I wouldn't have had them.

Q: Justin, you've been around here long enough to go through a lot of different situations. Have you ever thought about what it would be like to come into a game like that in relief?

JUSTIN VERLANDER: Yeah, it's a totally different feeling intensity level wise. I went and talked to Jeff today before the game before I knew what our plan was and said, Hey, I'll be available if you need me. And he said, No, Max is going to be in the bullpen and if he gets in, you will be in Game 5. I think that was probably in their minds. Max has come out of the bullpen, I never have at any point in my baseball career. But, hey, that would be a new and exciting adventure for me. I think it would be a lot of fun.

Q: As a staff, you guys had an amazing season. How much do you guys feed off each other when you get to this time and how close are you guys?

JUSTIN VERLANDER: Obviously we're close. I think all starting staffs are, we're all doing the same thing. It's just kinda the way it goes. I think as far as feeding off one another that happens a lot. Most of the time people talk about offenses and hitting is contagious, but I think it's the same way with pitching, I think pitching is contagious. We're all extremely competitive guys. You see a guy go out there and do a great job, you want to go out there and do a better job. That's how it is. And I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we all have our counterparts in the rotation, Max and I, Doug and Ricky, Anibal somewhat with Max and me. But we have some similar stuff and we can catch and see what one guy is doing against a particular lineup and see what's working and what isn't and go off that.