Toronto Blue Jays closer Ken Giles isn't backing down from comments he made about his time with the Houston Astros.

The World Series champions traded Giles to the Blue Jays on July 30, ending his rocky tenure in Houston. Giles had been demoted to Class AAA earlier in the month, following a rough outing that ended with him appearing to use an expletive towards Astros manager A.J. Hinch.

Ahead of a three-game set between the teams in Toronto, which began Monday, Giles expressed his frustration about his time with the Astros.

"I'm actually enjoying the game more than I did for my entire tenure in Houston. It's kind of weird to say that because I won a World Series with that team," Giles told the Toronto Star.

"But it's like, I just felt trapped there. I didn't feel like myself there."

MORE MLB:

Giles struggled in the postseason last year, giving up 10 earned runs in 7⅔ innings, including five runs in two World Series appearances.

A day after his remarks made waves, the 28-year-old stood by his assessment.

"I didn't know what I was doing there," Giles said. "Like, I'm getting thrown out there like I didn't know what was going on. It keeps me out of the loop a little bit. I wasn't told some information that I probably needed to know, instead just going into the dark out there without knowing what I needed to prepare for.

"It's a shame. I enjoyed my teammates there, we did a lot of great memories there, and I was very blessed to be with those guys and got to learn from those guys."

Meeting with reporters before the series opener on Monday, Hinch responded to Giles' criticisms.

"I think he's wrong," Hinch said, per the Houston Chronicle. "Every single player will tell you it's one of the best cultures they've had, one of the best communication environments they've had. They all know their roles; they all know their situations.

"To have one person, out of all the guys in our clubhouse, come out and claim otherwise is flat wrong."