FREDDIE FREEMAN
On if he and Justin feeding off each other:
“It’s definitely fun to watch him right now. He’s what you call locked in. It seems like anything they throw offspeed, his weight is still back and he’s throw the zone so long. He’s pretty much carried us the last few days.”
On 5 of 6 already vs. Nats, if getting in their head a little bit:
“I don’t know if it’s about getting in the head. You just want to go out there and win series and it doesn’t matter who it’s against. It is against a division rival and that’s definitely a good thing because we’ve got a 19-game stretch against divisions opponents. This is where you can get off to a good start and get off to a good lead and hopefully we can keep playing well through Philly.”
On setting tone last April vs. Nats:
“I think everybody is starting to make this into a big deal. As players we’re not. We go out there and play. It seemed to be one-run games every time we play them though, so it gives it a little bit more intensity to the games. We want to go out there and play well; it doesn’t matter who it’s against. In the division, we’ve got to go out there and win games because pennants are won inside the division, not outside the division. So we’ve got to go out there and play well and keep battling.”
On hitting the railing on his home run:
“The ball started foul and then started blowing back fair. I couldn’t believe it. I looked up and I was like ‘dang,’ and all of a sudden it started blowing back and I was like ‘whoa, I got to start running.’”
On getting hit on the finger:
“I got hit and it pinched my pinky into the bat. It felt more like a jam job, like someone getting inside and blowing you up. That’s what it felt like for a few innings and then it started to get looser and looser and it kind of went away. I was like ‘Whoa.’ It was more of a scare than an injury.”
On if any swelling:
“No after that we wrapped it with cold band to make sure it didn’t swell and put some ice on it real quick in the middle of the game and I looked at Lovey (Jim Lovell) and I squeezed my hand and I was like ‘I think I’m all right.’ I got really lucky. I think if I don’t choke up, I think I’m done. With me choking up, it got some of that bat, right there. I lucked out.”
ANDRELTON SIMMONS
On doing what a five-hole hitter does:
“You gotta play the role, right? Nah, just I’m feeling pretty good at the plate. I saw the ball good off of Gio. I saw the ball good off of Detwiler. Just my timing is getting there and I’m feeling comfortable.”
On importance of sweep vs Nats, even early in season:
“It doesn’t matter if it’s early or not. You want to win games in the division. To take all three of them is pretty big.”
On watching the roll that Freddie and Justin are on:
“Yeah, just don’t say anything. Just let them do what they’ve been doing and B.J. is swinging the bat really well and I’m excited to see what this team is going to be.”
On 22 of 29 now against Nationals on if try to get in their head a little bit:
“It’s not “we” trying. We just go out there and play them, maybe when they’re out there, we playing them, we do better for whatever reason, but if anything it might be in their head but we just go out there and compete and for some reason we always seem to come out victorious against them.”
JUSTIN UPTON
On having this kind of success personally vs. division opponents:
“Early on, it’s always good to win ball games. You’re trying to position yourself for the late months when you might be a little bit banged up or you’re not playing as well, so the earlier you can get your wins and play well and play well as a team it’s always nice to see those wins.”
On not wanting to blink in a stretch like this:
“Just try to stay with what’s working. Continue to work, and continue what you’re doing and see what happens. You don’t know what each day is going to bring but you go out there and fight.”
On seeing what offense is capable of:
“We know what we’re capable of. We know what we want to achieve. It’s just a matter of getting everybody on the same page. We know it’s not realistic to say we’re all going to be going at the same time. If everybody can just come out and be themselves every day and continue every day, I think we’ll be fine.”
On Freeman’s pop when he hits one on the screws:
“Yeah Freddie squares a lot of balls up. You probably consider him a line drive hitter but he’s got a lot of pop. We see that every day in bp and when he squares one up, he goes. We like to see that out of him every once in a while.”
AARON HARANG
On early lead:
“When guys come out and put up runs on the board early, as a pitcher you can just settle back and try and throw your game and not be too fine, knowing you have some leeway to play with.”
On how much is being comfortable with particular pitches vs. confident being on nice ride:
“I think the biggest thing is just being confident, knowing that I can locate my pitches and also just being able to keep their hitters off-balance.”
On if he’s exceeded even his own expectations:
“Uh, you know, probably. I feel good. I feel like I’m able to get on the same page with the catchers, even though all three of them haven’t really caught me. Just being able to sit back and talk with them and get on that same page with them right away is key to having success in the field.”
On B.J’s catch:
“He went and got that ball that Werth hit in the gap. Those kind of plays when you keep your defense, not letting them get flat-footed by taking too long in between pitches, keeping the momentum of the game going, they’re going to go out and make those plays for you. It’s always nice to have that kind of defense out there backing you up.”
B.J. UPTON
On fun to have a game, showing off legs at the plate and in the field:
“That’s what you try to go out and do every night, just play hard and see what happens. Things have started to come together the last couple days and starting to feel a little bit better.”
On watching brother on this roll:
“Like I said the other night, it’s fun to watch. When he gets locked in like this, it’s a lot of fun to watch.”
On if send Chipper a box of chocolates:
“Yeah I guess. I’m sure I’ll see him again and we’ll talk a little bit more.”
On if some of things he talked about helped you:
“It’s nothing I haven’t done in the past just finding a way to monitor it. It’s worked out the last couple days.”
FREDI GONZALEZ
On the offense Sunday:
“We kept the line moving a couple different time.s when they gave us an opportunity to score some runs. We’ve got a couple guys up there who are hot, Freeman and Justin and a couple other guys, they came through. I thought B.J. was the defensive player of the game. He made some plays in the outfield look fairly easy and they’re not, going gap to gap. He almost had a chance to catch LaRoche’s there at the end. We had a lot of good things. Simmons with a three-run homer, the triple. Pastornicky has his first start of the year and he hits a triple and it’s nice to see him run the bases and run real well. Lot of good things. Stayed away from our bullpen, the last couple guys that we wanted to stay away from. I thought the seventh inning was the key inning for us. Thomas comes in and goes 1, 2, 3 there. That’s a big inning, still a five-run game. We want to stay away from a couple guys who have been overworked here lately.”
On Harang:
“He pitched great. He gave us a great opportunity to win. He pitched like you’ve seen him pitch before against you. He navigated himself really well through a pretty good lineup.”
