- Compiled by Michael Cunningham, Carroll Rogers and Jeff Schultz
JASON HEYWARD
On getting them going in the eighth:
“It was basic: get a good at-bat, get a good pitch to hit. I was fortunate to get on base and get something started.”
On approach after two prior guys hit by pitches:
“I was looking to get a good pitch to hit if I got one. If I didn’t, do my best to not chase it out of the zone.”
On keeping the line moving in the eighth, manufacturing runs:
“It was a great job of what we did today, manufacturing some runs. We made the starter throw a lot of pitches. There late in the game they had to make a lot of moves in the bullpen. We did a good job of getting pitches to hit, we had some sac flies, we had guys running the bases well, we had guys draw walks.”
On good to pick up bullpen in eighth:
“Awesome when we can pick them up. We picked up Huddy as well. He threw well enough, for me in my mind, to win that game. I know they had a big hit there to tie it up but we were able to hang in there and fight back and give the bullpen a breather and give everybody a breather there late in the game.”
ANDRELTON SIMMONS
On getting hit in the elbow:
“It just got the bone, numbed it up for a second. The trainer insisted on putting ice. Just precautious.”
On his instincts on baserunning play:
“I was bluffing at first maybe to force a throw and maybe make them start to get ready to throw home, too. I saw the ball go away from the (third baseman) and I noticed nobody was in the space. The catcher was all the way back there so I didn’t think anybody was going to beat me to home plate.”
On if he saw the ball when he ran:
“Yeah, otherwise I wouldn’t have went, especially with one out.”
On thinking about it when missed cutoff man:
“Yeah, I’m always ready for a mistake. As soon as I saw that ball leaving that glove I was gone.”
TIM HUDSON
On if one pitch out of 100 goes his way looking at W:
“Yeah well obviously. It was a cutter outside up in the zone a little bit, but it was a pitch outside corner, he just drove it to center field. His numbers on anything away from him aren’t very good but today he drove it out of the park to tie it up. I wish I’d have had a chance to have an opportunity at a decision to get one more out but the important thing is we won the ball game. We ended up having a really nice inning there in the eighth so that’s all that matters.”
On run support early:
“Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make it stand. But at the same time, we won the game, that’s all that matters.”
On Chavez making him work:
“He’s a good hitter. He hits cleanup for them and puts up a good at-bat. He still has a lot left in the tank so I felt like I made some good pitches on him. Got that inning going with that little drop-in right there and it cost me a decision.”
On look back as one rough inning, one bad pitch:
“Uh, yeah, honestly I feel like I was a pitch or two from throwing a shutout or at least from throwing some shutout innings. They had opportunities to score, they took advantage of it. So did we. We were able to obviously win that battle later in the game and were able to put together some crooked numbers.”
On if that’s where frustration was when he came to get you:
“I would have liked the opportunity to have a decision. A hundred pitches for me that’s not really a magic number to take you out of the game. You work real hard the whole game and there’s one pitch that a guy puts a good swing on a pitch away and ties the ballgame up. Apparently you need 16 years in the big leagues to get that chance.”
On if frustrating to go this long without a win:
“Yeah. Two months sucks without getting a W, especially when you feel like you’ve pitched well enough to win some ballgames. But that’s the game sometimes. Five days from now I’ll try to get back on board.”
On if this is longest he’s gone without a win:
“I would think so. I hope so.”
On if tried to make his case to Fredi:
“I couldn’t. As soon as he came out of the dugout he signaled to the ‘pen. I never had a chance.”
DAN UGGLA
On getting runs for Hudson:
“He’s a bulldog. Everybody knows it. He’s going to go out and compete and battle. I thought he made a good pitch and Pollock just kind of went out and got it. That’s also part of baseball. That’s also going to happen. You can make a good pitch and it can get whacked but he battled and we were able to scrape some and get back the lead and win.”
On playing better baseball, showing what lineup can do:
“Yeah, especially at home. We always feel like we’re in the game, even if we’re down by one or two going into the eighth inning or ninth inning we still feel like we have a chance. This team has not lived up to its potential offensively this whole year and we’re still playing pretty good ball, so we’ve had a lot of guys step up and pick each other up and I’m one of them that’s been struggling. We’re going to be there more time than not.”
On seven walks, three hit batsmen, taking what they give:
“We’re a lineup that strikes out a lot. They’re going to try and get us to chase but we also have a lot of big-time players in here that know how to work counts and know how to work walks and especially when we’re seeing the ball better than the days we’re swinging at everything. We can be patient just as much as swinging and missing.”
B.J. UPTON
On the offense today:
“We manufactured some runs, which a lot of people say we can’t do. We definitely have the players to do it. it just kind of seems like we’re playing better and better baseball every day, all around. And that’s kind of scary, that we’re consistently getting better and we love it.”
On 23 comeback wins, lineup putting pressure on bullpens:
“We play 27 outs and we know with our lineup that anything can happen at any time. I think you kind of saw that today.”
FREDI GONZALEZ
On just how they drew it up:
“What we did nice there in the eighth inning - we kept the line moving offensively. What I mean by that is we put the ball in play and got some runs. We didn’t have a strikeout. We just kept the line moving. We had a couple sac flies by a couple guys and ended up getting a big number like that in the eighth innings. Andrelton, that was a head’s up baserunning play by him to score on that ball. Heyward had some good at-bats all night long. We did a nice job offensively.”
On if Simmons was going on instincts:
“That’s pure instincts. It’s knowing where the ball is, knowing where he’s at and being aggressive, too, and able to run a little bit.”
On manufacturing runs throughout:
“We drew walks, we got some big hits, we got some sac flies early on. It was a good day offensively, it really was, and hopefully that can carry on for quite a while.”
On Hudson:
“I just saw one pitch that he just left out over the plate. If that doesn’t happen, he’s in line to get the W. It was a good outing for him.”
On if it seemed like he was struggling:
“I thought he was fine. It wasn’t his best outing of the year obviously I thought he was fine. If he gets Pollock out, he’s got a chance to be in line to get a W. That’s why we left him in there. We had two guys warmed up. You felt pretty good about him getting Pollock out.”
