**JUSTIN UPTON
Did you know that ball was gone as soon as you hit it?
“No, I wasn’t sure. I was busting it out of the box, hoping for three (triple) and definitely trying to get two.”
How important to win that one, after being ahead 2-0 early and then having some things get screwy
“Regardless, we had to battle to the end of the game. It’s not an ideal situation going to extra (innings), we would’ve liked to put a few more runs on the board early in the game. We had our chances, didn’t get it done, but we still battled.”
Your third walk-off homer, second this season, what’s the feeling?
“When you can go out and win the ballgame for your team, there’s nothing better than that.”
On being 14-1/2 games ahead of the Nationals before this series began
“There’s a lot of baseball to be played. We know what we need to do. We need to go out and win ballgames, obviously. Our lead is pretty big right now, but crazier things have happened in baseball. So you have to go out and win as many ballgames as possible. You don’t give any of them away.”
**FREDI GONZALEZ
On another dramatic ending:
“Well, when you’ve got guys that can hit the ball out of the ballpark like Justin and Heyward and McCann and Freeman and B.J. and Danny when Danny is here, you can pitch, stay in those guys. Guy made a mistake over the plate. I didn’t think it was going to be out. I thought it was going to be on top of the wall from my angle but it carried enough.”
On Justin having Nats number right now
“Well, he is sandwiched in there between those two left-handers and when they bring a left-hander in they’ve got to come through him, so it’s a good spot for him. And I thought we did a hell of a job pitching. Woody did a terrific job. We got a little sideways there in the eighth inning but nevertheless we got out of there with Kimbrel and Scotty did not job there in the 10th.”
On the ball kept finding Bryce Harper
“It’s one of those deals. You’re not going to hit Harper there, the winning run, lefty on lefty with two outs. That’s ridiculous. I know he’s upset with it and I don’t blame him. Nobody likes to get hit but for it to be intentional it’s not even close.”
That have anything to do with why you pulled Avilan?
“No I thought I had a better matchup with Ayala and Werth. Ayala is 1-for-7 against him and I thought he had a better match-up there.”
On crazy circumstances, the way it looked hitting Harper twice after the incident in D.C.
“Yeah, it looked awful but it’s not. That eighth inning you don’t want to, really, those situations are not one to hit people on purpose or any of that kind of stuff, really. Stuff like that can happen, and luckily we only gave up one run. It could have been very easily giving up two or three if Werth gets a pitch he can drive out of the ballpark.”
On Janish’s play in the 10th inning
“It was an unbelievable stop, and that’s what he does for us. Yeah he knows his role, he’s a straight professional, and did anybody think that the first ball hit in the 10th wasn’t going to go to Gosselin? It’s one of those things and he did a nice job. And he did a nice job turning a double play also. I’m glad he got his feet wet in a situation that was a tie game at home in extra innings. Good for everybody.”
On the strides Wood has made last 3-4 starts
“He’s been terrific. He really has been terrific. If you didn’t know that he was pitching in college, attending class this time last year, you would have thought this guy’s been around for three or four years.”
**ALEX WOOD
On the win
“What we did tonight, J-Up with the walk-off there at the end, I mean, that’s story book. That’s as good as it gets right there.”
On the progress he’s made in his past four starts
“I feel good. I feel like ever since I really started taking advantage of the video and those things in there that Mikey (Minor) has been showing me, and just kind of getting on the same page as Mac, being able to go out there and feel like you have a game plan and you have something that you want to be able to execute when you go out there there, and how you go about facing these hitters – that’s definitely been part of the success I’ve had as of late.”
On hitting Harper with knuckle-curve
“Yeah, it was a knuckle-curve. You never want to let the leadoff hitter get on. It just kind of came out of my hand a little early. The crowd started cheering, but it’s like, it’s a breaking ball I hit him with. It’s a complete accident. Just one of those things.”
Did you stare at him (note: I was kidding when I asked him this)
“No, I tried not to look at him, because it’s embarrassing when you hit somebody with a curveball, you know?”
On beating the Nats again, another two-game swing
“Yeah, it’s big for us. Real big for us. Especially at home in front of the home crowd. We’re trying to keep this division lead as big as we can, especially since we’re coming up on September pretty fast.”
On working out of trouble in three straight innings
“I think that fifth inning was the big one, when I got second and third with one out, with the top of the order coming back up. Those are the innings that make or break you, in terms of having good numbers and being able have success anywhere, to minimize (damage) and be able to get out situations. That was probably what I was most proud of tonight, to be able to get out of that inning unscathed. That was definitely pretty big for my confidence, and for the game in general.”
**LUIS AVILAN
On hitting Harper
“The people who think I did it on purpose don’t know anything about baseball. I put the lead run at first base and the game’s 2-1. I just want to do my job, just want the Braves to win the game.”
What were you thinking when you let the pitch go?
“I was thinking, ‘Oh, no. All of this happens after two outs?’”
You know what it looked like to some after he was hit earlier
“I don’t think he thought I hit him on purpose, because of the situation. We were winning 2-1, I didn’t want to put the lead run at first. If I’m going to do it on purpose, I’m not going to (throw it there). I almost hit him in his head.”
On his performance
“I wasn’t good today. It was probably because the ball moved side-to-side. It’s a sinker, you can’t do nothing about it. That happened. I feel bad for him, because I don’t want to hit him, especially in that part of his body, near his head. Just a bad day for me.”
