Braves quotes from Daniel Castro, Julio Teheran and Fredi Gonzalez after Friday’s 4-0 win against the Cardinals.
**FREDI GONZALEZ
On Julio Teheran’s solid second half
“He’s put a nice little run together, and today he pitched out of one hell of a jam, bases loaded and nobody out. Even the following inning he got himself in a little jam and pitched out of that. He’s pitched well. You know what, we’ve been pitching well here the past seven, eight days. If you pitch well, you have a chance to win a ballgame.”
Young starters have allowed two runs in 26 innings during first four games on the homestand
“That’s good. I think some of these guys are pitching in uncharted waters. For the most part, some of these (rookie) guys have been home by now; they’re not used to playing September baseball, let alone October. I know it’s a little different October baseball than some of these teams are getting ready to play, but it’s nice to run them out there and nice to see Julio pitch (well), and watch Vizicano go, and Burawa’s doing a nice job, and Danny Castro…. It’s nice to watch these young guys up here perform, because we’re evaluating every single day.”
Are you surprised at how well Castro has hit at this level?
“Yeah, a little bit. I thought he was more – and he still is – a hit-and-run guy, bunt, get the guy over. But they’ve made a couple of mistakes on him and he’s been able to run people out of the ballpark. He puts the ball in play. He’s a nice piece to have to kind of complement either Simmons or Peterson, or even play third base late in the game. He’s a nice complementary player. Now, is he a guy that you run out there every single day for 150? You may see a different guy (in that scenario). But right now he’s giving you … you scratch your head and you go, wow, I wonder if this guy can do it? Which is a good thing.”
On Pierzynski finally relenting and leaving game after getting hit by pitch in knee and then fouling ball off foot later
“He had enough after the foul ball. And I didn’t want to run him out there. He took a hit-by-pitch off his left knee, and then the foul ball off his right ankle. He wasn’t moving around too good. I don’t know if we’ll see him the rest of the weekend, but he’s had a terrific year.”
**JULIO TEHERAN
On finishing strong in his final start of the season
“I feel really good. Everything was working today. I know we were playing the best team in the National League. I was really focused on this game, trying to show up in my last start, and I think I did really good.”
Hadn’t faced the Cardinals in a while, and lot of backups in lineup
“I didn’t know any of those hitters. Me and A.J. were on the same page, I was following him because he knows a lot more than I know. Everything was working today, my changeup, my slider was really good, my fastball was coming out really good.”
4.04 ERA is your worst in full season, but do you feel like 2nd half helped erase 1st-half struggles?
“Yeah, that was what I was trying to concentrate on. In the first half I was trying to make adjustments. It was a little difficult. But I’m glad I was able to make them in the second half and finish strong. That’s what we want.”
Can that give you momentum going into offseason and into next week as well?
“Oh, yeah. That’s how you want to finish the year and that’s what you want to take home, finish the year strong and show everybody what you can do, what they can expect from you. Just happy, just ready to go home. I know we’ve got two more games and I’m going to support my team, hope we finish strong.”
**DANIEL CASTRO (translated by Alex Cotto)
Where has the power come from? (He had no homers in 490 at-bats in minors this season, has two in 88 at-bats in majors)
“To be honest with you, I don’t know. The last few games I thought was struggling with the bat, so I was getting here extra early and getting some extra work done with my hitting. It just so happened I got an inside pitch and was able to put the barrel on it. The ball went out. I hit it and just took off running.”
On Fredi G’s comments that you’ve put yourself into consideration for a spot next year, platoon or utility type
“I feel good that I’ve played well. I’m just going to try to keep playing that well and finish that way, and let the rest take care of itself.”
You were known for defense, are you pleased with what you’ve been able to do with the bat in big leagues?
“The coaches have worked really well with me with the bat, they’ve been really on top of me and I’ve been willing to work extra hard. In Gwinnett I had a rough patch where I didn’t hit so well, but I continued to work with the hitting coaches there and it seems like everything’s picked up from there.”
