Braves quotes from Matt Wisler, A.J. Pierzynkski, Jace Peterson and Fredi Gonzalez after Friday’s 2-1 win against the Mets.
**MATT WISLER
On if he felt good right from the start
“Yeah I felt good. Coming out of the bullpen, getting on the mound, I thought I’d have a little more nerves, I actually felt pretty confident out there…just another game really. Just get out there and attack from the get go, they were swinging early. Made some good pitches early in the counts so they were just rolling over.”
On how good it felt to strike out his first batter
“Yeah getting that first out, that was my one thing. The whole time I was like I need to get this first out, so to get that out was huge. First batter to get a strikeout, that’s pretty awesome.”
On Jace Peterson coming through for him
“He told me, we were talking when I got here, and he promised to get me a couple runs today. He pretty much helped me calm down today, he was like don’t worry about it, it’s just another game. I’m behind you just like last year.”
On if Peterson’s presence made his debut easier
“Yeah, you know playing with the guys that you know. I know him, I know Cameron (Maybin), so it helps to know some guys that you came up with.”
On what A.J. Pierzynski said to him after the first inning
“He was just like, ‘Nice work, first inning getting out of the way.’”
On if this really just felt like another game
“Honestly I don’t know how. I was nervous as heck the whole day. Last night is when it started hitting me. I think it was just nerves the whole day so by the time I got to the mound I wasn’t really nervous anymore.”
On his coming to the ball park so early
“My pitching cpoach from Gwinnett told me to make sure I was here early…I was sitting around the house just overthinking, so I was like screw this let’s head to the field…(I got here at) 12:15.”
On how cool it is for his former roommate to get the game-winning hit for him
“It’s crazy. It’s funny because when I first got traded, 30 minutes before I saw he made the Opening Day roster so I texted him congrats. And I was like hey, there’s still a chance we might be teammates this year.”
On what Peterson said to him after the game
“He said, ‘Nice work. Just like an old habit, really.’”
On how much it helped having Pierzynski behind the plate?
“Yeah he was a great presence back there, he knew what he was doing. We talked a little bit before the game, kind of just how I pitch and how I go about things, and he worked with it.”
On if this game is better than his game May 30 in Columbus
“Yeah because it’s on the big-league stage. In my debut to have an outing like that, it’s unbelievable.”
On if he felt as good as he did May 30
“Yeah. … I think I could have gone nine (innings) tonight, but obviously the situation didn’t (allow for that).”
On if he had to fight the urge to overthrow at all
“Honestly I felt more calm than I probably should have out there. You know, first game, I was a little too comfortable I think. I kept telling myself, ‘Don’t get too comfortable because they’re going to burn you if you do.’”
On if he remembers the moment he truly felt comfortable
“I threw my bullpen, didn’t feel anything, well I felt nervous obviously. But once I got to the dugout, that’s when the nerves started hitting me. But I always have nerves right before I go out there, but I had a little bit more. I just focused on my breathing, staying relaxed with my body then once I got to the mound it was just like pitching.”
On if any particular player helped him ease into the game
“I think once I got into the game I was all right. After that first inning I felt fine. But having guys here beforehand, you know (Jason) Grilli was talking to me, all these guys, just saying, ‘Relax, stay through it.’”
On coming back from his worst start in Triple-A to this performance in his debut
“I worked on stuff in the pen this week. … made a couple slight changes. I think I was overturning a little bit, so stuff with staying flat. So just correcting that stuff and then feeling good on the mound.”
On home many family members and friends he had at the game
“Probably 15 to 20-ish. My parents, my brothers, my sisters, their boyfriends and girlfriends. Couple uncles and aunts, I had some friends here, too. So it should be a pretty good showing once I get out here.”
On how different it was to come in with this team after not being with them in spring training
“Yeah, I probably knew maybe seven or eight guys. Guys coming up from Gwinnett that I’ve played with, couple guys that came over in the trade. Other than that, meeting everybody. Really good group of people here. Pretty much like I’ve been here the whole time.”
On if having Peterson here made him feel even more comfortable
“Yeah having someone like that I can lean to. I was probably talking to him for an hour when I got here, just sat down and going through some stuff.”
On how well Peterson is performing
“Yeah, he’s playing really well. Last year he was coming up and down last year, didn’t really get a chance to stick. And this year he had a good opportunity. He’s a good ballplayer, an awesome dude. A hard worker so it’s awesome to see for him.”
On what it was like being told he was going to the big leagues
“So I was pitching the morning game, so I go out to the field and my teammate’s like, ‘Hey, you’re going up.’ And I was like, ‘No, I’m pitching today.’ And he was like, ‘No you’re going up, you’re not pitching today,’ and I was like, ‘No, I’m pitching today. Go see the board.’ So I did. I went into Marty’s (Gwinnett pitching coach Marty Reed) office kind of hot, and I was like, ‘Hey, Wong’s pitching today.’ He pointed to the locker and said, ‘You see that locker?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah.’ He was like, ‘Do you see that jersey?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah.’ He’s like, ‘I’m still the pitching coach. I’ll tell you when you’re pitching.’ Kind of like joking with me I think – I hope. And then after that he told me I was starting in Atlanta.”
On how he felt after hearing he was getting called up
“It was awesome. I didn’t feel too much that day. … Yesterday I started thinking about the game more. That’s when the nerves and stuff started coming.”
**FREDI GONZALEZ
on Wisler’s performance
“Tremendous. He came as advertised, a guy that can mix three or four pitches, throw the ball for strikes. The first guy you should interview is A.J. Pierzynski, because he came in and said, you mean this guy who can hit the glove anywhere I put it, with a lot of different pitches? He was really excited about catching him, and the kid did a nice job. For a second there I thought DeGrom was going to out-pitch him, because you draw your first assignment in the big leagues, you draw a guy like him and you give up one run, you’ve got a chance to lose the game. But we battled, (got runners on) first and third there, and Petey had a terrific at-bat there and hit one over Lagares. We were able to score a couple of runs and hold them off there in the ninth inning.
“It was a good first outing for him in the big leagues, and for him to get the win, a pretty special night.”
On striking out the first batter he faced
“It’s fun. There’s a lot of firsts for him today. We’ll give him the (lineup) cards like we always do, his first beer shower with the guys, celebration … it’s nice. It’s nice to see a young kid not come in and throw 99 and hit the bull (with an errant toss) every third pitch. He comes in, and same think like Williams Perez, he has a nice mix, throw the ball over the plate, follows the glove around in the strike zone. It’s nice to see that.”
On his poise and mound presence, not showing any nervousness after they’d get a leadoff hit or one-out hit
“None whatsoever. And Snit (Gwinnett manager Brian Snitker) said the same thing, he said, ‘This guy has pretty good composure, pretty good mound presence,’ and he showed it today. He does a lot of good things, holds runners well, looks like he swings the bat, at least makes contact. Nice to see that.
“He got himself an opportunity by pitching well in Triple-A, now we’ll see how long we can keep rolling him out there.”
On Peterson’s big double
“Over the head of a center fielder who won a Gold Glove last year. He stuck his nose in there against a left-hander, didn’t panic, didn’t change his approach, put the ball in play.”
Best debut you’ve seen in a while by a starter?
“Yeah, I can’t think of anything off the top of my head better than that. And pretty efficient, too. I don’t think he even broke 90 pitches (88). We had to pinch-hit for him. If not it would have been tempting to run him back out there.”
Seemed like he changed speeds and hit the glove all night, like he’d done it many times before
“Exactly.”
**A.J. PIERZYNSKI
On Wisler’s performance
“He had multiple weapons, threw a lot of strikes. I know he was nervous, talking to him before the game. But at no point did he ever look out of place, intimidated by the moment. We walked out to the mound, me and Simba (Andrelton Simmons), one time and said, ‘Are you having fun?’ And he just kind of laughed. We were talking about other things; he’s a Notre Dame fan, so I got on him about that. But other than that, he seemed like he was in a good spot and threw the ball well.”
How many pitching debuts do you think you’ve caught in your career?
“A lot. I’ve caught a lot this year. They’re still fun, though. After the game they get the beer shower for their first win, it’s cool. First strikeout. Those kind of things are cool. Those are those things you never forget. Your first K, your first win, your first all that stuff is cool. For him to do it here in front of the home crowd, especially against deGrom, the way he was throwing, it was very impressive.”
Did you know much about Wisler before today?
“Didn’t know a thing about him. Knew we traded for him, talked to Lavarnway, who caught him once in Triple-A, that helped me. Talked to Roger (McDowell), he showed me the reports about him from Triple-A. Then we just talked about what he likes to do. He did a good job preparing. I knew he had some scouting stuff on these guys. He watched video, which is nice, and helped me, and then we basically just got on the same page tonight and he pitched good against a tough opponent.”
**JACE PETERSON
On his two-run double off Gilmartin, who had stranded all eight runners he had inherited this season before tonight
“You’ve got to give credit to the guys in front of me. Simmons started it off getting that double, and Eury did a good job getting him over. Ciri (Ciriaco) put that ball in play and didn’t jog down the line, he busted it. So we have (runners at) first and third, and he gave me a fastball, and I was able to put a good swing on it.”
You know Wisler well, were you surprised at how calm and effective he was tonight?
“No. We both got drafted in ’11, so I’ve seen him all the way up through the minors, and we played together a lot in Triple-A. When he’s in that mode and attacking the zone and throwing all his pitches for strikes, he’s really good. I expect that a lot out of him.”
You guys were friends, roommates?
“Yeah, we were roommates in Triple-A. We stayed together, we were drafted together and have been close ever since. Last year we got to room together.”
So it's pretty special for you to be able to get hit for him?
“Absolutely. Help him out. It was a great all-around game. We fought all the way to the end, and we couldn’t be more happy.”
