**FREDI GONZALEZ**
On if the team takes something positive from ninth-inning rally
I would think so. They battled. You go down from missing a couple opportunities earlier in the game and not getting anything to getting the tying run at second base. It looked like on television that B.J. (Upton) squared that ball up, it just happened to be right at (Ian) Desmond. The guys, they are battling. They know what’s in store. They know what’s up against them. You like the effort. But right now you miss an opportunity to score a run it comes back to bite you. I like the effort, I like the intensity. All of those things are good but you’ve got to win ballgames. As coaches and managers you control the intensity and the effort and I like that. Freeman and I sat and watched the game on television and we talked for three, four innings about what’s going on and all of a sudden we out-hit them. We just didn’t hit with people on base and put a crooked number up there.
On if frustration boiled over for Freddie Freeman on his ejection
No, I think it was ball four. I think it was just ball four. Really he just slammed the bat and broke the bat. He never said a word to (umpire) Tim (Timmons). I don’t think it’s frustration. We are running out of games and we all collectively—I’m talking about from our front office to our coaching staff to our players to our fans—we want to win. Anything short of us getting in some kind of playoff game, it’s not acceptable. And you see guys fighting.
On following Freeman out to argue
I was just trying to get out there and keep him in the game but I came up short. I said what I said. They can play the game without the manager but it’s hard to play the game without the No. 3 hitter. That’s that. I liked the effort in the ninth, I really do. Hopefully that will get us going and come back out tomorrow and score some runs.
On if failing to drive in runners from third has become a mental hurdle
It’s a catch-22. Don’t think of the pink elephant in the room. They all know what’s going on and everybody is trying to help out, everybody is trying to pitch in, everybody is trying to move that runner. We are not getting it done right again.
On Strasburg looking better than he has in a while against you
I’ve never seen him pitch bad against us. You see the numbers but, for whatever reason scratch a run. He’s a pretty darn good pitcher every time we have faced him. Those numbers don’t bear that but he’s a guy that we respect. He’s been a big pitcher for them. Maybe a 2-1 game is a bit different feeling for him.
On if he has an update on Evan Gattis’ illness
We haven’t gotten any of the tests back. Maybe later on tonight or maybe even tomorrow we will have a little bit more detail on him.
**ERVIN SANTANA**
On not thinking he has to be perfect
From a pitching standpoint, we don’t have to be perfect because we trust our teammates and we know what we can do and what we can’t. We’ve had good success against Strasburg. It was tough today. At the same time, we just have to keep our mind right and go get it tomorrow.
On how he felt
I feel great. Everything was good: slider, change-up. The velocity was good. I don’t have any complaint.
On if he changed his approach from last time he faced Nationals
Same old, same old.
On pitching the same way and having better results
You have to have good luck. That’s what I had today. Last time I don’t have it. It’s a tough game.
**FREDDIE FREEMAN**
On if his frustration boiled over when he was ejected
No, I just thought it was a ball. After looking at it (on replay) it was a ball. But I guess it was a little frustration built up at a pivotal point in the game. It’s kind of how things have been going. I got a bad call there and unfortunately I let the frustration take over.
On if he was surprised he got ejected
Yeah, I didn’t say a word, not even a, ‘Are you serious, Tim?’ or anything like that. Not a word came out of my mouth. He’s usually pretty good about that stuff but he had a quick one tonight. It’s just one of those things. I guess I just shouldn’t slam my bat.
On what he talked with Gonzalez about while watching game together
We were just watching the game. I’ve never really heard him in the game like that. He was rooting for players. It was kind of cool to see. It’s nice to see that he has our back.
On the rally in the ninth
That was awesome. Like I said before, B.J. (Upton) just absolutely crushed that ball and it just bounced perfectly right to (Ian) Desmond and got him by a half a step. But we are not giving up. We are fighting until the end. We are still not out of this thing.
On if it feels different to lose 4-2 rather than 4-0
We fought all game. We had our opportunities. We didn’t capitalize again. At least we got the opportunity again in the ninth and we did capitalize on those. We swung the bats well tonight. B.J. has been swinging the bat really well. Hopefully we can continue that into tomorrow and start a little winning streak and keep in distance when the Pirates come to town and hopefully that gives us a chance at the end of the year.
**ANDRELTON SIMMONS**
On the ninth inning rally being encouraging
It’s a good sign but at the same time we had the whole game to do it and we waited until the last minute. We’ve got to do a better job getting it done earlier in the game.
On Strasburg’s performance
We’ve been not swinging the bat well. We got a couple hits. We got a guy at third with no outs and didn’t get him in. We didn’t do a good job at the plate today. We’ve got to get better now. There is no time to waste. We’ve got to get it done.
On if they have to win 10 or 11 of their remaining games
Yeah, that’s what we’ve got to focus on. We’ve got to focus on winning each game. We can’t win 12 games at once but we’ve got to win each game and battle and see what happens.
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