—Quotes complied by Michael Cunningham and Mattthew Bain
**FREDI GONZALEZ
On if it’s tough to finish a game like that when Shelby Miller was so dominant
Shelby (Miller) was good. He was really good. It was a tough seven innings. He gets bowled over in the first inning and gets all scratched up and beat up, and it’s hot and humid. He gave us seven innings and we had a chance to win. We had a chance to add on, and it was a freak play. I don’t know if (Freddie) Freeman saw the ball. I don’t know if that ball goes through or not. I think it does, but it was just a freak of a play. And they scored one in the eighth and one in the ninth to tie it, but Shelby was tremendous. You can’t ask for anything more from him.
On how to keep the morale up after games like this
Well I think you go in there – especially tomorrow – you go in there and you’re the same guy. I’m the same guy, our coaches have to be the same guy. Keep battling, keep your head up. We got 11 hits. We had a chance to win the game and we didn’t, but as far as the morale I think our guys have shown they’re pretty good about coming out the next day and getting after it.
On Jason Grilli’s errant pickoff throw in the top of the ninth
You know, you’ve seen it when (Andrelton) Simmons picks off people over there at second base a lot. He just threw the ball away and put a man on third base and the sac fly would have scored him easily.
On if he would rather Grilli and Simmons be more conservative in that situation
I let those guys play, man. They’re out there playing and we’re sitting in the dugout, you guys are sitting up in the stands and they’re watching and they know what’s going on. And I’m not so sure a good throw wouldn’t have gotten him at second base. But you’ve got to let your players play. You can’t handcuff them, you can’t restrict them. And they decided to make that play and I support it.
On if it was strange to see Craig Kimbrel in a different uniform
Yeah, all day long. You saw him and Justin (Upton) and Melvin (Upton Jr.) in a different uniform. I tell you what, everybody’s talking this afternoon that Craig wasn’t right and his numbers weren’t right. He looked pretty darn good there in that ninth inning. He looked like the guy that saved a lot of games with the Atlanta Braves.
On offense’s performance
Freeman got a couple hits, got a hit, and got some people on base and Nick (Markakis) came through with a double, scored a run early on. There’s a lot of good things, a lot of positive things. Now we’ve got to lock down those games and we have a chance to win.
On if the decision to pull Miller had anything to do with his collision in the first inning
It was just going along, talking to Roger (McDowell). He goes, ‘It’s humid, it’s hot. It’s been a couple of high, stressful innings. Let’s get him out of there.’
**SHELBY MILLER
On his start
I felt good. I had lot more command of all my pitches today than I did last time, which is nice not going out there walking guys. Just trying to get guys out of the zone and get ahead in the count and be as efficient as possible. A.J. (Pierzynski) called a good game behind the plate. Had some great plays on defense and all around it felt good physically and I felt like we made some good pitches. But a tough loss.
On the collision with first baseman Freddie Freeman
I told him it felt like Brian Urlacher. He’s obviously a strong guy. That’s not my play to make. I tried to get out of the way at the last second but that’s a bonehead mistake on my part. Freddie is obviously one of the huge keys to this team and you don’t want to do anything to get that guy hurt. I’m a little upset about me not getting out of the way on that play. But luckily we were both Ok.
On the team’s morale
We’re fine. We know what we are capable of and what we are able to do. We are going to have some rough games here and there. We are going to have some rough stretches and have some games that are better than others. But at the end of the day, we are a family. We are a team. We are just trying to go out there and get a win for the Braves and for each other. At the end of the day, wins are great but losses are going to happen.
On if the heat made it more of a grind
No, not really. I felt good. That’s what we’ve got the rosin for, when you are sweating and the humidity is a little strong. It’s Atlanta. It’s always going to be hot. From Texas, I’m used to pitching in hot weather. I really enjoy it. I’d rather pitch in this kind of weather rather than it being cold.
**JASON GRILLI
On the pickoff play at second base in the ninth inning
(Andrelton) Simmons doesn’t set a pick unless he knows he’s got the guy. I just made a bad throw.
On how he liked his pitching during the inning
Well if the runner stays at second base, you tell me what would have happened. I mean, you can figure it out.
On if he was worrying after Jim Johnson gave up a run in the eighth
I’m confident in everybody we’ve got out there that takes the ball. Absolutely.
On what he says to teammates to keep morale up
The same thing we do when we’re winning. The same thing. We say things to each other that – you guys don’t need to know everything, do you? We’re confident. We’re working through some struggles. Nobody asks us questions when we’re going well. It’s easier to pinpoint the highs and lows – cross-section this, cross-section that, splits… . It’s easy to do that. It’s really easy to do that. Tough game.
On if he had to throw it to second with Simmons setting the pick
No, you don’t have to. That’s a base you don’t have to throw to. I made a bad throw. Just made a bad throw.
