**FREDDIE FREEMAN
On his walk-off homer
“Justin got a good one right there, and (Gee) just left a cutter out over the plate.”
On three hits against Gee, who handled everyone else in lineup
“I’ve been swinging it pretty good lately, so I feel great up there. Just ambushed him to see if I could get one early off of him, I was able to hook it down the line for a double. I just battled my second at-bat (single) and he got me on the third (groundout in seventh inning).
“They left him in there and we were able to get to him in the ninth.”
Did you know the ball was gone, the homer?
“I knew I hit it good enough. I didn’t know if it was going to stay fair actually, because it was an inside pitch and I didn’t know if I was able to get my hands inside. But once I saw it get up to its peak height, I knew it was gone. Because I knew it wasn’t hooking anymore.”
Trying to end it there?
“No, I really was trying to keep it going. I really was just trying to look for a pitch out over, so I could hook it through the hole at first base, to see if we could get first and third with Evan coming up. I really was trying to pull the ball right there, but I was able to lift one out at the same time.”
On the long night
“It was just one of those nights. There’s nothing we could do about it. We’ve got five games in four days, and if we got this game rained out, we’ve got a doubleheader tomorrow and they’re saying we’re not going to be playing tomorrow night’s game – or tonight’s game – because it’s going to rain. So we’ve just got to get it in, and, you know, we’re here, you might as well just go out there and try to win. We were able to get it done.”
Just going to stay in clubhouse overnight?
“Thinking about it. They have some hotels for us, but I don’t see the point. We’ll see how I feel in about 20 minutes.”
**TIM HUDSON
On the long night, the nearly 4-hour delay before first pitch
“It was a crazy night. A lot of people wondered why we even started the game. But we did, and luckily we came out on top of it.
“It was a bad situation for both teams, honestly. For the pitchers and for the position players. But you’ve got to go out there and play it. Luckily we came out on top. Gee had a great game. He pitched really well. He didn’t really give us any opportunities, and he just made one mistake right there at the end. Cost him the game.”
Were you thinking, I’m going to lose this game on that single by the pitcher?
“Yeah. An .090-hitting pitcher. I don’t know. I’d have been sick, but that’s baseball. It happens every now and then. It’s just a crazy night all the way around. I’m just glad we won it.”
No wins in four June starts, but you’ve got to be pleased with how you’re pitching
“I feel good about how I’m throwing the ball. Just keep throwing the way I’m throwing, the wins will come. I feel like our team’s been playing pretty well, I just happen to be out there on the mound when the other pitcher is throwing a pretty good game. There’s a guy on the other side of the field that pitches, that’s supposed to get guys out, too, sometimes. And they get paid a lot of money, too.”
On warming up at about 10 after first announcement that game was going to start soon, then not starting till 10:53
“I was shocked that we were starting at 10 o’clock, because I was under the impression that it was going to be around 10:30, 10:40 before we started the game. Then we heard the 10:05 start, so I went out there and got ready. If this was in the NFL, we’d have had a flag for 10 yards, false start. But instead I just sat on my thumbs in the dugout for about 40 minutes. But whatever, it is what it is.”
On Freeman’s hot streak
“He’s awesome, man. Just like a Little Leaguer out there, the way he’s playing. He’s like the Little Leaguer that shaves already, you know.”
Like Kelly Leak?
“Yeah, he’s Kelly from Bad News Bears, riding up on his motorcycle and smoking heaters. That’s Freddie right now.”
**FREDI GONZALEZ
On winning the rain-delayed game on long night at Turner Field
“Yeah, well 1:30 in the morning. I think the best two swings we’ve taken off Gee were the last two with Justin and then Freeman. He had us baffled the whole night. Good for us that we had Freeman there at the last at-bat. Huddy was outstanding. He gave up one run to Gee himself and the bullpen did a nice job keeping it a one-run game.”
On what else can be said about Freeman on this streak
“Nothing. You guys, don’t interview him, don’t even talk to him, leave him alone and we’ll keep going forward.”
On if it was nice to see Justin come through there (struggling lately)
“Like I said, the best two swings we took off him were the last two. I don’t know even know who else got hits off him. I know we only have five hits, three going into the ninth. Yeah it was nice to see Justin get a base hit there, get himself on base and bring Freeman up to the plate with a chance to do what he did.”
On looking lackluster after waiting so long, but Gee doing that to everybody lately
“He’s been pretty good. You look at his record and you look at his ERA and I haven’t seen that. Every time he pitches against us he gives us a hell of a battle. We don’t get good swings off him. Yeah I don’t think it mattered if we played at midnight or 3 in the afternoon the way he pitched today. He was tough.”
On if they were determined to get the game in no matter what
“Well they were looking at the radar the whole time and they felt like we could get it in, starting at a reasonable time. I think if it wasn’t for a doubleheader tomorrow, starting at 10:45 wouldn’t be that big of a deal but everything was a consideration to start that game at that time. I think at the end there we went from 10 to 10:45. I think the weather, unpredictable as it is kind of blew up a little bit, kind of delayed the start of the game.”
On if they thought it was going to rain harder earlier on, reason didn’t start earlier
“From the very beginning. There was a little gap there. everybody who’s got a phone or a computer saw that gap. We felt that gap was only going to be 35, 40 minutes and then we didn’t want to start and stop with Huddy. And that became a little longer than that. I think it became a little bit over an hour, that gap. But then I think the rain came for another hour and a half after that. You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t when you’re dealing with the weather and starting of a game and losing your pitcher. But it’s nice for us to wait around that long and again the best two at-bats were the last two.”
On a lot of giddy reactions from players after this one
“Probably a little bit of everything. Maybe (like) a bunch of college sororities out there when you win ballgames like that. Everybody tired and all that kind of stuff. Some of the guys may just sleep over tonight like we used to do when we were young, and be ready, sleep with your bats and get ready to go tomorrow for two.”
On if he’ll stay the night in clubhouse
“Yeah I think so. We’ll stick around here. No sense in getting home and battling traffic tomorrow morning, just stick around.”
Did Huddy throw about an inning’s worth inside during last 30 minutes of delay?
“Yeah I think Roger had him 18 pitches, 20 pitches there. that would have got him over 100. 120, something like that. But he did his job. He really did. We can’t ask any more from him. He’s been outstanding.”
Ever had three games in 24 hours?
“I think in A ball one time, in the Florida State league, we had to finish a suspended game and then a doubleheader. It happens.”
