FREDI GONZALEZ
On Shelby Miller’s coming back after the rain delay to pitch the fifth
“It’s a solid performance, really. It was, what, a 45-minute delay? That’s a big inning. It’s another inning the bullpen doesn’t have to pick up. HE didn’t want to come out of the game but he had right at 90 pitches and he had thrown a little bit in the cages just to stay loose. We didn’t want to take another shot with it. We got something bottom. We pinch hit and (Jace) Peterson got on, we end up scoring a couple runs and he was in line for the win. The bullpen was terrific. Cody Martin did just what we wanted him to do. He got those two innings and then gave the ball to (Jim) Johnson and (Jason) Grilli. Nice job by the bullpen again.”
On Christian Bethancourt creating a run with his legs
“They weren’t really paying attention to him. He looked in the dugout and we gave him the green light. They made a bad throw and he got to third base and we tie the game. He’s pretty athletic for a catcher. He can do a lot of stuff and he’s swinging the bat. E.Y. (Eric Young) got a big hit there. He hit two balls on the nose. (Freddie) Freeman goes 0-for-whatever but he was probably hitting the hardest balls all night. We played good baseball. Peterson comes in with the double switch and ends up getting a couple at-bats and turns a double play. There is nice flexibility, you can do a lot of stuff.”
On winning helping to build team chemistry with new guys
“It always does. Winning always does that. There’s an old saying that winning hides a lot of bad stuff but I think right now there is no bad stuff in there. It’s just good baseball players. We’ve been together now (eight) weeks. When you can mix and match and take advantage of other peoples’ situation — obviously we knew that (Brad) Hand had pitches three innings yesterday and we could stack up some left-handers in there and try to beat the starter. We did that. Tomorrow who knows what we come up with. It keeps everyone engaged. You feel like you have an advantage off the bench with the opposite guy. It’s a good mixture right now.”
On if pinch hitting for Chris Johnson was a move for defense, or just a double-switch
“No, it was just to try to get Cody two innings. That’s the only reason. But it gives you flexibility with Peterson on the bench and you can go Peterson double switch and move over (Alerbto) Callaspo over to third and do it what way.”
On how it’s not so easy to manufacture runs
“It is easier said than done, really. You are going to run into some pitching that you are going to run jnto some pitching where you are not going to be able to scrap some run. But it’s nice to see guys put the ball in play and get some big hits.
**ERIC YOUNG JR
On manufacturing runs early in the season
“We are trying to take (Kevin) Seitzer’s approach into every game. We are not going to rely on the home-run ball this year. We are going to be able to manufacture runs, squeeze across just enough to win the game. Tonight we got the 3-2 win but it doesn’t really matter how you get the W just as long as you get it.”
When you get big hits from several players, like Peterson coming off bench, is that sort of contagious?
“Oh, definitely. When you get contributions from everybody on the roster whether they are starting or not, it’s going to make a successful team and a very fun summer.”
On Shelby Miller’s start
“For the conditions and the weather he was awesome. Having to sit for a rain delay and still coming out and doing his job. For a starting pitcher going off and on, getting hot and cold, that could be dangerous. For what he did tonight you tip your cap to him. He did a tremendous job. Our whole pitching staff, starters and relievers alike, have been doing it.”
On not letting the small crowd and dreary conditions affect their play
“You still get to play the game of baseball. As long as we are healthy enough to play this game, regardless of the crowd size you’ve got to go out there and give it everything you’ve got.”
**CHRISTIAN BETHANCOURT
Was that you taking advantage of Mets not paying close attention to you on bases?
“Yeah, I’ve got to show my wheels at some point. Fredi gave me the sign, and I knew the pitcher wasn’t paying attention to me when I was at first, I’m pretty sure because I’m a catcher and they know the catchers are not good runners. But I can run a little bit, and he gave me the chance and I took advantage of it.”
On decision to take third when ball skipped away from defender covering second
“The ground is wet, so I thought he’s probably going to make a bad throw and I’ve got a chance to score. That throw has got to go in front of me, so I just had to run. Like I said, the ground is wet, so there’s a 50-50 chance he’ll make a bad throw.”
Collision with Prado at third on the play
“Yeah, when I was running he was on one side, the right side of the base, and I was trying to slide on the other side. So as soon as Hechavarria threw the ball, the ball went all the way across so I just slid into him because he had to go try to catch the ball.”
**SHELBY MILLER
On whether he felt good about his performance in light of the conditions
“I felt good. Better at times. Overall we made some good plays on defense. Kind of fell behind in the count a lot, which drove to some more foul balls and driving the pitch count up a little bit. It was a battle out there. We did a good job in the fifth going at them and getting some runs and the bullpen finished it from there. It’s just a great team win.”
On needing a lot of pitches to get through five innings in each of his two starts
“If it was up to me I would throw 150 pitches a game. That don’t bother me. Of course I want to be a little bit more efficient but I still feel strong out there whether I have 50 pitches or 100. Obviously that was a game where I want to go back out but at the same time that was good managing. Jace goes out there and gets a hit and we score two runs which eventually won us the ballgame. You tip your cap to the hitters for doing what they did and that’s a good managing call right there.”
On what he did during the rain delay to stay loose
“I threw in the tunnel. I threw about 10 pitches off the mound just to stay hot and stay loose as much as I can. It wasn’t too long of a delay, which was nice.”
Did that help make it feel more natural to go back out there?
“It’s never natural when you have a rain delay. You are more focused on just staying loose not really how much time is going by. Obviously you don’t want to deal with that kind of stuff but at the same time you’ve got to learn what you are comfortable with in that situation and what you need to do if a rain delay does happen.”
