TORONTO — Braves quotes from Jim Johnson, Alex Wood, Freddie Freeman and Fredi Gonzalez after Saturday's 10-inning, 6-5 loss to the Blue Jays.
**FREDI GONZALEZ
On losing a game after turning five double plays
“Well, these guys (Blue Jays) can swing the bat, and today they just kept at us. It would’ve been nice to go out there in the ninth with a two-run lead, but the bang-bang play at first that got (them) another run closer…. They swing the bat, and you make a mistake, put it over the plate, they hit it out of the ballpark. Today we didn’t have enough runs where we could absorb that.”
On Alex Wood’s performance
“He was really good. He gave up some hits, but he also had some ground-ball double plays. I think we turned three (four) with him. He did a nice job. Good for him. This is his third time out and it was a nice outing for him.”
Any options you considered there other than Marimon in the 10th inning?
“We considered a lot of stuff, but that was our best option.”
On Simmons’ inning-ending catch in shallow left-center field in seventh inning
“What was more impressive was the ball that went over CJ’s head. Nothing happened other than he held the runner at first, but that was more impressive, for the shortstop to prevent the runner from going to second base there. And then the (catch in the outfield), that’s why he’s got two Gold Gloves and a Platinum Glove and all kinds of accolades defensively, because he hunts those outs. All the stuff you saw today, you really can’t teach. He’s got a great nose for that.”
Did it look like the replay on the play at first base, either way the initial call had gone the replay wasn’t conclusive to overturn it?
“I think that, from what I saw on the video on the (scoreboard), I’m assuming when they said the video stands, that it wasn’t enough evidence or enough angles for them to overturn it.”
On Johnson struggling past two after dominating for five outings
“I don’t know. Other than the home run, they were ground balls. Hopefully it’s just a little hiccup.”
On not using Cody Martin in the 10th
“He hasn’t pitched two in a row. (He did, but the first was a one-out appearance.) He threw a lot of pitches (Friday).”
**ALEX WOOD
On all the double plays and defensive gems
“There were a lot of plays made, including the one they probably didn’t get right. But it’s awesome how they get behind me and nine guys battled the whole game from start to finish.”
Did you see the replay on the safe call that wasn’t overturned at first base?
“Yeah, I mean, everybody saw it. I don’t need to talk about it. You guys watched the game, you saw instant replay on TV. It’s …I’m still kind of at a loss. Pretty interesting stuff, for sure.”
On Braves coming back to tie in ninth
“I don’t know what more we could have done from our side of the ball. We played good baseball, we played hard the whole game, hit, played defense, we pitched well. And that’s about all I’ve got.”
**FREDDIE FREEMAN
How tough a loss after building early 4-0 lead, tying it again late
“A loss is a loss. It’s early. We swung the bats well, we pitched well. Just made a couple of mistakes here and there, but we battled, kept coming back, Kelly (Johnson) had a huge home run to keep us in it. Overall it was a good game, they just came out on top.”
On key to success against knuckleballer Dickey (Freeman hit his third homer against him)
“You’ve just got to put your foot down and see it up. He throws it between 67 and 80 miles an hour, so you’re just trying to see one up (in the strike zone) and hopefully it doesn’t move as much.”
How important is being patient against Dickey?
“I’m not patient off of him. The ball’s not going to do the same thing, so there’s no point in seeing a pitch. You’re just trying to see one up, see one in the middle, and go after it. Sometimes he’s a little wild, and he was a little wild today.”
On Wood inducing four inning-ending double plays in first five innings
“It was kind of weird, I don’t think he had a strikeout the whole game. But he kept the defense in it, and that’s what a pitcher’s got to do, keep us in the game. He definitely did that today.”
You guys lost the game, but are you encouraged by the offense the past couple of days?
“Yeah, we’ve been swinging the bats all season. We’ve been scoring some runs, getting some hits, and the last few games we’ve been hitting some home runs. So hopefully we can keep it going and get a win tomorrow.”
**JIM JOHNSON
On giving up mostly ground-ball hits, except for the homers – just leaving pitches up on the homers past two days?
“Today I definitely left a ball up. I wasn’t trying to. I’m going to give up my hits, balls that get through. That’s part of being a contact pitcher. But leaving the ball up, that’s not acceptable.”
Are you at that point where you’ve got the sinker back, just a couple of pitches left up?
“Yeah, I mean the ball’s been doing what it’s supposed to. Just been a couple of pitches – like last night, the ball was more of a runner that it was a sinker. But today it was actually pretty good, it was just that one pitch. That one pitch I just didn’t execute. Even on the hits I felt like I executed pretty good pitches. That’s part of the adjustment of this game, you focus on the right things, you don’t dwell on the negatives.”
This is one of those American League lineups that will make you pay for mistakes?
“I’ve seen them enough. I mean, I’ve seen them 19 times a year for how many years (when he was with Baltimore). I mean, I know what they’re all about. They’re just like any other team. You need to make your pitch where you’re supposed to and you’re going to get an out.”
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