**FREDI GONZALEZ
On Minor’s performance.
“He did a nice job, pitching and also helping himself out with the bat. He did a nice job starting out that fifth inning with two outs and put a big number up, and then we were able to score another one later on. But he did a terrific job, really, mixing in his pitches. He is so effective when he pitches in on right-handers. It opens up the plate for him on every other pitch he throws. He did a great job.”
On the offense
“We had some good at-bats off a guy (Gee) that usually gives us some headaches. We had some good at-bats.”
Minor has been consistently good to very good since beginning of July 2012
“He’s been fun to watch growing up. And we’ve got Teheran doing the same thing this year. A few years before that it was Beachy. I think the common denominator there is Roger McDowell. He does a terrific job. And also the Atlanta Braves, the organization gives us those guys and we put them in the fifth spot, and we win, we compete, we’re a playoff contending team, and we still develop our young pitchers. All those factors are big.”
Big to get through today (including suspended game) using only four pitchers, less than four relief innings?
“Yeah, exactly. Because going in you don’t know how long the first game is going to be. You spent a lot of pitching the night before, wasted your bullpen, and to come in and only use Varvaro and Kimbrel (to complete the suspended game) and then Minor and Carpenter, and your bullpen is right back to fresh. Couldn’t have done any better than that.”
Did you get Gattis out because of all the stiff, swirling wind in the outfield?
“It was so bad. We were putting him in a situation he was not comfortable in. We got him three at-bats. It was hard to play outfield even for guys who play it all the time. Balls were flying. So I just didn’t feel comfortable, the way Mikey was pitching, to put (Gattis) out there. He understood, and I think everybody understands that you always try to do what’s best for the club. I think it was time.
“We dropped a ball there in the eighth or ninth, one of those balls Schafer said he lost it, I don’t know if it was because the wind was in his eyes or papers were flying everywhere. So it was difficult even for guys who are real good outfielders. One of the things you want to do is put players in position where they can succeed, and I thought running him out there (in the outfield) so he could get another at-bat, nothing good could happen.”
On his reaction when the ball came off the bat when Minor hit his first homer
“I thought it was going to hook foul. He’s a hell of an athlete. We forget that about him, but he’s a hell of an athlete. He can hit, he can run. You should see him in the weight room jumping around on boxes and stuff. This kid is darn good.”
**MIKE MINOR
So now you’re moving in on Hudson as the team’s top hitting pitcher
“Yeah, give him a little scare, you know?” (laughter) “Make him work at it a little more.”
What was your reaction when the home-run ball left your bat
“I don’t know. That it was gone, I guess. Just to stay fair. I think that’s the first ball of the year that I’ve barreled up. It was kind of like a blur, really.”
On getting the homer amid a big pitching performance
“When I came back in (after hitting the homer), Mac (McCann) was like, ‘That’s all great and everything, but you need to go back out there and pitch. It’s still early and you need to shut these guys down.’ So that’s what I tried to focus on. I really didn’t try to live in that moment of the home run and all that. It was fun, but I knew I had to go back out there.”
Your first two RBIs of your career, too
“Yeah, I guess so. I’ve got a lot of sacrifices too, though. Sacrifice bunts.” (laughter)
On bearing down pitching
“I think the most frustrating thing was when I walked the pitcher, and also later on I walked the catcher. It was one of those things where I was just trying to throw it right down the middle and I couldn’t. That was the frustrating part, because we had a big lead.”
On bouncing back since his bad outing at Detroit, limiting it to one bad start
“Yeah, I’ve learned from it, and I’ve felt that situation, the pressure. But I know from previous outings and last year, I’ve just got to move on. I can’t dwell on that. Or even in the moment, in an inning, if I give up the home run or two home runs the same inning, used to that would be all I could think about. Now, it’s over, move past. And that’s what I did with the Detroit start. It was pretty bad; conditions were bad. It was just a bad series for everybody. But I just had to move on from that.”
When did you hit your last homer?
“Senior year of high school.”
Remember it?
“Well, I used to be a decent hitter in high school, so I hit more than one. But I don’t remember, like, the last one or anything. And then I didn’t ever hit in college.”
On the extreme wind
“I’m a flyball pitcher, and when I went 2-and-0 or anything like that, I would throw it right down the middle, basically. And they barreled up a lot of balls. But as you could see, the outfielder would take one or two steps back, and then sprint in because of the wind. I noticed that early on, so I was just going to attack them, go after them. Because if they were going to hit it out, they were going to have to have power like me.” (laughter)
**FREDDIE FREEMAN
On Minor’s homer
“He swings so hard, he’s going to run into it one time.” (laughter)
“No, but he was awesome. He was a great fantasy player today, pitching and hitting. He did amazing tonight.”
On Minor since middle of last season
“He’s been unbelievable. He’s a tough lefty, he goes out there and throws strikes, pounds the zone. And he’s not afraid to pitch to contact. We’ve got a great defense behind him. He’s going to get his strikeouts, but he’s also going to let them put the ball in play, too.”
On his two RBIs in each of the first two games in the series, team-leading 30 RBIs now in 135 at-bats
“I don’t know what the deal is. When there’s guys in scoring position, I don’t know if I concentrate harder or what the deal is. But I want to get those guys in. I took the lead over Justin already” (Said this loud enough for Upton, standing a few feet away, to hear. Then waited for Upton’s reaction. Both laughed.)
“I got lucky on that last one. It shouldn’t have been a hit. But those first two that I hit that got caught, I finally found a hole.”
On winning twice today
“It’s good to get the win and already have the series win. Now we’ve got to go out there tomorrow and have a good showing. We’ve gut Julio (Teheran) against (Shaun) Marcum, so it’s going to be a good pitching matchup.”
