MIAMI — Braves quotes from Craig Kimbrel, Shae Simmons, Chris Johnson, Gerald Laird and manager Fredi Gonzalez after Saturday's 9-5 win against the Marlins.
**FREDI GONZALEZ
**Not your typical sort of 9-5 easy win, huh?
"This is a game where the fans, if they didn't see this game, are going to wake up tomorrow and get a cup of coffee to read the paper, see the boxscore and say, 'Ah, the Braves won 9-5.' They just kept hanging around, and that's a dangerous team, but we got the win and we go on to tomorrow."
On bringing in Simmons with two on and two out in a one-run game
“You know what, why not? We had the right combination, we had Gerald Laird catching him. And I think Gerald went out there after I gave him the ball and said, ‘Just worry about throwing the ball, I’ll call the pitches.’ We were talking today about when are you going to use him (first), you want to use him when we’re seven runs up or one of those situations. But it’s not a perfect world in the major leagues and sure enough, there you go, we’ve got first and second with two outs in the eighth inning and you’ve got to get him in. The kid did a nice job. Good for us, good for him, and what a way to break into the big leagues.”
Simmons probably recorded the biggest out in the game, right?
“No question. Up until the last one (in the ninth), that’s the biggest out in the game. All of a sudden they get two outs, nobody on in the eighth, and they mount a rally and get back to within one run. And that was the biggest out. Proud of our club that they go out there and add on some runs in the ninth inning.
“Red (Marlins manager Mike Redmond) does a good job with these players, man. They don’t give up, they don’t give at-bats away. And they battle. And there you go, you’ve got bases loaded (in the ninth) and McGehee at the plate. So I’m glad that we got out of that inning.”
Concerned about Carpenter’s recent rough outings?
“Everybody goes through some stuff. Hitters, pitchers. We’ll keep running him through some situations and maybe he’ll get out of it. We’ll see.”
On Santana pitching better than did against Boston with another big lead
“He gave us an opportunity to win the ballgame. One inning he gave up a couple of runs, but other than that…. They made him earn it, too. There were no easy innings up and down the lineup, but to get him back in the winning ways was obviously a good thing.”
**SHAE SIMMONS
Could you have envisioned entering game in that situation?
“No, I didn’t see myself going in that game at all because it’s so close. But I didn’t mind it. I just had to lock in.”
“I thought I was done for the day. Luckily I went and threw strikes, because I hadn’t been on the mound since Tuesday. Plus I don’t want to give up any of Carpenter’s runs.”
How much did it help having a veteran like Laird to help you settle in out there?
“A lot, because he’s a veteran, he knows the game. He just told me he’s going to call the pitches and I’ll throw to him, and that’s what I did.”
Still feeling the adrenaline?
“No, I calmed down real fast after we won. Because I guess I was just so anxious all day, and then when I got out there it was just normal.”
Maybe good to go in there so tired from not sleeping, not having time to even think about it?
“Yeah, exactly. I drank a whole bottle of coffee because I felt like I was about to doze off out here. And then all the guys (relievers) starting talking and it felt like any other day.”
But did it feel like any other day once you got in there?
“No.” (Smiles.) Especialy since I was facing Saltalamacchia. But it was a good situation because he hasn’t seen me, so, I meanl best-case scenario I knew he was probably going to take first pitch because he doesn’t want to swing with two outs and hit a groundball when he doesn’t know if it’s going to be a sinker or what. So I just piped one (threw a fastball down the middle on called first strike) and then he fouled the other two off, but luckily Laird held onto the last one.”
Something you’ll remember for a long time?
“Oh, yeah. La Stella and I were talking about it, and the first hit he got was off (John) Lackey. Both guys that have been around for a while, household names.”
** CRAIG KIMBREL
“We played a good ballgame today. We hit the ball when we needed to and we pitched when we needed to. It was a tought ballgame but we came out on top. It was good to get these two games coming in here tied. We knew this was a big series so it’s good to get these first two games.”
Did you stay locked in and ready in case they came back (after Braves added three runs in ninth)?
“Yeah, I was ready to go, and we scored those runs in the top (of the ninth) so I sat down. But I always look at the situation. I knew if a baserunner got on I’d get up (to warm up again), and if another got on I’d get in. So I was definitely ready. I was definitely warmed up enough.”
On Shae Simmons
“I’m sure he’s tired, I’m sure he didn’t sleep much last night. That was big for him to come in in that situation, one-run ballgame, tying run and winning run on base. That’s great to see. I’m happy for him and glad he could come in here and show his presence on the first day.”
On tying Smoltz’s record, any sense of satisfaction?
“There definitely is, to be part of something like that. I know if John had (closed games) his whole career he would have had a lot more. It is nice. It is nice to say I’m part of something like that. But then again, I’ve had a lot of opportunities, played on good ball teams here my first three or four years. If it wasn’t for that we wouldn’t be sitting here talking about this right now. I’m honored to have the opportunity and the chance, and hopefully have a lot more opportunities to help us win a lot more ballgames.”
**ERVIN SANTANA
On his performance
“The first few innings I didn’t have a feel for my slider. And after the third inning I was getting more feel for it. And I threw a lot of sinkers today, that’s how I was able to get groundball double plays.”
On being able to limit the damage in several innings
“Anytime you minimize the damage, it’s huge for a pitcher. And for the team, too. I was able to do it today, so I’m very happy for it.”
“My relievers have great arms and they gave me great outs when we needed them.”
On Shae Simmons thrust into big situation in his debut, no wiggle room
“He’s got tremendous stuff. He threw a fastball right in the middle and then he just came up with a slider – I said, you have to throw a slider because they don’t know what you’ve got. He did a very good job.”
**GERALD LAIRD
On the 9-5 win
“We’ve been pitching really well so we were due a little bit of a hiccup here. We’ve been giving up some runs but it’s nice to come out and score nine and get the offense going. These are the games that count in the division. Obviously we dropped four straight to Boston, but these are the ones you’ve got to come in and win when you’re tied and playing teams in your division. These are the games you’ve got to win and I like the way we’ve come back from a four-game losing streak and won two in a row.”
On Shae Simmons in big situations
“Hey, if he’s up here he’s up here for a reason. You might as well throw him into the fire right away. I mean, see what he’s got. I like it. I looked up there to the radar gun and see 94, 96. Just another live arm. He’s got good stuff. He’s got dominating numbers at Double-A, so why not give him a shot.
“I just went out there and told him, don’t worry about calling his game, let me call the game and you just throw what I call. He did a good job of that.”
**CHRIS JOHNSON
On Shae Simmons coming through in important spot in his debut
“It’s a tough situation against a division rival, fighting for first place. It’s tough. I want to see some more of it.”
Did you see him in spring training or know what kind of stuff he had?
“Not too much. He came in a lot in the later innings of (Grapefruit League) games when we (lineup regulars) were done. (Andrelton) Simmons told me when we met him on the mound and I said, ‘What’s he got?’ just so I knew. Simmons was like, ‘Ah, 87 (mph), kind of sinks.’ I was like, 87? OK
“First pitch is 94 and (Andrelton) Simmons is laughing. I’m like, what the hell’s going on. This team is special, I tell you what. Normally in a situation like that guys are tight. Not this team.”
About the Author
