Braves quotes from Alex Wood, Cameron Maybin and Fredi Gonzalez after Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Pirates.
**FREDI GONZALEZ
On if potential missed calls in fifth inning affected Alex Wood’s performance
“Which missed call? My thought is Woody can’t get thrown out of that game. He’s given up three runs, our bullpen is our bullpen, and he’s got to keep his composure a bit. He can’t get thrown out of the game there. And I don’t know what was said. Obviously if I thought it was a heated conversation I would have gone out there a little bit sooner but I thought it was just talking and Wood was walking away, that’s what I talked to (the home plate umpire) about. But no matter what your starting pitcher can’t get thrown out of the game in a three-run game in the fifth inning.”
It seemed to happen so quickly. Did you actually see Wood get thrown out?
“As I got closer, yeah you saw him give him a little flip, it wasn’t violent or anything like that. I still, and I know Woody and we love him to death as a competitor, but he still can’t get himself in a position to even come close to getting thrown out. We didn’t do anything offensively after that, but you’d rather have Woody try to give you a couple more innings and stay in the fight there than try to get it to your bullpen and try to get four more innings out of the bullpen.”
Did you think anything of Gerrit Cole hitting two guys and nearly hitting another?
“Well, I know as an organization (the Pirates) are trying to pitch in.”
On if Wood’s pitch that nearly hit Cole in the fifth inning may have thrown him off
“No.”
Then was it just a case of missed location throughout the fifth?
“Yeah, he just left the balls over the plate. I think he had a chance to get out of the inning before he gave up the double. And he just didn’t execute (the pitch).”
The team had plenty of opportunities against Cole. How do you think your team handled those at-bats?
“It’s pretty tough. This guy cranks up a couple different pitches at 95, 96 miles an hour, maybe even higher at times. And you’re right, we had some situations with the right people and we just didn’t punch one through there.”
On if the scoreless four innings from relievers will help their confidence
“Well, they should. I think Cunniff did a nice job coming in there and covering two innings out of the pen, and Cahill and Cody Martin doing the same thing. They kept us in the game and that’s what they’re supposed to do. That’s what you’d like them to do when you’re down 3-0. Keep your team in the game. Hopefully we get some baserunners and somebody split a gap and get right back in it.”
Maybin had three more hits tonight. How encouraging is his play of late?
“He’s having a terrific month and a half, really. He’s swinging the bat well. The approach is outstanding. And playing good defense. It’s really been nice to see, especially at the top of the order.”
On what he saw from Jace Peterson in his first game back from resting his thumb
“Fine. He walked once, got a base hit. He’s fine, he’s good.”
**ALEX WOOD
On hit batters, and him getting thrown out after three-run fifth
“The guy ends up drilling two of ours pretty good. Try to do something about it and you don’t take care of something the way the game’s supposed to be played – just a lot of frustration, really. I thought he was getting some pitches throughout the game that we weren’t. Especially when you’re sitting down there in the AC watching it on TV. So, frustration with three runs that inning and a combination of that (other things).
“I think it was combination of everything. I thought two balls to (Cole) were strikes. Just the frustration of the whole game leading up to that, and then obviously the runs they scored that inning, too.”
Did umpire Mark Carlson give you an explantion for tossing you?
“I didn’t even know I got tossed until I was up here and I heard it on the TV. I said something to him first, never cussed at him, never did anything. I said I thought two of the pitches were strikes. We were about 30 feet from each other; he didn’t hear me. Walked a little closer, he said something; I didn’t hear what he said. I said it to him again. He didn’t hear what I said again. I said it to him one more time and walked away. As I was walking away, I guess he decided that it was going to be good to throw me out of the game. Which I didn’t think was appropriate. I didn’t try to show him up, didn’t say anything to him during the inning. Didn’t even know I got tossed until I got back up into the clubhouse.”
You’ve done a good job controlling your temper since the incident at D.C. a couple of years ago; did you feel like today you were under control?
“I obviously said something to him. Like I said, it’d kind of been building. One, it’s the pitcher. Obviously you call balls and strikes the same to everybody, but I go up there my first at-bat and he throws two below my knees back-to-back and he rings me up on it, then I throw two that are pretty close to Cole there that inning, and they’re balls. You get frustrated with that, and you get frustrated that you think he’s giving some pitches to him that you’re not getting throughtout the game. And then obviously them getting the big two-out knock there at the end as well, probably put me over the top. But I had no intention of ejected there, especially in the fifth inning of a three-nothing ballgame.”
**CAMERON MAYBIN
You got three hits today, but Garret Cole seemed to make big pitches to others when he needed them most
“Guys like that, that’s usually what they do, they tend to do an even better job bearing down with runners in scoring position. We had our chances, man. But again, that’s why he’s one of the better guys you’ll see, one of the better, young faces around. He’s a bulldog, you’ve got to just give him credit. He made his pitches when he needed to.”
You view this more as a case of your offense just running up against one of the best young pitchers?
“He’s a No. 1 for a reason, but again, when you get guys out there, you get opportunities, even against a guy like him you’ve got to try your best to manufacture runs any way you can. The effort was there, but again, he’s good for a reason. And he’ll be good for years to come.”
On him hitting a couple of Braves and nearly hitting one other
“He was throwing 98, 99 (mph). You never want to see your guys get plunked, especially two of your go-to guys (Freeman, Simmons). Two of your more important guys, let alone anybody. It’s never fun to see that.”
