**FREDI GONZALEZ
On Medlen’s performance, was it and/or defense shaky?
“I think it was a little bit of both. I thought there was a couple plays that we could have made in the second and third innings. I think we got a couple of, what, two out RBIs a couple times that really put a dagger in. But it’s maybe a combination of guys being a little bit over amped a little bit. We had a baserunning mistake, it got us doubled up. But for me I think that the guys were just a little amped up there in that situation.
“I thought our bullpen was terrific, covered five innings, gave up two hits, one run. I thought offensively we had a nice game plan against Kershaw, we just couldn’t get the base hit. We were patient at the plate, we were keeping the pitch count up, and he never gave us an opportunity. We had some people on base and then he made some pitches.
On Jason throwing to the plate instead of cutoff man, allowing runner to advance, then Gattis tries to catch it instead of being able to let it land in front of him if runner’s at first.
“Little things like that. Guys were excited, and rightfully so. It was a big game. I had to check myself a little bit in the dugout, and I can imagine those guys playing in front of a good crowd, against the National League West champion. And hopefully come out tomorrow and play a little better baseball, a little calmed down, and it might give us a good opportunity to win the game.”
On if he thinks having a game under their belts will allow them to relax more Friday
“I think so. We’ve got a lot guys out there maybe first or second game in the postseason, myself included. I think it took us about two or three innings to kind of settle down a little bit. And then you saw some good at bats. You saw our bullpen, what they’ve done all year, gave up one run to cover five innings, that’s pretty darned good.
“Hopefully tomorrow come out and Mikey gives us a good chance to win the game.
On the crowd and the noise
“It was good. It was really exciting, it really was. Right from the very beginning, right from the very first pitch, right from introductions. It was a nice game to play in front of our fans. It just didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to turn out.
On getting Kershaw’s pitch count up early, 77 pitches and only three strikeouts through four innings
“Absolutely, and that was our game plan. Make him pitch a little bit and you’re absolutely right, when you look up and you see 77 pitches in the third inning, fourth inning, you feel like you have a chance. But he is what he is, he turned it up the next three or four innings and we didn’t really get good swings at him. But offensively I thought we had a good game plan, we followed it, we were patient.
“We had some people on base, but we had one two-out RBI out of Chris Johnson, and that’s pretty much all we got out of him.”
** KRIS MEDLEN
Did it feel a little like last year’s Wild Card game, with the defense a problem again?
“No. I mean, I think I need to make better pitches. I think it was one of those games where I felt like I came out strong. It was probably one of the coolest first innings I’ve ever thrown with the crowd and whatever else. It was just one of those games where even when I felt like I made pitches, they still found places to put them.
“They’re a great team, and when you have an opposing pitcher on the mound who is as good as Kershaw, I mean, there’s not a lot of room for error, and I had a lot of error tonight. Obviously frustrating, but that’s the beauty of there being a series rather than just a one game thing, and I think it’s a lot different than last year.”
Fredi was saying he felt like guys were over amped.
“I don’t think so. I think we came in as normal as I guess you can be. Like I said, knowing the kind of pitcher you’re about to face, obviously I think you are aware of his skill level. But other than that, I mean, I really felt like a normal kind of a thing other than starting extremely late tonight.
“We had a great crowd, and they really showed up and they were loud, which was good. But I just think the game comes down to me. If you don’t give up any runs, you don’t lose. We got one off Kershaw, and if I put up zeros, it should be good enough, but it wasn’t tonight.
On the change-up that González hit out
“Yeah, I started off with a changeup the first at bat, he swung and missed. We tried to do the same exact thing. I almost let it go knowing he was sitting on it. I let it go thinking if I executed it, I could still get him to roll it over or whatever it is. It’s been a successful pitch for me and something I’ve been relying on the entire year. But he’s one of the best hitters in the game, Adrian González. It was an 0 0 changeup, but it was a very bad 0 0 changeup. And he put a really good swing on it, and for someone to take it dead center like that, he’s got a good swing. I wish I could have got on base to tell him how good his swing is.”
**JASON HEYWARD
On if wet ball had effect on throw home
“The ball was in the air, sacrifice fly from Schumaker, so (no). The balls that were hit on the ground, they were wet. But as far as mine, I needed to get that throw down. It’s tougher to get the ball down on balls in the air, but I would have liked to get that one down so at least we have a chance to cut it off.”
On if saying, then, he was trying to hit cutoff man
“If you get it down, like a throw I had against Philly, it was a strong throw but at the same time it was cut off. That’s what you have to do there. So as far as taking a chance with him right there, that’s fine with me, I’m OK with that. I think everybody is. But at the same time you have to make sure the throw is down. Runs are hard to come by, especially against a guy like Kershaw and if you can cut down one at the plate, you have an opportunity to do so, but at the same time you’d like to have that third base coach think about, ‘OK, these guys are going to throw, if we’re going to run.’ Again make sure it’s down and everything is taken care of as far as that runner moving to second.”
On approach vs. Kershaw
“We felt good but sometimes you’ve got to tip your hat to an ace. Again, runs are going to be hard to come by at times, especially in the playoffs. They jumped out early and you give a guy like that that kind of lead, he can do what he does and we have to fight a little tougher and you try to chip away. But when he’s got so many weapons and he can be around the plate, that’s what’s going to happen sometimes.”
On Fredi thinking guys were a little amped up early, led to miscues
“50-50. Some of that happened, some of that is just give credit to the other team. When you give that guy that kind of lead – this is the playoffs, we feel like pitch counts don’t exist to a starter. They’re going to go as deep as they can, as deep as the manager lets them have the ball, and he threw 124 pitches and he came away with a win.”
On is start was similar to Medlen’s last year with defensive miscues
“The name of the game in the playoffs is keeping runs off the board and any time you give a team more opportunities, they’re going to take advantage of it. As far as him, they’re going to hit pitches that he throws over the plate and that’s going to happen sometimes. Guys are going to hit good pitches. They’re going to battle and they’re going to fight and that’s going to happen. But what you want to try to do is eliminate the ones that you let them have extra.”
On if Kershaw was that much more effective last three innings
“I feel like, as far as strikeouts he did what he had to but at the same time that’s us wanting to fight our way back and I felt like at times he was able to throw more pitches around the plate that weren’t strikes, weren’t called strikes, and get us to chase. That’s what happens when you have that many weapons and get that kind of lead. He can kind of nitpick and we have to fight our way back in. We have to swing the bat to do so but at the same time, in a playoff setting, it’s tough to really hone somebody in and say ‘I’m going to make you throw me two strikes or something over the plate to get me.’”
On not throwing to third, when Puig goes first to third
“That one right there, I think I made absolutely the right decision. I’m playing in the right center gap, going to a ball that was hit just past the shortstop. If you don’t come up with it really clean right there you don’t want to make the attempt to throw. At the same time you want to try your best to keep the double play in order on a play like that.”
**JUSTIN UPTON
On 10-pitch at-bat vs. Kershaw in first inning
“Only way you beat guys like him are to hit and score runs. As you can see he went 120-plus pitches. Running him out of the game wasn’t our game plan. We were trying to score runs on him.”
On if felt like they had Kershaw at one point
“Early on he wasn’t locating like he wanted to and we didn’t capitalize on the opportunity and once he got into a rhythm, he was throwing the ball where he wanted to.”
On Heyward’s throw home
“Jason’s got a great arm. A lot of people don’t know the ball was soaking wet tonight, so a couple throws got away from him. Obviously he was trying to keep it down. We talked about that in the dugout, trying to keep the ball down and throwing through the cut-off man, it just part of the game. The ball was wet and it sailed on him.”
**EVAN GATTIS
On challenges Kershaw presented
“Located pitches both sides of the plate and used all of his stuff. He used his breaking ball more than usual. I thought he executed pitches.”
Any nerves in first playoff game?
“Yeah of course. I was nervous, excited, everything else. It was good. It’s good for me.”
On the liner in second
“It’s a play I didn’t make.”
If the runner had been at first instead of, would you have gone after it that aggressively?
“No.”
On if sees Game 2 as must-win
“We like our odds of winning any game, so it’s back at ‘em. It only changes because it’s the postseason but you go out to win a game.”
On the baserunning play
“I got deked. A lot of outfielders just throw their glove up there like they’re going to catch it when they’re not, and I didn’t think he was so I took a hard step toward second and it was just a mistake.”
On where game turned
“Maybe the home run but who knows. After that we were still in it but chip away, we got that run in and that kind of gives us confidence to build on that.”
On wasted opportunities
“I don’t want to say wasted. Hitting is pretty tough, especially against one of the best pitchers in the game.”
