**DAVID HALE
On surprise postgame celebration
“I just wore about 35 Bud Lights on my head. Cold.”
On his first big-league win
“It was amazing. Especially to do it here at home.”
How was tonight different from your debut?
“I was a little more relaxed. Still nervous as I could be, but a little bit better. Just kept the ball down, and it turned out well.”
On Heyward’s big night
“Oh, yeah, start the game on a good note. Got me a little run support right off the bat. To be able to pitch with a lead helps a lot.”
Not always easy to pitch with a big league, long pauses between innings when your team’s hitting a lot
“Those were two real long pauses. Yeah, it’s tough, but I came out there and just kept the ball down, and it turned out all right.”
On his eventful past few weeks with the big-league team, his first callup
“Within like – what have I been here, like 25 days? – I get to see a pennant celebration, two (starts), and then a big league victory. It’s pretty incredible.”
Exceeded your expectations?
“Yeah, it really has. It’s a good way to finish out the year. Can’t ask for a better way to come into the league.”
On the beer shower
“When I came back in here, they started dumping it on me.”
This night a dream come true?
“All of us, since the day we knew what baseball was, dreamed of this moment.”
**JASON HEYWARD
On getting his timing back, his aggressiveness
“The timing’s been pretty good. I felt like the first few games I was trying to be a little careful. The aggressiveness is coming back swing-wise, really attacking the ball in the zone. Just trying to get good pitches to hit and square them up.”
On having a five-hit night
“It’s good to get hits. It’s good to get on base with this lineup and get the game going early. We’re still playing for something. For me personally, again, it’s good to get hits, it’s good to have the timing to execute. That’s what it’s about.”
On playing without hesitancy
“I’m just trying to play the game the way I know how to. If anything happens like Gattis hitting the ball at me (joking reference to Gattis’ pulled line-drive foul ball when Heyward was at third base) or hitting me, it’s kind of a freak accident anyway, so I can’t really worry too much about my face. I’ve just got to play the game hard, play it the way I know how to, keep having fun.”
“It’s really nice to be back out there with my teammates, having fun, playing the game, and getting back in the groove.”
On Hale
“It was fun to watch from center field, I tell you that. He’s been big for us. That’s kind of a testament of our season right there, someone stepping in for us in a spot and coming up big.”
Last five-hit game at any level?
“I don’t remember. You’ll have to look that one up for me. But in the leadoff spot, I know it’s really huge to be on base in front of the guys that hit behind me, because this lineup’s pretty good when somebody’s on in front of them.”
Three games left, right with the Cardinals for best record
“We’re already where we want to be, as far as having an opportunity to play for the World Series. Right now we’re playing for home-field advantage. Home is where we would like to be for the most part in our series. But we set out to win every day, so the mindset doesn’t have to change. That’s the good thing about this group.”
**FREDI GONZALEZ
On Heyward’s big night
“He’s been bouncing around since he came back in Chicago, and offensively today that was a pretty good performance. Three doubles, a home run and a single. It’s going to overshadow David Hale’s performance a little bit and what he did for us. Gave us six strong innings, gave up one run, struck out five and we’ll see him again in 12 days. (Hale last pitched Sept. 13 in his debut). Just kidding.”
“We needed him to spot start. We felt comfortable giving him that start. Lot of good stuff, him obviously and then Jason’s offensive performance was a good one. We needed to get out and get our bats going and score some runs. We had some opportunities the whole game.”
On how 12 days might put Hale in line for Game 4 or 5 of the division series
“Yeah, Game 4 maybe of World Series, something like that. Hey funnier things have happened, weirder things have happened. I would like to get in that position to make that decision, right?”
On if Hale’s put his name in contention for postseason roster
“We’ve talked about it. I think everybody’s in play, whether it’s the first round, whether it’s the second round. We’ve talked about keeping people alive, even if you don’t make the first playoff, you don’t send somebody down to instructional league, keep them alive because you just never know. Last year the Reds lost Cueto the first game and they needed to get a pitcher. I think you keep as many guys ready to play as you can.”
On Heyward running around, sliding head-first, beating out infield hits, etc.
“There’s no hesitation. What, (three) days ago, he dove at a ball coming in, he challenged the wall a couple days ago also. He’s running around, no problem swinging the bat, timing is getting there, so it’s good to see all that.”
On McCann’s adductor-muscle injury
“He came into me his second at-bat and he goes, ‘I feel something,’ and as soon as he said that, we talked about this, I’m not going to take a chance. Worst-case scenario we don’t play him, he gets seven days until that first playoff game. I think he’s going to be OK. I think if you run him or leave him in the game you have a risk of something that is small, make it even worse. I’m glad that he came up to me and we had a chance to speak and we got him out of there.”
On how McCann did it
“He said he tweaked it a little bit in the bullpen. He just never got loose. Hopefully we got him early enough.”
On if anything like B.J.’s adductor strain that DL’d him in July
“It’s too soon to tell, but I don’t think it’s that drastic.”
On right there with Cardinals
“Yeah, keep playing. It’s a big spot. We’ll keep playing, try to win them all, try to keep guys healthy and get guys in there – all at one time.”
On sending nine to plate in the first inning
“We kept the line moving today in the first inning.”
