CINCINNATI — Braves quotes from Justin Upton, Julio Teheran, Andrelton Simmons, Freddie Freeman and manager Fredi Gonzalez after Thursday’s 8-0 win against the Reds.
**JUSTIN UPTON
On Julio Teheran
“He went out and mixed all his pitches up and got outs. He did a great job.
On first four guys getting on base 11 times
“Yeah, that’s what we’re going to have to do to score runs. We’re going to have to put guys on, move guys around and see if we can plate a few of them.”
On resurgent offense
“Yeah, we’ve hit on all cylinders for four out of the past five games. We faced a tough customer yesterday, but today we came out and put up some runs.”
On his approach, taking what they give him, etc.
“Just trying to get one of them at a time. That’s the goal. If we can plate one of those runs, I think we’re in good shape. So that’t the mentality all of us have.”
**ANDRELTON SIMMONS
On hitting about .600 with three homers in four games at Cincy
“I don’t know. It definitely feels a little comfortable. I feel hot whenever I’m playing here. But I’ve been feeling pretty comfortably lately overall, and especially today, actually. I felt pretty good.”
On how they approached pitcher Holmberg, whom they knew little about
“You watch (video) of the game (his previous start this season), see what he’s got. After we saw, OK, he’s throwing a little fastball, little changeup… I mean, you get in a little pattern from the guys hitting in front of you. Then you go from there. It depends on how he works, how the other guys tell you how they see him, and you figure out your approach from there.”
On the offensive coming alive recently, nice to see
“Definitely. It’s not going to show up every day, but it’s good to see our offense is getting back to life.”
**FREDI GONZALEZ
On Julio Teheran’s six shutout innings (four hits)
“Julio was really good, and it was tough to pitch today. We had some long innings and he was sitting on the bench for a long time. But he kept his concentration, he kept throwing strikes. Sometimes these pitchers get big leads and lose concentration. But right out of the box he was really good.”
On the offense
“We kept the line moving. We had some good, quality plate appearances and put some big numbers up. That one inning we scored five, it started so innocently. We got a base hit on replay, Gosselin lays down a bunt, and then the next thing you know we kept the line moving and scored four or five runs that inning and kind of held on the rest of the way.”
On J. Upton’s sustained hot streak
“You know what he’s doing? He’s taking advantage of situations. He came up with (runners on) second and third, and instead of trying to hit the ball out of the ballpark he put the ball in play with a productive out, got a sac fly. He’s done that a few times this road trip. Keeping within himself. That’s a good sign.”
You really rolled the pole against that left-hander (inside joke, reference to one of Fredi’s recent made-up saying)
“You guys are making fun of me. (Laughs.) That’s OK. Roll the pole, the box, the whole thing. Anyway, it’s good to win and it’s good to have fun, because this game, you’re always just aroud the corner, and we just came around the corner from losing eight in a row. So it’s good to have a little fun.”
On facing unfamiliar pitcher
“We were patient. We made him throw the ball over the plate.”
“It’s a fun offense when they’re clicking, and when we make productive outs and keep the line moving.”
Your first four guys got on base 11 times
“And that’s what we want Jason up t there for. He sets the tone right off the get-go, and he has a presence at the top of the lineup. He doesn’t look like Billy Hamilton, but he gets on base and he helps us win ballgames.”
On taking Teheran out after six innings
“He was laboring with the long innings, and I think the humidity got him a little bit. And we didn’t want to take the risk.”
On Gosselin
“We ran him in left field today just for one inning, but nevertheless he can play out there. He’s a good little baseball player.”
**JULIO TEHERAN
On staying focused through the Braves’ long at-bats, half-hour innings
“It was difficult. I was trying to stay warm, stay loose. I came in here (clubhouse) and just tried to stretch and don’t let the long innings affect me.”
On pitching with big lead after the third inning
“Today I was working with the weather, I was trying to stay in control even though I got sweat (on my hand). Sometimes you don’t make pitches because the ball slides off your hand. I was trying to battle with the weather, with the humidity.”
Remember the last time you got hit by a pitch before tonight?
“No, I can’t remember. I didn’t see the ball. It’s hard to see when they throw those pitches. I just felt it when the ball hit my shin.”
On having a good road start, have so much better numbers at home this season
“Yeah, that’s something that I’ve been trying to figure out, what I do at home that I don’t do on the road. And that’s what I did today, I came a little bit early and just tried to do whatever I do at home.”
**FREDDIE FREEMAN
Odd statistical night for you (two HBPs, a walk)
“Yeah, and I think the oddest one is the stolen base. Two in a week. I don’t think that’s every happened before in my life. But it was a good team win. We came out swinging the bats well, got some runs early, and Julio was awesome again tonight.”
On first four guys getting on base 11 times
“We’re up there, we’ve got to get on base for the guys that are in the middle of the lineup. Justin’s just been awesome. Guys are on base and he’s getting them in. Chris with the big double. Gatty with the sac fly. We were getting guys on, moving them over and getting them in tonight. And we’ve got to keep continuing that in this series.”
On Teheran:
“I think it was pretty good that it was hot, he was able to stay warm, loose. It was pretty humid out there. It’s pretty impressive that he was able to…. He was sweating a ton out there. You could see it. You could see the ball slip out of his hand sometimes. But he pounded the zone again tonight, got some easy outs, got some quick innings so we could get off the field and get back to hitting.”
