**FREDI GONZALEZ
On Julio Teheran
“They got some hits early off him, but he settled down and gave us seven innings. And we were able to add on some runs late in the game and help him out. I tell you one thing he did really well was everytime we scored some runs, he got a shut-down inning and got us back in the dugout.”
“That’s the first time he got a quality start in the major leagues. But you see him getting better and better. We keep running him out there. For him to pitch on this field, with the conditions, for a young pitcher he did a nice job.”
On his command being like it was in spring
“Absolutely. And this is not an easy place to pitch, with the altitude and the cold. But he did a nice job, and I thought Gerald did a great job handling him.”
On sweeping two games in sub-freezing temperatures
“We got both games in, we swung the bats well. Our No. 8 hitters got six or seven hits and kept turning the lineup over. You put Pena in there and he gets a couple of hits. You put Francisco in there and he hits a home run. It’s nice to see that everybody participated, pretty much. Other than Pastornicky, everybody got a start in these two games.”
On Schafer also have a couple of nice catches
“Yeah, he did. That’s one thing we talked about earlier with (possibility) of moving Justin over to right field. We feel that Schafer and Reed can do a good job there and leave Justin in left field where he’s done a nice job and he’s comfortable.”
Said you saw something in B.J. in last few games, were going to keep playing him
“Yeah, that’s why they give me the big bucks, to pay attention to those things.” (laughter)
“No, but you know what? With him and Danny and Simmons, you stay in their corner, because you see the work that they do. Before the games, and then yesterday after the rainout, these guys stayed here till almost 6 o’clock at night hitting. So you stay with them, as long as their confidence level is there and they keep working, and they’re fighting, you’ve got to stay in their corner.”
On the Uptons and what they bring
“It makes your lineup a lot better. For me, Justin is your No. 3 hitter. It doesn’t matter who’s on the mound that night, he’s No. 3 and he fills that void. Boy, oh boy, has he had a great April so far.”
Justin broke Atlanta record for homers in April with his 11th
“And not only home runs. He laced a double, he’s stolen some bases, he can play some defense – he’s a very good player.”
On Juan trying to beat shift with bunt, then coming back two innings later and beating it with a big homer
“Good for him. He’s leading off the inning, they’re playing that shift. If he just gets it past Garland another three or four feet it’s a base hit. So good for him.”
**JUSTIN UPTON
How much fun hitting back-to-back homers with your brother?
“It’s fun. He had me excited about his good swing, then I got a good pitch to hit, too.”
On the sweep today, in freezing cold, etc.
“It’s great, coming off of three losses in Pittsburgh, that definitely wasn’t fun. So to come out here and do what we did today with the conditions, not give away at-bats, you get pitches to hit and put some hits together – that can boost us.”
Did you envision anything like this month you’re having when you came to Atlanta?
“No, no. You come into a season with a new team trying to fit in, just try to be a part of a team that was already good. I can’t put a thumb on it for why I’ve hit the way I have, but I’ve just to continue to work and keep it up.”
On the fans who were getting on him, responding to them after his homer
“It’s cold and I was irritable. They got under my skin a little bit. They don’t usually bother me, but it’s cold out there, man.” (laughter)
More on boing back-to-back in what was a close game at the time
“It’s always cool when you can see him have success before you and you can go up and do the same thing. So it was definitely cool.”
**JULIO TEHERAN
On pitching in sub-freezing temperatures at Coors Field
“I never pitched in weather like this before. It was really cold the whole game. But I was trying not to think about it. I was trying to concentrate on my pitches, some things I did in the start before like trying to get ahead in counts and try to make pitches.”
What was working in the thin, cold air, what pitches?
“I used more my fastball and pitched off that. I knew I had to command that and move my fastball down. That’s what I was trying to do.”
On the run support
“I got support from the guys. That gave me more confidence for the next inning.”
The Braves score a lot of runs when you pitch
“That’s good, man. I just try to do my job and let them do their job.”
