Braves quotes from Andrelton Simmons, Julio Teheran, Peter Moylan and Fredi Gonzalez after Tuesday’s 3-2 win against the Blue Jays.
**ANDRELTON SIMMONS
On getting to celebrate a walkoff win for first time in a long time
“It feels pretty good. We’ve been struggling to get wins lately. We’ve been playing a little bit better, but getting the win is pretty big. Hopefully it gets us some momentum and we can get some more.”
“It’s been a while since we had a walkoff. It was pretty exciting. For me, for sure. Guys were beating me up a little bit, so I think they were a little excited too.”
On bullpen rebounding with good performance after blowing late lead Sunday
“It was really good to see. Everybody came in throwing strikes, getting outs. It’s really good to see the guys bounce back.”
On coming through with game-winning hit after grounding into two double plays earlier
“That was big. I was a little down on myself right there, but fortunately guys kept giving me opportunities, and I finally got it.”
On Pierzynski’s continuing to hit all year, getting three hits tonight
“I don’t think anybody expected that much from him. I thought he was going to come in and have a good year, lead the guys. But he has performed really well. He’s been pretty consistent. He’s been a good addition to the Braves this year.”
**JULIO TEHERAN
On how he felt
“I felt really good, other than the walks. Most of them were 3-2 counts, I had to work a little bit. I had to make good pitches. I felt really good that I helped the team win.”
I know you didn’t want to come out, but what about the job the ‘pen did after you left game?
“They did a great job today. We’ve got to give the credit to the bullpen today because they made the pitches we needed, just in time. I didn’t want to come out of the game, but that’s a decision I can’t complain (about).”
On striking out Donaldson and Bautistia in a perfect first inning, that give you confidence right away?
“Yeah, I felt really good from the first inning. I was ready to go, making pitches.”
On beating the first-place and surging Jays
“It’s nice to start (the series) with a win, and just try to come back (and do it again) tomorrow.”
**PETER MOYLAN
On bullpen bouncing back after rough outing Sunday, with four rookies coming through along with Moylan
“Being in the bullpen, you’ve got to have a short memory. I don’t know if it’s a lack of intelligence or what, but I’ve been doing it for seven or eight years. You’ve just got to continue to pitch to your strengths, because that’s what got you here. You can’t second-guess yourself and start trying to work away from that, because then you’re going to get yourself in more trouble. There’s a reason why you’re here, and as long as you keep remembering that, I think these guys will be fine.”
“McKirahan came in a did a good job. Everybody did a good job. That’s the way a ‘pen is supposed to work. So, hopefully the guys can take this, throw it in their back pocket and keep competing for the rest of the year.”
**FREDI GONZALEZ
On performance of bullpen
“We were able to match up all the way. I think the only hiccup was a base on balls (in the eighth). Other than that, we did a nice job matching up the whole way. I tell you what, for me, we swung the bats well, got eight or nine hits, obviously that last one was by Simmons was the big one, but the baserunning from Cunningham, going first to third there in the ninth inning, putting the winning run at third with no outs, was a big part of the win.”
On Julio Teheran setting the tone
“I thought he was just OK. Obviously ‘just OK’ because you want him going seven or eight innings, but 113 pitches in 5 2/3, I think he would tell you that’s not prototypical by him.”
On Simmons grounding into two double plays, then coming back with the walk-off hit
“And he wants to be in that situation. He put the ball in play and we found a hole there.”
On ending the losing streak at 12 home games
“It was nice to get the W there in that situation, because they had the top of the order coming up in the next inning. We didn’t want to give those guys the opportunity to swing the bat in the top of the 10th. And we made it happen. Two great at-bats, Garcia and Pierzysnki. A.J. had three hits today, that’s good to see.”
On the team getting a win, could it make a difference entering final weeks of season?
“To get a winning streak you’ve got to win one first. We had a chance to win on Sunday and we didn’t. Off day (Monday), you don’t know how the guys are going to react, because it was a tough loss. But I had a feeling they were going to come out and fight like we always have, and we did that tonight.”
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