Braves quotes after their 9-8 victory over the Giants on Monday at Turner Field.
—Quotes compiled by Michael Cunningham and Matthew Bain
**FREDI GONZALEZ
On the comeback victory
“There might be some nights where we get out-talented a little bit. But we never (get) out-fighted, if that’s a word. Those guys don’t give up. At the end you look up and (Mike) Foltynewicz gives up six innings and six runs and a couple of home runs. But those six innings were big, you don’t know how important those things are. I like the way he competed. If we didn’t have to pinch-hit for him in the sixth, I would have run him back out there again and let him figure it. I thought his last two innings were better than the first couple. But it’s a young pitcher. … Our guys fought. They didn’t give up. (A.J.) Pierzynski had a terrific day. (Jace) Peterson had a terrific day. I think we have him there in the six spot; it’s been about three or four days or five days and he’s been coming up big with some big RBIs. And then (Adonis) Garcia there at the end – he’s hit three balls. All (have) been right-center to almost straightaway center and there haven’t been any cheap ones. So, I think eight home runs between both teams. That’s unusual in this ballpark. But I’m really proud of our club not giving up. You lose (Freddie) Freeman in the fourth inning, fifth inning. Chris Johnson steps in and did a really nice job offensively. You just keep battling.”
On Peterson’s performance – the double to start and the three-run homer in the sixth
“He’s been swinging it. For a guy who came out of the All-Star break – and you guys know the numbers, you posted the numbers. He’s been struggling. But the last three, four games, he’s starting to swing it. He’s starting to drive in some big runs for us. If I’m not mistaken he might be second or third on the team in RBIs. And he comes up big with people in scoring position.”
On A.J. Pierzynski tying the game in the ninth
“You know he’s going to give you a good at-bat. There against (Santiago) Casilla, he’s going to give you a good at-bat. He’s going to give you a good at-bat against anybody. And he’s dangerous, he’s got pop. So (Casilla) made a mistake, he hit a two-run home run, we tied it. We played extra-inning baseball. We were down. (Buster) Posey got us for a base hit against (Arodys) Vizcaino but we didn’t give up.”
On any update with Freeman’s oblique injury
“Just the oblique right now. They’re evaluating him right now. It’s an oblique. So, we’ll see what we’re going to do with him.”
On what Freeman said when he left the game
“I never even saw him when he came off. He went right into the training room and for him to come off like that, something’s bothering him. He came up right to the trainers in here, and then I got Jeff came up and tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Hey. Freeman just went down with an oblique.’ So, we’ll see what tomorrow brings us.”
On any update with Andrelton Simmons’ thumb injury
“I think we’re calling it a bone bruise right now. And you know what, I think that the good thing is, like we talked this afternoon, from yesterday to today was a big improvement. We’ll see what tomorrow brings us with him and hopefully there’s a lot of improvement there and we can sit on it a little bit.”
On if Simmons was available tonight
“Well, I think we would have used him in a crazy (situation). If (Julio) Teheran had pinch-hit there in the last inning, I would have run him. That’s about the only thing that I’d let him do today.”
**MIKE FOLTYNEWICZ
On the team rallying for the win
“It was incredible. With the crappy night I had, to see them battle back, they saved me tonight. The defense played great tonight. I didn’t strike anybody out so they were running all over for me, which was awesome. A couple bad pitches, missing my spots up and away, giving up them home runs which made me sick to see they were going out by just a little bit. But a home run is a home run. The team was outstanding.”
On the home runs he allowed
“I just totally missed them. I wanted to go inside a lot and just left it right over the middle of the plate. It happens. In the bullpen this week I’ve just got to practice on it a little—practice on it a lot, actually, because in Baltimore I was in command of my fastball pretty well and tonight I didn’t have it. It’s a big learning experience for me because especially a lineup this they can hurt you real quick. So I’ll learn and get back on the right track.”
**A.J. PIERZYNSKI
On if it was the biggest win of the year
“I don’t know about the biggest but it was definitely one of the most fun wins. Just being 6-0 against a team with a really good pitching staff and a really good bullpen, just to continue to battle and continuing to fight, guy after guy getting a big hit. We go down at the end and come back, it’s fun. That’s why you play. That’s what this game is about. You keep fighting and you never know what will happen.”
On Adonis Garcia coming up with big home runs
“Yeah, he’s got some pop, especially to right-center. They’ve all been to right field. I tell you what if you leave a pitch out over, he’ll whack it pretty good. He’s done it off some pretty good guys, guys that have had some success. It’s great to see younger guys—well, obviously he’s not a young guy, but not as much experience—have some success, it’s fun.”
On losing Freddie Freeman then Jace Peterson homering
“Losing Freddie hurt but Jace hit a huge home run to get us back on the board. But just guy after guy hitting. Chris Johnson got a couple huge hits, Garcia got a huge hit. It was just one of those games where everyone contributed and everyone did their part, all 25 guys on the roster just about. It was a good team win.”
On Mike Foltynewicz’s start
“He was just missing a little bit up. This team can hit, especially the middle of their lineup. They can hit, and they can hit homers. They just didn’t miss them tonight.”
On the team’s fight
“This team doesn’t quit, this team doesn’t go away. It’s not going to stop. We’ve lost a lot of guys. We’re a different team than we were at the beginning. But this team still goes about it the right way, which is the thing we should be most proud of. This team comes every day to play and fight and scrap and do everything we can to win the game that night. We might come up short but we are giving everything we have and that’s all that we can do.”
**CHRIS JOHNSON
On the impact of the home crowd tonight
“It’s nice to play at home. Any time you go out in your home stadium, it’s a lot of fun when that chop gets going. And the people that were here tonight, they didn’t leave when we were down 6-0. They didn’t leave when Posey got the hit in the whatever 11th inning it was. So, it’s a big win for them, too.”
On performance of Peterson, who’s been scuffling lately
“I wouldn’t say he’s been struggling. He’s been swinging the bat pretty good, he’s just having some tough luck, I think. This guy’s been robbed a lot, and guy who works this hard with that kind of talent, he’s not going to stay down very long.”
On having Pierzynski at the plate there in the ninth inning
“He’s been swinging the bat well. He’s come up with a lot of big hits this year for us. That guy’s been around 20, 30 years in the major leagues. It’s about time he does something good.”
On if this win feels like more than just one win
“It feels great. But we play 162 games so we don’t get too high, we don’t get too low. It’s one game. We’ll enjoy it tonight and we’ll wake up tomorrow morning and we’re going to have to try to get another one.”
**JACE PETERSON
On his three-run home run in the sixth
“Runners on first and second, I’m just trying to keep it going any way I can. Not really trying to hit a home run, but he threw me a change-up, he hung it and I was able to get a good swing on it. But just to get this win tonight and fight the way we did. Everybody kept going, we played the whole game and to be down 6-0 (and win) speaks highly of the team. And I think tonight we kind of showed that, hopefully we can keep it going.”
On getting this kind of win against the defending world champs
“It feels great. I mean, any win counts but especially when you do it against the world champs, it’s definitely big. They go up right there 7-6 I think in the 11th or 12th, whatever it was, and we could have easily gave up. We kept fighting and he came through with the huge home run. And you really can’t say enough about it, man. Everybody put good at-bats together and played good defense and it was a good win.”
