Braves quotes after 6-0 victory at Marlins.
**A.J. PIERZYNSKI
On what he was telling Shelby Miller during no-hit bid
Not much. I was just talking about his tempo the first couple innings, it was a little bit off. In the first inning he was just different than he’d been. Then as the game went on he got better and better, as the results showed. He was really locked in. He really made one mistake, and it was the guy who got the hit (Justin Bour). We tried to go in and we wanted to throw it off the plate and he threw it right down the middle. Those things happen. It stinks. But Shelby pitched a great game: shut out, a two-hitter. And we swept the series, so that’s the biggest thing. But you get that close, you want to finish it.
On what he told Miller after Bour’s hit
Just finish the game. Let’s go. That’s nice and all but at the end of the day you want to finish the game and we went out and did that.
On if he knew about the no-hit bid as it was happening
Oh, yeah. Of course I know. I am staring at every scoreboard in the stadium so of course I know. It just wasn’t meant to be.
On if he’s been this close to a no-hitter before
Oh, yeah, (Yu) Darvish had a perfect game (in 2014) against Houston, 8 2/3 (innings) and they weren’t even making contact. He gave up a ball right through his legs for a hit. Gavin Floyd got into the ninth (in 2009) and it was a fly ball to left-center that (Joe) Mauer hit and we shifted out guy over and it feel right between our outfielders. There’s been a few times I’ve gotten into the ninth and it never gets less frustrating. Every time it stinks. You want a guy to throw one just to have the opportunity to throw one because it’s special. It’s one of those things you don’t’ see coming.
On saying after game in Philadelphia it was every bit as good as a no hitter and if this game feels same
No, it stinks, because I wanted him to throw a one-hitter. Unfortunately, he didn’t. He threw the ball about as good as you can. Like I said, he really only made one mistake and it was the last pitch the guy got the hit on. He put a good swing on it and hit it up the middle. A lot of times in those situations guys get too big and try to pull off. He stayed right on it and hit it right up the middle. Give him credit.
**PHIL GOSSELIN
On his injured thumb
It feels all right. I threw some ice on it there during the game. I will get it checked by the doctor when we get back and go from there.
On when it happened
The diving play down the line (in the third inning) my thumb got caught. It kind of bent under a little bit. It tightened up and got worse as the inning went on.
On if he’s concerned
I think we will be all right. I’m not a doctor, I don’t know, but I’m pretty positive about it until I hear otherwise.
On if he could tell Shelby Miller was going good early
Yeah, really good. Then once we got the lead you could tell he took it to another level. That’s what the really good pitchers do, when they get a lead they are not going to let the other team back up for air. It was really good. It was a lot of fun to watch.
**SHELBY MILLER
On if he’s happy with complete-game shutout or disappointed with losing no hitter
I’m happy with it. Obviously things didn’t finish as we wanted to but at the same time we got a sweep. Went deep into the ballgame, which is always good as a starting pitcher. At the end of the day I had a lot of fun and that’s all that matters.
On if he could tell early he felt good
I felt good. You are just always trying to go out there with what you’ve got. Actually my bullpen (session) didn’t feel the best. My breaking pitches were not very good. In the game they came around and we made some pitches. Had some (great) defensive plays out in the outfield. Todd (Cunningham) made an awesome catch that probably a lot of guys playing out in left field probably wouldn’t make. He’s got some great speed, great reds on balls. Key double plays, Goose (Gosselin) made a lot of diving stops. All around I had a lot of fun.
On bearing down after getting the lead
Yeah, at the end of the day when they go out and put up a five spot, your job as a starting pitcher is to have a quick inning and get the offense back out there swinging it again. That’s the main thing, have quick innings, be efficient and get deep in the ballgame. We did that today. It was fun.
On what Pierzynski said after Bour’s hit
Let’s go. Let’s finish it. We’ve still got a ballgame to finish, which we did. A.J. is the right guy to come out there and get you right back on track mentally. Throughout the game he was doing that. He’s a huge reason why I’m pitching good. He’s calling a good game. We’ve got a good thing going and hopefully we can keep the ball rolling. All we are trying to do is win games. It doesn’t matter who’s in the lineup, who’s catching, who’s pitching. Our job is to win. We’ve got three in a row and hopefully we keep going.
On his play throwing out Dee Gordon in the fourth inning
That was close. With Gordon, who is a runner and has some speed, I didn’t know what to do. I just tried to get over there as quick as possible because I know he has a lot of speed. I just grabbed it and tossed it to Freddie. Freddie was going to get it and he did a good job of backing up and getting to the bag.
On striking out Giancarlo Stanton with three straight 97 mph fastballs in fourth inning
You’ve got one of the best hitters in MLBup there so your adrenalin is rushing no matter what. He’s a guy that’s been swinging it well obviously the last couple days and I was just trying to attack him with fastballs. In that last at-bat he put a really good swing on it. He’s a hitter who can catch up to any fastball like that. You’ve got to watch what you are doing with that kind of power at the plate.
On going right at hitters in the ninth inning
Just kind of pitch them the same way I pitched him the whole game. Fastball in to Bour and—I haven’t looked at the video—but I’m assuming it ran back across the middle. He put a good swing on it and hit it right up the middle. I wish it would have finished differently but at the same time you’ve got to accept a ballgame like that.
