**FREDI GONZALEZ
On Ervin Santana
“He gave us seven strong innings. I think the one pitch, if he pops him up there it’s a one-run ballgame. And obviously it’s a little different in a 2-1 game than it is in a 4-1 game. But I thought he gave us a good opportunity to win the game, other than that one pitch to Travis d’Arnaud. But good outing, solid outing. He was efficient with his pitches, and we had some opportunities to score and we didn’t. So we end up losing the game.”
Had two on with less than two outs in each of the seventh, eighth and ninth innings
“Yeah, we had some opportunities to get Santana off the hook a little bit there. The bullpen helped him out in the eighth, and again we got in the ninth inning with some guys that can hit the ball out of the ballpark. Chris Johnson and La Stella can keep the line moving, and Mejia got both of those guys out.”
On not driving in runs, an ongoing theme with this team
“Well, we just came out with a nine-game winning streak four days, so it’s the same team that won nine. Same lineup, same team. So, we’re going through a little streak right now. We went through a good streak, winning nine, and now we’ve got a four-game losing streak where we’re not scoring runs.”
On difference in offense during winning streak, when got some timely hits
“When we were winning nine in a row we were getting two-out hits. We were driving in runs, situational hitting. Obviously we’re not doing that now.”
After Santana’s last several starts, do you feel like he’s getting back to where he was earlier?
“I think so. I never have any issues with him, with thinking he’s not going to give us a quality start every time he goes out there. You come to the ballpark when he’s out there and you feel pretty good that you’ve got a good chance to win the game.”
**ERVIN SANTANA
On pitching so well most of the night and numbers not showing that
“It was a great game for both sides. In a game like that, whoever makes the first mistake, that’s going to be the game right there. I just left that slider up, that was the game right there.”
Did you know when you released that pitch that it wasn’t going to be good?
“Well, at the same time sometimes you throw bad (pitches) and you get people out. So…”
On frustrating end to a start that had been solid until seventh inning
“It was alright overall. Everything was how I wanted, everything was down in the zone, I was attacking the zone.”
Was the homer ball one of the few sliders that you didn’t like tonight?
“Well, that one in particular, yeah. But it’s OK. We’ve still got more games to go. Just have to keep playing hard.”
**ANDRELTON SIMMONS
Big ballpark, if you hit that in some other places maybe the game’s different?
“Well, I guess. But I didn’t get all of it. We gave ourselves a chance, at least, but still it’s not a good feeling. It’s not a good feeling losing three in a row, four in a row. It’s not a good feeling.”
In the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, had two on with less than two outs
“Yeah, you’ve got to put yourselves in position to get back in the game, but you’ve also got to capitalize, and we didn’t do it. So we’ve got to get better at that.”
On Dillon Gee’s strong start, latest of several he’s had against the Braves
“He’s been pretty good. Nothing against him, but we’ve got to do a better job at the plate. We hit a couple of balls hard, but right at people. We’ve just got to stay in there and get a different result next time.”
On his five-pitch inning in the fourth
“He’s throwing strikes. B.J. swung first pitch. I came in, should have taken a strike. I saw the ball pretty good and just got a little excited. He got two quick outs.”
On not getting hits in crucial situations
“We hit a couple of balls hard. You can’t make them fall (for hits) all the time. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing. I feel like we’re not giving away as many at-bats as we were at the beginning of the season.
“We’re doing a better job. It’s still not enough, so we’ve got to see what it is that we’ve got to fix.”
On four-game losing skid after nine-game winning streak
“I don’t think anybody’s worried about it, nobody’s concerned. You have hot streaks and cold streaks. We’re going to be fine. We’ve just got to keep battling.”
On his Netherlands team losing Wednesday in World Cup, then Braves losing
“Kick in the groin, twice.”
