LOS ANGELES — Braves quotes from Cameron Maybin, Alex Wood and Fredi Gonzalez after Wednesday’s 3-2 win against the Dodgers.
**FREDI GONZALEZ
On Alex Wood’s performance and the win
“We skip him on a start because he has a stomach illness, you don’t know what’s going to happen. But he got his strength. I think it helped that it was a beautiful, cool night. Shoot, he was seven innings giving up one run, and was really effective with his pitches. It was a good one to win. You come in here and look at the starters they’re running at you this series.
“To beat Greinke in the last game after losing two, that shows you what our club’s all about. I know he didn’t get the decision but we had some really good at-bats against him, especially in that first inning. Maybe subsequently he didn’t go deep in the ballgame, after that 30-pitch first inning. But he was pretty effective after that.”
On Uribe’s strong throw to second base after bobbling ball in ninth inning
“He’s a good defender. He didn’t panic. That’s the sign of a veteran.”
On the reception that Uribe received
“I tell you what, this guy comes over to us, he spends four or five years with the Dodgers and gets traded, and the Dodgers put a tribute on the Jumbotron for him. They don’t do that very often, for a guy who’s only been here four or five years. That’s how special that guy is for the Dodgers. Hopefully he becomes that guy for us, I know he will because those guys don’t change their spots – they’re good people and good teammates. But I was impressed with the Dodger organization, for them to do something like that. Tommy Lasorda walked all the way over from his seat, to come over and tell me everything about Juan Uribe and how he loved him. That’s a special guy, and I’m glad we have him on our club.”
On Maybin already having five homers, more than halfway to his career high (nine)
“We’re giving him an opportunity to play every day. He’s healthy this year, and I think he’s bought into Kevin and Jose’s approach, and it pays off. He hits the ball to the right side, and when you make a mistake he can run you out of the ballpark; he’s got that kind of juice.
“Overall good game. Good baseball game. Good pitching performance. It was nice to get one here in L.A., which is a tough place to get a W.”
On Wood rising to occasion against Greinke
“He’s a competitor. I had to take the helmet off his head in the eighth inning; he wanted to hit. But that’s the way he is. He competes, he prepares, and you like for him to get the ball in his hand when you’re trying to extend a winning streak of stop a losing streak.”
On Grilli recording his 14th save in 15 chances despite giving up a homer
“He’s 38 years old, you can’t run him out there three or four days in a row. We know that. But if you take care of him, he’s going to get through situations. Sure, he’s going to give up a run or two here and there, but he’s a veteran guy who doesn’t spook, and he knows what he’s doing on the mound.”
**ALEX WOOD
On how he felt tonight
“Mechanically, and it terms of all my stuff, it was no doubt the best it’s been (all season). Now it’s just about repeating. Hopefully it’s a good starting point.”
Especially big to do it against a lineup like that?
“No question. This is a tough place to play. They’ve got a tough ballclub, leading their division, and going up against a guy like Greinke, it was a really good team win tonight.”
Do you get a little more adrenaline facing someone like Greinke?
“For sure. I think tonight it was kind of a different circumstances, I was a little nervous after not throwing for 10 days and being as sick as I was. You sit there before the game and think, I wonder what’s going to happen tonight? You tell yourself to go out there and throw up zeroes, and hope that’s what happens and get off to a quick start. And I was able to do that.”
Fredi said he had to pull the helmet off your head in eighth because you wanted to hit
“Yeah, I asked him, ‘Are you going to let me hit?’ and he looked at me like I was crazy. But I had to ask. It worked out good tonight.”
More on the layoff between starts
“When you take that much time off, you don’t know how you’re going to react when you go out there. Luckily, I reacted pretty good tonight.”
“With my bullpens I was throwing with Roger between Miami (May 16) and here, I really feel like it’s starting to click.”
**CAMERON MAYBIN
On being the only one who figured out Greinke, for the most part
“Is that what you call it? You know my motto – blind squirrel will find a nut every once in a while.”
Do you feel healthier, stronger than you’ve been in recent years? Already more than halfway to career-best homer total
“I’ve always felt strong. Man, I’ve just been working on the right stuff in the cage with Seitz. I’m not trying to do too much, trying to use the whole field, use the right side more than anything. Just the hard work that we put in every day, it’s just kind of a product of that. I’ve always been a strong guy, but I think with the things we’ve worked on, it’s just allowing more to come out, especially with using the whole field.
“More than anything I’m just proud of the consistency, quality at-bats. If I continue to do that, continue to put together good at-bats, to allow Freddie and Nick to see some pitches before they get up there, that’s my goal. Try to do my part. Luckily I was able to tonight.”
On Alex Wood’s performance
“He was awesome. I said it out on the field, we really missed him. We need that guy in our rotation. He did an awesome job of competing, coming out and getting ahead, keeping those guys off balance. And that’s what he can do. So it was good to have him back out there. We really need that guy. He’s a key part to our success, and the bullpen also did a great job of coming in and locking it down. That’s the way we win ballgames, it’s always a team effort and we’ve got to continue to do that.”
Pretty big win for you guys, to avoid a sweep and get out of here with a win?
“It’s a huge win. These guys have been playing great baseball this month. So to leave here getting a win, especially with a guy like Greinke on the mound, we’ve got to be excited about going to San Francisco. They’re another team that’s playing good baseball, so it doesn’t get any easier. But it’s a good way to finish up here in L.A.”
