What Braves manager Brian Snitker said after the 13-1 loss to the Cardinals in Game 5 of the National League Division Series on Wednesday, ending the team’s season:
Q. Brian, is there any way you could possibly put into words what went wrong in the first inning?
A. I really -- I haven't processed it enough. I don't know. I don't know that I've seen that many guys hit in the first inning that quick in my entire life. I don't know. It wasn't how we drew it up, I know that. I don't know. That thing just kept rolling and we couldn't stop it.
Q. After the first four games were so competitive, is it just so disappointing, felt like --
A. Very disappointing. We all had such -- had such great expectation coming into today. Everybody was looking forward to it. I think everybody was ready. And you can't plan for that. I mean, that's such a different scenario, the way it happened. Like I say, it just kept snowballing. And after the first inning, it's, like, we've got to try and get outs now. It was more than that. So you hope maybe you can come in on the back end of something like that. And the other pitcher has been sitting in the dugout and out of his rhythm and maybe put two, three, four up on your side. And then all of a sudden now things become maybe a little more doable. A guy like that, once he gets going and gets in his groove, it's almost insurmountable, with a guy like that.
Q. You mentioned you haven't quite seen maybe a start to a game like that, a game of this magnitude, too. That said, how do you address your men after a game like this?
A. It's hard to. I mean, we had a great year. We won 99 games. Had a great year. And they're all hurting in there. We had huge expectations for ourselves. And rightly so. I said, you put this thing together; your goal is to get in the playoffs because anything can happen after that. I guess we saw that. Anything did happen. And I've talked to a number of them already. There's just not a lot to say -- in a game like -- there's not a lot to say. It's pretty evident what went on. It doesn't take away from everything that those guys accomplished throughout the year, winning a consecutive division. But it still hurts. If we would have lost 5-4, a one-run game it would have hurt. This one hurt. They all hurt. But I don't know if anybody wants to hear me say we had a great year because the outcome wasn't what we wanted. We kind of felt like -- well, we are -- we're a very good team, we're a really good team. We're a very good team. It didn't happen today. That's one of those things. I was hoping we would be on the other end of something like this, but that's just the way it is.
Q. We were outside doing our live shots at 5:00 and kept hearing it was 5-0, then 7-0 and we were shocked. Fans were coming out seemed to be shocked. You seemed to be a little surprised even right now. Is that the appropriate word, "shocked"?
A. I am. Because as we plan, we talk, game plan as it is, you talk about scenarios in the game, you don't cover that one. Because we get together as a staff and myself and (pitching coach Rick Kranitz) and Walt (Weiss) and we talk about scenarios in the game. We didn't talk about that one. That was not even on the radar for us. It might be a shaky start by a starter or maybe you're going to go short and have -- that wasn't on the game plan right there. That was something totally off the realm that we would ever -- you wouldn't even sit in my office and talk about that scenario right there, you know what I mean?
Q. Going with Julio (Teheran) in the ninth, and then you pinch-hit Tyler (Flowers) there. We would be lying if we didn't say that could possibly their last times in a uniform. Is that a hat tip to those guys, give them one last chance?
A. Yeah, I don't know what's going to happen down the road or whatever, but Tyler hadn't had an at-bat in the whole thing. To be honest with you I asked Brian (McCann). And that's not here or there. But you just don't know what's going go on.
Q. Couple things in the first, (Dexter) Fowler barely tipped that ball to stay alive at two strikes and gets the walk. And is that a double play ball if Freddie (Freeman) fields it off Molina?
A. I mean, I don't know that he didn't get, that (Marcell) Ozuna didn't block him a little bit on that ball, if he saw it good. I'd have to go back and look at it. And like I say, Dex just fouled it off. He had a heck of an at-bat to open the game. I'm not going to --
Q. Might have been a one-run inning?
A. Yeah, but it wasn't, so I'm not going to go belabor that, quite honestly. I'm just going to talk about what was.
Q. From what you saw of Jack Flaherty and his two starts against you, do you think he could have as big an impact on this postseason as some of the names (Max) Scherzer and (Clayton) Kershaw?
A. No, this kid's a legit number one type guy. It's almost like he gets stronger as he goes. He doesn't tire. He just keeps getting stronger. You just look at the physicality of the kid and what he does. And I know the first game he kind of had a little rough go in the beginning with command and all that kind of stuff. Then he gets settled in. He's one of those guys he gets in, gets his rhythm. Like him, you take him out but it's on any given start I look at a guy like that, he can throw all night, not going to get tired. His delivery works, stuff's live, and he's what they look like.
