The Braves won a thrilling 8-5 opening day game against the Phillies that made for the franchise’s biggest first-game comeback since 1908.
After falling behind 5-0, the Braves used the long ball to knot the game up before Nick Markakis delivered a game-winning three-run homer. It came just in time to beat the storm that ensnared SunTrust Park less than 15 minutes after the game ended.
Here’s what the Braves said after advancing to 1-0:
Manager Brian Snitker:
On the boost the rally can provide:
“It’s huge. It’s opening day. Everybody here’s jacked up, everybody here’s excited to be out of Florida. So this means a lot. You’ve got a full, packed house there and you came back and won it. That has a way of making you do good things for the team.”
On veterans coming through when needed:
“It’s good. We’re going to have that. We’re going to need that. And I felt real good that inning with Ozzie. And they might not have pitched to Freddie had Ozzie walked. But it’s just good. Nick had a really good spring. Worked his tail off. He’s a guy that I trust every night. He’s going to show up and give you everything he has.”
Outfielder Nick Markakis:
On his game-winning at-bat:
“I’m not trying to do too much there. I over-swung a little on the 1-0 pitch. I was just thinking to myself, calm down, nice easy swing, try not to miss it.”
On the comeback:
“It’s big. It says a lot about our team. We grinded out at-bats. That’s what we’re going to have to do. It was a great win overall. Julio gave us five good innings and our bullpen came in and towards the end of the game did good.”
On changing the fortunes of an 0-for-4 day:
“It only takes one at-bat, one pitch. That’s the beauty of this game. You go 0-for-4, next thing you know you’re up in a winning situation in the game. Like I said, one pitch, one at-bat can change the whole game.”
First baseman Freddie Freeman:
On the team effort:
“It’s nice to play the baseball that’s going to help us win games. We’re not going to hit the ball over the fence consistently like we did tonight, we’ve got to do the little things – bunting guys over, getting in scoring position and putting pressure on the defense. And we did that tonight.”
On the Braves hitting three homers:
“That’s exciting to see. So hopefully we can continue that and play good baseball at the same time. We’re not going to hit the ball over the fence consistently like we did tonight, so we’ve got to the little things right, and we did that.”
Outfielder Preston Tucker:
On playing in front of childhood hero Chipper Jones:
“Absolutely (it’s motivating). I heard he’s a Gator fan too, so definitely try to impress him. I think it was a fun game all-around and definitely a great first impression in this ballpark.”
On rallying back:
“It’s awesome. We really used the bench we had and I think the fact we’re so deep really helped with a win tonight. It’s nice when everyone contributes and I think we’re going to have a lot of those this year.”
Second baseman Ozzie Albies:
On homering in his first opening day game:
“It’s awesome. I’ve never had this before. It’s my first one. Feeling great. I was happy for it and hopefully have a lot more years feeling like this, every opening night.”
