The Braves are 5-0 at Citi Field, 5-0 against Jacob deGrom and on a five-game winning streak after Friday’s 2-1 win.
Anibal Sanchez was exceptional, striking out a season-high nine in six innings. Johan Camargo, Ronald Acuna and Ozzie Albies again provided the offense.
Here’s what the Braves said afterwards:
Manager Brian Snitker:
On Sanchez:
“He was just – it’s becoming the norm with him. I don’t know. You can’t think with him. It’d be hard facing him. To sit on something, to try to out-guess him. You almost have to sit up there and react to the ball because if you start getting in those, thinking about what he might do, you’re going to lose that battle. He knows what he’s doing. He can execute pitches and command is just really good.”
On deGrom:
“I’d just say go eight innings again. There’s only so much he can control. He’s one of those guys, you can’t make mistakes. You have to make plays and take advantage of every opportunity you have against him because it’s what you see. … It’s such a tough battle when you face him. I just sit back and – do I like playing him? No. Do I like watching him pitch? Absolutely. I love watching him pitch. He’s just so good. It’s fun to watch him.”
On his young guys:
“They don’t care (who they’re facing). It’s just another pitcher to them. They don’t get into that. They’re confident in their abilities. They don’t get awed by any situation. They feel like they belong here and they have confidence and they’re right where they should be.”
Starter Anibal Sanchez:
On his nine strikeouts:
“I’ve been trying to hit the corners all season, change speed, able to put my fastball in the corner, high or low. Because I know what kind of power they have on the other side.”
On his young teammates:
“Sometimes when you have those types of guys on your team, you forget how young they are. The way they play, they’re like veteran guys who’ve been in the major leagues for a while. They come outside and play hard every single day.”
Third baseman Johan Camargo, who homered:
On his home run:
“We all know his potential. He has a great fastball. You just try to work the count and look for your pitch. Fortunately the pitch I was looking for came out, so it worked out.”
On Sanchez:
“It’s been a great experience. It’s been wonderful to just learn from him. He always has advice and helps us out. It’s been a great experience to learn from him this season.”
On beating deGrom in close games:
“We know what kind of pitcher he is and the elite class that he’s in. It’s not lost on us. But for us it’s about doing the small things. We’ve been able to do those.”
