On the tumultuous win
“Man, oh man, I don’t even know how to start. A couple of big innings for us, one big inning for them – and we were able to survive it. Beachy was good. And let’s get out of here, because it looks like that club is getting ready to get hot. On to San Diego.”
On his team’s patience at plate in big inning
“That’s where it starts, base on balls, get some pitches to hit. I thought Nate’s at-bat was outstanding. He made him throw three strikes in a situation where it’s not easy – bases loaded and everybody wants to be a hero. Showed a lot of patience, a lot of professionalism on Nate’s part to be able to come up with those big two-out RBIs.”
On doing it against Brian Wilson
“He’s one of top [closers] in the game, and I really don’t like to see him come in the game. Usually it’s not a good sign. They’re getting ready to win a game when he’s in there.”
More on McLouth
“I think he likes that seventh and eighth spot; he’s comfortable. Again, you’ve got to tip your hat to him, that was the turning point in the game right there.”
On Uggla’s homer
“He’s slowly, slowly getting going again. Another three or four days I would have sent him to Gwinnett.” [sarcasm].
On Heyward’s mammoth homer
“Jason had a helluva an at-bat, too. We could go on and on here about how everyone had a good at-bat. Chipper. McCann did at the end. Everybody did, really. It’s a good win.”
On coming back to win late
“It’s a little carryover from last year. They’re all pulling for each other; it doesn’t mater who’s in the game at any given time.”
“He was limited yesterday, and to come in today and be ready to go – when No. 10 comes up in that 3-spot, it’s big.”
On how good a sweep feels after L.A.
“No doubt about that. Let’s keep it rolling for a while.”
Two good starts in a row, what’s been difference from earlier?
“I commanded the zone, threw fastballs for strikes for the most part. I think I did a better job of getting ahead of hitters today than I have been.”
On the sweep
“It feels good. There’s a world of a difference between winning two and [sweeping] here. It puts us on a little roll going to San Diego, and hopefully we can win that series as well, and go back home.”
Get taste out of your mouths after L.A.?
“Absolutely. We’ve been playing good baseball all year. We’ve just been on that verge of breaking through. Jason’s home run today, that big inning later on … we’re starting to put it together.”
Did you see some good things out there from your guys?
“Yeah, we got after it today. We competed the whole game, and we didn’t get down when we gave up the lead. We kept battling. The bullpen did really well to keep them at bay after they went up. Uggla’s home run was huge, getting us back tied.
“You kind of had the feeling we had the advantage going into extras, because we had a couple more pitchers and we still had our lock-down guys at the end. We just kind of bled a couple through against Wilson, and then Nate with the huge knock.”
On big hits by Heyward, Uggla, McLouth, McCann…
“Yeah, it’s good to see those. I mean, this club struggled for the first three weeks of the season, and it’s starting to come. I said it the other day. We lost the last game in Los Angeles, but you kind of got a feeling that that kick-started us. We came up here and we won three games from the world champs. So confidence is at a different level than it was a week ago.”
Best way to get over the rough series at L.A.?
“Yeah, you come up here and beat two tough lefties and Linecum; we didn’t beat Sanchez today, but still got the win against Wilson, the top closer in the league last year. Anytime you go out and battle and play good baseball for three games and you’re rewarded with three wins, you’re happy.”
On his knee today
“I was OK. Started to get a little sore there at the end. I’ve got some kind of bursitis or bursa sac in my right knee that’s inflamed. But it felt better the last two days. I got treatment the last two days, and it certainly felt better today than it did yesterday.”
On how it feels to be playing well on his 39th birthday
“Gratifying. I see it as doing my job. It’s been my job for the last 18 years. I’ve had to listen to a lot of crap. It’s gratifying to be out there and contributing to our ballclub. I knew that I could, but it’s a little bit of a renaissance I guess, to come back out at 39, after 18 years, and reprove yourself to the people that have been behind you for so long. It’s gratifying to come back from the injury, No. 1, as quickly as I did. No. 2, to be helping this club win some ballgames.”
On coming back to win after blowing lead
“Nate’s at-bat was amazing. Obviously that was the key point of the game. He put together such a great at-bat, battled 3-0, went to two strikes and had to hit a dirty pitch. He hit a cutter. I mean, Wilson….
“There were so many parts to this game today. Us coming back twice. This is a huge win for us. This is big. You come in here and face three aces and win all three games. It’s huge. Huge.”
On his game-tying homer
“It felt really good. It just felt good feeling good at the plate. All I was just thinking about was seeing the ball and hitting the ball, so that was big for me.”
On the team coming back to win and sweep
“It’s a big win for us. We had the game twice, and they came back twice. And it just showed the character of this team, being able to come back and end up taking it for the sweep. So it was big.”
On the comeback
“The game was kind of a rollercoaster. We jumped out to the lead, they tied it up, we took the lead, they went ahead, we tied it…. Just a back and forth game, and a good one certainly to come out on top. And to walk out of here with a sweep is really tough to do. It’s something that not a lot of teams do here, and we did it.”
On his big hit that broke the tie in the 10th
“He started me out 3-0, and I was taking two strikes [from there], just because I wanted to make him throw me three strikes. If there was one out it might have been a different story, because then a sac fly or something can put us in the lead. But with two outs there, I wanted to take two strikes and make him throw me three consecutive strikes, and he did. And luckily the last one, I put a pretty good swing on it.”
“On 3-1 I kind of stepped out of the box and collected my thoughts and thought about whether I wanted to take that pitch. And I decided I was taking it, because I figured he would have to throw me the same pitch again, 3-2 with the bases loaded. It ended up working out. It was pretty much right down the middle, a little bit in maybe.”
On sweeping here after disappointment of the Dodger series
“That last one we lost in L.A. was a heartbreaker, when we had a chance to split the series. But cominig out of here today with a sweep in an environment that – we were talking about this the other day – the environment here is really second to none. It’s tough to come in here and win, and we came in here and got the sweep.”