Braves postgame comments after 6-2 loss to Nats

BOBBY COX

On the Diaz-Gonzalez double play:

“Gave it to him (the green light). He had it stolen standing up. Problem was, we swung at the pitch. That was a big run. He had it stolen without even a throw going to be made.”

So Gonzalez was not supposed to swing?

“Well, the play was in front of him, it was a hanger and he swung at it. If he could have, the best thing to do was take it, if you can. That’s easier said that done sometimes, but Matte had it stolen standing up and we do that.”

On bunting Prado to get the runners over:

“If he hits into a double play, you’d be asking why I didn’t bunt. The ball stuck in front of home plate. We still had the game won. Mac lined out to first base, that’s a double and the game’s tied.”

On the 5-2 home stand:

“We had a good home stand. We won both series. We have to say it was a real good home stand. We can’t win every game. I keep thinking we can. It’s been 51 years; we’ve never done it yet.”

MARTIN PRADO

On the bunt play:

“It’s a good call from Bobby. I didn’t freaking bunt, and probably cost us the freaking game too.”

On if he was surprised:

“I was expecting the call, even before (Jason Heyward) got on base. I knew. I knew it was going to come and I didn’t do it. That’s smart. That’s probably the most regular play in baseball. We have to tie the game; we’re playing at home. I guess I’ll be doing early work tomorrow, bunting.”

ALEX GONZALEZ

On Diaz attempting to steal third:

“It surprised me. …(The pitcher) was coming with a breaking ball. He made a good pitch. In that situation, first swing I’m not protecting the plate, I swing hard.”

MATT DIAZ

On attempting to steal third:

“We had (Joe) Peralta with like a 1.9 to home plate. If we face him again, hopefully we’ll steal against him. He’s really slow to the dish.”

On if he saw Gonzalez’s pop-up:

“No I did a bad job of looking in, I glanced in but didn’t really look in. It’s kind of like when you hear your wife, but you don’t listen to her. I glanced in but didn’t look in.”

On third base coach Brian Snitker’s response:

“He was yelling up, up, up and get up, get up, get up. I was like, ‘OK did it go to the backstop?’ and he’s like, ‘No, back. I’m like ‘Oh where,’ and then I stood there for like two seconds like a doofus, and then I decided to go back to second.”

On if Cox called for the steal:

“He gave me the green light. That doesn’t mean I have to go and when I do go I still need to look in.”

On what the hitter should do there:

“We have three coaches in different locations (signaling) to me, and the hitter would have no way of knowing I was going. In his mind he may have seen it out in front of him, but not register what was going on either. I do that. When you’re hitting, you’re so focused on the ball. Hindsight, you may say ‘I probably should have taken it (as a hitter).’ One hundred percent of the time, whatever before hindsight is, I need to look in and pay attention better to what’s going on.”

On the home stand overall:

“We need to look at this home stand as a whole, and the last road trip, we’ve got a be OK with it. If we’d lost the first one and won the last two, we’d say, ‘Oh yeah, we’re going on the road with a lot of momentum.’ That usually happens about an hour into the flight, you think back, but right now it just stinks losing the last game of a home stand, that was a good home stand but could have been great.”

DEREK LOWE

On his outing:

“Day games, I fight the weather as much as I do the game. It seems like it’s a constant battle with the heat. I can’t remember pitching this many day games in my life in one year. But that being said, everyone is out in the same scenario, but I get hot during night games. These day games are killing me, so I’m happy with it. I made it seven innings. That’s a first in a while. The Nationals – I can’t remember the last time I beat them. It seems like they’ve beat me five or six times in a row. It’s the third time this year. They give me fits.” (The Nationals have beat him three times in a row and five of the past seven.)

On the home run pitch:

“I was trying to get creative on the home run to Morse, try to throw a front door cutter, and that didn’t work. Just a few too many mistakes. I knew getting Nyjer (Morgan) out was always going to be important and he got on twice and scored twice. He made a big difference.”

On the home stand:

“I think you look at it as a whole, 5-2. it was a successful home stand. We lost my two games, which is always a bonus (he said with sarcasm). We’re still in a good spot, coming down the stretch with about 40 something to go, still in first place, still playing very good night in and night out.”