Hampton, on his soaping accident:
“It happened in Chicago when I was showering (Sunday). I was getting soap out of the dispenser, and my finger slipped off, and it cut it. I knew I had it. I went out and played a little catch before the game. I kind of glued the wound so it wouldn’t open up. And then it opened up after the first (inning). It just didn’t get any better. I didn’t have a whole lot of feel for the pitches. I thought to be safe it’d be good to get me out sooner rather than later.”
Ortiz, on giving up those two walks:
“I was just a little off. After that, I felt like I made pretty good pitches. But a soft single and a base hit and sac fly — those were the two walks that scored. So I didn’t end up doing my job.”
Ortiz, on his home run:
“I just tried to put a good swing on it. I’m not trying to hit a home run. I hit it good enough. Sometimes that short left field comes into play.”
Blum:
“Frustration. There’s no way to explain it. We had our opportunities. We didn’t take advantage of them.”
Cooper:
"We didn't have enough hits in key situations. We had them on the ropes and just didn't get any good swings when we needed them."
Fulchino:
"It was a little boost of confidence. I kind of surprised myself. I hadn't thrown since my last inning in Fresno in Triple-A, and my first inning I was kind of all over the place. I just wanted to come in and establish the strike zone and get a groove going, and I was able to do that in three innings."
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
