What's behind the Braves' clutch gene? Matt Kemp has an idea
ATLANTA -- Not far from SunTrust Park, sits the headquarters of Turner Broadcasting, where its network TNT has long used the tagline "We Know Drama."
The Braves, though, have seemingly co-opted that slogan of late.
Wednesday night, Matt Kemp drove a 1-0 pitch into the right field seats to deliver Atlanta a 5-3 victory over the Giants in 11 innings, their third walk-off win in less than a week and the sixth overall, tying for the MLB lead.
"It just shows the fight that we have," Kemp said ahead of Thursday's series finale against the Giants. "We're never out of games, especially with the offense that we have. We can put up a lot of runs at any given point, at any given moment. We always chip away and make a game out of most games."
Kemp's game-ending homer came days after Brandon Phillips delivered the winning RBI on singles on back-to-back nights against the Marlins.
In all, the Braves have 12 victories in their last at-bat, which is also tied for the best in baseball. Their .292 average in late and close games, via Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index, trails on the Astros at .313 and Atlanta also has the second-best sOPS+ in those situations (130), again trailing only Houston.
As Kemp put it, the clutch gene his team has displayed -- the Braves has hit .264 (fifth in MLB) when trailing -- speaks to the camaraderie in the clubhouse.
"We got old guys. We got young guys. We got kinda old guys. It is fun," he said. "We're having a lot fun."
So where does the 32-year-old Kemp -- who in putting together and All-Star caliber season in slashing .320/.362/.552 with 12 home runs, 20 doubles, 35 RBI and has his best OPS+ (133) since 2012 -- fit into those 'old guy/young guy/kinda old guys' categories?
"I'm old ... No, I'm not old yet. I'm kinda old. I'm getting up there. ... But, nah, we're having a lot of fun," he said. "It's fun to get walk-offs and they can definitely carry over to the next day and help you win ballgames."
And provide further spark for a team that's surprised with its franchise cornerstone shelved.
Since Freddie Freeman went to the disabled list after suffering a fractured wrist on May 17, the Braves have bucked predictions and stayed afloat, going 17-17 and sit 9 1/2 games behind the Nationals in the National League East and are 12 games out of the Wild Card race.
"We know what the task at hand is, and that's to keep winning ballgames and at least get to .500 and then go from there. We'll get another great hitter back, Freddie (Freeman), and we'll get this thing rolling."
Follow Cory McCartney on Twitter @coryjmccartney and Facebook. His books, 'Tales from the Atlanta Braves Dugout: A Collection of the Greatest Braves Stories Ever Told,' and 'The Heisman Trophy: The Story of an American Icon and Its Winners.' are now available.
