Giants fall late to Braves
Kemp hits walk-off HR in 11th inning
ATLANTA – The Braves are making a habit of winning games in their last at-bat. They’ve done it more than any team in the majors.
Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer off Cory Gearrin in the 11th inning to lift Atlanta to a 5-3 win over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night.
The homer, the third of the game for Atlanta, was Kemp’s seventh game-ending shot of his career.
Matt Adams hit a two-run homer and Tyler Flowers also homered off Jeff Samardzija.
It was the Braves’ 12th win in their final at-bat, the most in the majors.
“Like I keep saying, they never
quit,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker. “They just grind through games. They keep coming at you.”
Gearrin (1-2) walked Nick Markakis with one out before Kemp’s homer barely cleared the right field wall. He found a circle of teammates waiting to celebrate at home plate.
Braves Sean Newcomb, who gave up one run in six innings, was denied his first win when Hunter Pence’s homer off Braves closer Jim Johnson tied the game at 3-3 in the ninth. It was Johnson’s fifth blown save in 18 chances.
Luke Jackson (2-0) pitched the 11th for the win.
The Giants, who snapped a sevengame losing streak by beating the Braves 6-3 on Tuesday night, have lost 10 of 12. They have not won two straight road games since May 19-20 at St. Louis and they fell to 1-6 on their eight-game road trip.
“It’s another tough loss for us,” said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. “It’s our third comeback on the road trip and we’ve lost them all.”
Adams has flourished in what was intended to be a fill-in role at first base while Freddie Freeman recovered from a fractured left wrist. Freeman said Wednesday he plans to play third base when healthy to keep Adams’ bat in the lineup.
Brandon Belt’s triple into the right-field corner off Newcomb drove in Pence for a 1-0 lead in the second.