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NL DIVISION SERIES: BRAVES VS DODGERSOctober 8, 2018Matt KempAtlanta, Georgia - pregame 4 Q. Matt, at this stage of your career, how are you taking in this playoff experience maybe differently than you would have earlier? MATT KEMP: It's a little bit different. You know, I'm not playing every single game, but it's just good to be back here, be in a situation where I've got a chance to do some big things and just be back in the playoffs again. It's fun, even just watching, to be ready to try to make an impact in any situation that I can. Q. The last time we spoke, you mentioned how Doc a lot of times will make switches relatively early in the game. What's kind of your routine to get warm and maybe who do you go to for some guidance about that? MATT KEMP: Chase was one of the guys that I went to, you know, because he's been in a similar situation. But you got so many guys on the bench that can make a big impact. I mean you see, like for instance, yesterday, Dozier came off the bench, get a hit, and then you got Joc come off the bench get a hit. Guys are staying ready and staying hot just in case something happens because you never know when you're going to come in the game. Q. What do you remember hearing about Ronald Acuna last year when you were here and how do you see the kid living up to the hype? MATT KEMP: I remember watching him play a little bit in Spring Training last year. I mean, great athlete, heard a lot of good things about him. And this year I think he'll probably win Rookie of the Year. He did a lot of great things, and if he stays healthy, he's going to be one of the great players in the game. Q. Do you remember your last year was Justin Turner's first year with the Dodgers. What do you remember about the impression he made and now that you've come back, how important is he on the field, in the clubhouse? MATT KEMP: I think my last year he was -- I think he had a pretty good -- I think he had a really good year. I think he came off the bench, and then he started playing a little bit more, and he made a great impact. And then to now, he's one of the best hitters in the game. And just by him being healthy, you know, coming back in the middle of the season from a broken hand, it showed how much our lineup needed him and how much more smoother it goes when he's in our lineup. So he's one of the guys that is the backbone of our lineup. Of course we need him in the lineup. And he makes a great impact. Q. Matt, have you ever been on a team before where everyone seems to buy into the platoon? It's almost like you have two teams out there. But everyone seems to buy into it. Have ou ever seen this before in a clubhouse? MATT KEMP: Honestly, we have no choice but to buy into it. (Laughs). It's been working. Like you said, we got guys on the bench that could go somewhere and play every single day and make an impact. But we're trying to win a championship, and every guy is on the same page, and our own common goal is to win a championship. And everybody is staying ready. We start getting ready the second, third inning, just in case something happens. You just never know. There might be a pitcher that comes in and Doc might have a feeling about putting somebody else in. You just gotta stay ready. And C.T., me, we hadn't played in a couple days, but we stayed ready. C.T. got that big hit yesterday. We just got so many dangerous guys in our lineup and even on the bench. So it's pretty cool to see that. Q. Matt, could you just talk a little bit about last night's game when you guys fell down 5-0 and just the talk in the dugout and how you guys just believed that you could still win that game? MATT KEMP: Oh, yeah. For sure. I mean, like I said, with the lineup that we have, we're never out of any games. The confidence that we have, we're never out of any games. We've been playing really good baseball, and we knew when we got down 5-0 in the second inning, there was a lot of time left to make up. We gotta chip away, and that's what we did. Walker had that one tough inning, but after that he shut them down. So I mean we're never out of any games, no matter how far we get down. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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