As September approaches, the Atlanta Braves are locked up with the Philadelphia Phillies in a pennant race. The Braves have won their division title every season since 1991, with the exception of the 1994 strike year. Here's how the Braves have fared each year as they entered September, along with some key performers in the final month (September and October tabulated together if necessary):

1991
Final: 94-68 (.580), +1 over Los Angeles
Entering September: 72-57(.558), +1 over Los Angeles
September: 22-11 (.667)

It's not remembered like the 1993 division race, but Atlanta's first division title was also a great race. The Braves entered September one game ahead of the Dodgers and both teams went 22-11 the rest of the way, with the Braves clinching on the next-to-last day when John Smoltz beat Houston 5-2 and San Francisco's Trevor Wilson pitched a two-hit shutout to beat Los Angeles.

The biggest win came on Oct. 1. The Reds scored six runs in the first off Charlie Leibrandt, but the Braves rallied for a 7-6 win, capped by David Justice's two-run homer in the ninth. Instead of trailing the Dodgers by two games with four left, the Braves trailed by just one.

Smoltz, showing early indications that he would become a big-game pitcher, went 4-0, 1.57 down the stretch. Steve Avery went 4-0, 2.25 while Justice had 26 RBI and NL MVP Terry Pendleton hit .336 with 6 home runs. But a big key was closer Alejandro Pena. After Juan Berenguer went down in August, the Braves picked up Pena from the Mets and he went 2-0 with 11 saves and a 0.51 ERA in September/October.

1992
Final: 98-64 (.605), +8 over Cincinnati
Entering September: 77-52 (.597), +6½ over Cincinnati
September: 21-12 (.636)

The Braves entered September with a comfortable lead over the Reds and went 21-12 even though Smoltz, Avery and Tom Glavine combined to go just 3-8. Justice knocked in 18 runs and Pendleton hit .330 with 17 RBI.

1993
Final: 104-58 (.642), +1 over San Francisco
Entering September: 82-50 (.621), -3½ to San Francisco
September: 22-8 (.733)

Locked in an epic pennant race with the Giants, the Braves mounted a furious finish (they won 39 of their final 50 games) to rally from 10 games back on July 22 to take a four-game lead in mid-September after the Giants lost eight in a row. Ron Gant, who would knock in 27 runs in the final month, had a memorable four-game stretch from Sept. 12-15, when he drove in 15 runs.

But the Giants won 14 of their next 16 and the teams entered the final day tied for first. The Braves beat the expansion Rockies 5-3 behind Glavine while the Dodgers pounded the Giants 12-1 (remember Salomon Torres?).

Heroes down the stretch included Glavine, who went 6-1, 3.04; Maddux, who went 4-1, 1.39; Justice, who hit .295 with 24 RBI; and Fred McGriff, who came over in a midseason trade and hit .299 with 25 RBI in the final month.

1995
Final: 90-54 (.625), +21 over New York, Philadelphia
Entering September: 74-42 (.638), +16½ over Philadelphia
September: 16-12 (.571)

The Braves geared up for their only run to the World Series title by cruising through the weak NL East. Maddux clinched his fourth straight Cy Young Award by going 4-0 and allowing one run in five September starts. Ryan Klesko hit .306 with nine homers in the month.

1996
Final: 96-66 (.593), +8 over Montreal
Entering September: 84-51 (.622), +11½ over Montreal
September: 12-15 (.444)

The Braves suffered their only losing September during their reign, but had entered the month with a double-digit lead over the Expos.

1997
Final: 101-61 (.623), +9 over Florida
Entering September: 85-51 (.622), +13 over Florida
September: 16-10 (.615)

Once again, the Braves cruised to a division title, even though the Marlins won the wild card (and later knocked off the Braves in the NLCS on the way to winning the World Series).

1998
Final: 106-56 (.654), +18 over New York
Entering September: 90-48 (.652), +14 over New York
September: 16-8 (.667)

The only race the Braves were involved was beating out the Astros for the NL's best record -- they did, winning 106 games to the Astros' 102. They won 11 of their final 12 and swept the Mets the final weekend as the Mets fell one win short of the wild card. Glavine had a 1.64 ERA in the month and Smoltz went 4-0, 0.67.

1999
Final: 103-59 (.636), +6½ over New York
Entering September: 84-50 (.627), +3½ over New York
September: 19-9 (.679)

Atlanta ended up winning the division by an apparently comfortable margin, but the race was much closer than that. The Mets actually led the NL East on Aug. 22 and trailed the Braves by one game heading into Atlanta on Sept. 21 for a crucial three-game series.

Chipper Jones, who had a history of poor Septembers, cemented his MVP award by hitting four homers and knocking in seven runs as the Braves swept the Mets. He hit two solo shots in a 2-1 victory in the first game of the series and had 10 homers and 23 RBI for the month.

Kevin Millwood went 4-0, 1.43 down the stretch. Mike Remlinger and Terry Mulholland combined to go 7-1.

2000
Final: 95-67 (.586), +1 over New York
Entering September: 79-55 (.590), -½ to New York
September: 16-12 (.571)

The Braves once again locked horns with the Mets. They trailed by one-half game entering September, but took the division lead on Sept. 2 and never gave it up. They won 2 of 3 from the Mets on Sept. 18-20 and then beat the Mets on Sept. 26 to clinch the division.

Chipper Jones had another big September, hitting .370 with 17 RBI. Maddux went 5-1 with a 2.03 ERA. Glavine went 3-3 with a 1.98 ERA.

David Schoenfield is the baseball editor at ESPN.com.