The Sports Report: Dodger rally falls just short in loss to Atlanta Braves

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Jack Harris: The Dodgers tried to downplay the significance of their marquee matchup against the Atlanta Braves this weekend.

They sidestepped speculation about the series being a potential postseason preview between the National League’s top teams.

But if Thursday night was any indication, these four games might not be the last the teams play against each other this season.

If there was any doubt they were on an October collision course, a dramatic 8-7 Braves win at Chavez Ravine all but confirmed it.

What seemed destined to be a blowout early turned into a star-studded, back-and-forth, crowd-stirring thrill ride — one with dueling blows from MVP frontrunners Mookie Betts and Ronald Acuña Jr., a late Dodgers comeback bid, and plenty of reminders about why these clubs have separated themselves from the rest of the league.

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As Dodgers pull away in standings, postseason pitching decisions start to take priority

Dodgers box score

All MLB box scores

NL WEST STANDINGS

Dodgers, 83-50
San Francisco, 70-64, 13.5 GB
Arizona, 69-65, 14.5 GB
San Diego, 62-73, 22 GB
Colorado, 49-84, 34 GB

WILD-CARD STANDINGS
top three teams qualify

Philadelphia, 74-59
Chicago, 71-62
San Francisco, 70-64

Arizona, 69-65, 1 GB
Cincinnati, 69-66, 1.5 GB
Miami, 67-67, 3 GB

For full standings, go here

ANGELS

From Steve Henson: The problem with the Angels returning items purchased a month ago is not so much that they only got back 50 cents on the dollar. It’s that they didn’t get back the players they forked over in trades.

So while they saved $2.427 million when the Cleveland Guardians claimed starter Lucas Giolito and reliever Reynaldo López off waivers Thursday, the two highly regarded minor league prospects they sent to the Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline for them will remain on the South Side.

Four Angels players placed on waivers were claimed. The Guardians also grabbed reliever Matt Moore, saving the Angels $1.3 million, and the Cincinnati Reds claimed outfielder Hunter Renfroe, saving the Angels $2.1 million.

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All MLB box scores

AL WEST STANDINGS

Seattle, 76-57
Houston, 77-58
Texas, 75-58, 1 GB
Angels, 64-70, 12.5 GB
Oakland, 39-95, 37.5 GB

WILD-CARD STANDINGS
top three teams qualify

Tampa Bay, 82-52
Houston, 77-58
Texas, 75-58

Toronto, 73-61, 2.5 GB
Boston, 69-65, 6.5 GB
New York, 65-69, 10.5 GB
Angels, 64-70, 11.5 GB
Cleveland, 64-70, 11.5 GB

For full standings, go here

RAMS

From Gary Klein: Cooper Kupp’s injury woes continue.

Kupp, coming off a season-ending ankle injury, was sidelined most of training camp and the preseason because of a hamstring injury. He practiced three times last week, including two joint workouts with the Denver Broncos.

But Thursday, Kupp did not practice after suffering what coach Sean McVay described as a muscle strain. McVay said it was accurate to call it a setback for the 2021 offensive player of the year.

Does McVay expect Kupp to be available for the Sept. 10 opener at Seattle?

“We’re taking it a day at a time,” he said.

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USC FOOTBALL

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Before he was USC’s “First Avenger,” Tackett Curtis was the first pick in almost every family pick-up game.

In Many, La., a town of fewer than 3,000 people about 20 miles away from the Texas border, there’s sports and there’s hunting. The Curtises aren’t into the latter, which meant older brothers Gunner and Carson regularly assembled their friends in their parents’ activity room for whatever game they could cook up that day. From football to Wiffle Ball, Tackett, four years younger than his closest brother, was never far. The kid who was eight years younger than some of his competitors did more than just tag along.

“He was one of the first picks all throughout growing up,” Gunner said. “He was never like, ‘Oh, I’m the youngest brother, I’m not supposed to be able to score.’ It was like, ‘I’m supposed to be able to tackle everybody, I’m supposed to be able to score on everybody.’”

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UCLA FOOTBALL

From Ben Bolch: The coach who likes to parse questions no longer is giving anyone a hard time.

The coach who often interrupts is patiently waiting for everyone to finish.

The coach who usually engages only on football topics is open to discussing anything.

His dog’s torn knee ligament. His player’s pet alligator. His own attention deficit disorder.

Where did this guy come from? Chipper Chip Kelly seems like a different species than the Machine Gun Kelly who over his first five seasons mowed down reporters’ questions if they didn’t meet his liking. Now the coach known for being dismissive, claiming he’s just trying to have a good Whatever Day of the Week, clearly is having a good Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

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LAKERS

From Dan Woike: Austin Reaves was backstage at the Manila Sneaker Expo, unsure of what he was about to walk out on stage and see. As a member on Team USA and as a Laker abroad, he’d felt the love from the fans in the crowd. But this? He wasn’t ready for this.

More than 6,000 people packed into a room to hear him talk about his first signature shoe, Rigorer’s the AR1, but really, they were just there for him. They asked him questions about basketball and his personal life, and when he said he wasn’t single, they chanted “Taylor Swift” — a reference to a ridiculous rumor from earlier in the offseason.

“Damn,” Reaves said he thought to himself. “I’m actually known.”

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SOCCER

From Kevin Baxter: Julie Ertz, a two-time world champion who played in three women’s World Cups without losing a game, announced her retirement from soccer Thursday.

“Representing this country on the national team has been the greatest honor,” Ertz, 31, said in a statement posted on social media. “To play for the USWNT means you chase greatness every day. I hope I was able to leave an impact that reflects that.”

Ertz played her final seven club games for Angel City this spring as part of her preparation for the World Cup, scoring her final professional goal in her second game with the club. She finishes her career having played in 122 games with the national team and 102 in the NWSL with the Chicago Red Stars and Angel City, making two FIFPro world best XI teams, two World Cup all-tournament teams and as a two-time U.S. Soccer player of the year.

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What do tickets cost to see Lionel Messi and Inter Miami play LAFC? Try $36,000

SPARKS

From Annika Johnson: Despite a Sparks fourth-quarter rally with three-pointers from Nneka Ogwumike and Rae Burrell, they lost 72-61 to the Seattle Storm at Crypto.com Arena Thursday and tightened their playoff race to a tie with the Chicago Sky for the last spot.

It was about a ten-point game through the third quarter until a late Sparks rally of three-pointers from Ogwumike and Burrell with less than six minutes left shrunk the Storm’s lead to 62-59. But a three-pointer from Kia Nurse with one minute left made it a ten-point game again and sealed the Storm’s win.

Ogwumike had five of her seven defensive rebounds in the first to slow the Storm who blitzed out to an early 22-12 lead. She led the Sparks with 11 points.

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HORSE RACING

From John Cherwa: As the summer comes to a close, and those who cling to the idea put all their white dresswear back in the closet, it becomes more apparent that stylish Del Mar has firmly established itself as the lone oasis in the arid California horse racing landscape.

The Stronach Group announced it is closing Golden Gate Fields, likely sometime in the middle of next year. The hope is that the horses will move south to Santa Anita to try to save the historic and picturesque track that needs to increase to four-days-a-week racing for any chance at long-term survival.

Los Alamitos, which runs a year-round quarter horse and low-quality thoroughbred meeting, still exists because of the conviction and commitment of 87-year-old owner Ed Allred. There is no one lined up to take his place.

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THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1946 — Patty Berg wins the U.S. Women’s Open golf title by beating Betty Jameson in the final round.

1971 — John Newcombe becomes the first top-seeded man to lose in the first round of the U.S. Open when he loses to Jan Kodes, 2-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-3.

1972 — American chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer beats Russian champion Boris Spassky 12.5-8.5 in Reykjavik, Iceland; most publicized world title match ever played; Fischer 1st American to win title.

1973 — George Foreman knocks out Jose Roman at 2:00 of the first round in Tokyo to retain the heavyweight title.

1977 — Renee Richards, the 43-year-old transsexual who fought for more than a year for the right to play in the women’s singles of a major tennis championship, is beaten in the first round by Virginia Wade, 6-1, 6-4. Tracy Austin, at the age of 14 years, eight months, 20 days, becomes the youngest player to play in the U.S. Open, defeating Heidi Eisterlehner, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, in the first round. Austin’s mark is broken in 1979 by 14-year-old Kathy Horvath.

1984 — Willie Totten of Mississippi Valley State passes for a Division I-AA record 536 yards and nine touchdowns in a 86-0 rout of Kentucky State. Jerry Rice catches 17 passes for 294 yards and five touchdowns and breaks his own Division I-AA record for receiving yards.

1987 — Fifteen-year-old Michael Chang beats Paul McNamee, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, to become the youngest man to win a match at the U.S. Open.

1989 — Chris Evert becomes the first 100-match winner in 108 years of U.S. tennis championships. Evert, playing her final U.S. Open, beat Patricia Tarabini 6-2, 6-4.

1993 — Goran Ivanisevic and Daniel Nestor play the longest tie-break in the history of the U.S. Open (38 points). Ivanisevic wins the first-round match 6-4, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (18).

1998 — Mark McGwire breaks Hack Wilson’s 68-year-old National League record for home runs in a season, hitting his 56th and 57th in the St. Louis Cardinals’ victory over the Florida Marlins.

2004 — Sexual assault charge against Lakers star Kobe Bryant is dropped by the Eagle County District Attorney’s offices in Colorado after the victim decides not to participate.

2007 — Appalachian State 34, No. 5 Michigan 32. Julian Rauch’s 24-yard field goal with 26 seconds left puts the Mountaineers ahead of the Wolverines and Corey Lynch blocks a field goal in the final seconds to seal one of college football’s biggest upsets.

2012 — Eureka (Ill.) College quarterback Sam Durley passes for 736 yards in a 62-55 victory over Knox to break the NCAA single-game passing record. Durley completes 34 of 52 passes and throws for five touchdowns, including two in the final two minutes as the Red Devils close the Division III game with 17 unanswered points.

2019 — Justin Verlander, Houston Astros, strikes out 14 batters as he throws his third career no-hitter in a 2-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

2021 — Cristiano Ronaldo breaks the world record for goals scores in men’s international football with his 110th and 111th goals for Portugal in a 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over the Republic of Ireland.

—Compiled by the Associated Press