Acuña makes history, Wild-card races tighten, Clippers lose five first-round picks
Acuña makes history!
This is The Sports Reset for Thursday September 3rd
In MLB, the Atlanta Braves shut out the Washington Nationals, 9 to 0. Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a three-run homer to become the fastest player ever to reach 200 career homers and 200 steals, getting there in 904 games. Sean Murphy’s three-run shot had broken a scoreless tie one inning earlier. The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Cleveland Guardians, 11 to 0, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in a season-high five runs and Dylan Cease delivered six scoreless innings, pulling Toronto within one-and-a-half games of Cleveland for the final American League wild card. The Arizona Diamondbacks edged the Philadelphia Phillies, 1 to 0, on James McCann’s eighth-inning homer, moving Arizona half a game ahead in the National League wild-card race. The St. Louis Cardinals rallied past the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8 to 6 in 10 innings, with Thomas Saggese’s go-ahead infield single starting a three-run 10th.
Looking ahead, in college football, the Colorado Buffaloes visit the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for both teams’ season opener. Georgia Tech rushed for 320 yards in last season’s meeting, but Alberto Mendoza now replaces Haynes King at quarterback, with Michigan transfer Justice Haynes debuting in the backfield. In MLB, the Blue Jays and Guardians settle their series with José Soriano facing Tanner Bibee in a game carrying direct wild-card weight. The Boston Red Sox open a series at the Baltimore Orioles while holding the American League’s second wild-card spot, and the Cardinals try to complete a sweep of the Dodgers with Tarik Skubal starting for Los Angeles. Later in the week, the Braves and Phillies begin an important series Friday, followed Sunday by No. 24 Louisville Cardinals against No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels in Nashville. Beyond the scoreboard, the NBA found that the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented the salary cap, costing the franchise five first-round picks and a 30 million dollar fine, while owner Steve Ballmer received a one-year suspension and Kawhi Leonard was fined 700,000 dollars without being suspended.
