The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THE HOT CORNER
1 AUTO RACING: Valtteri Bottas continued a fantastic weekend as he won the sprint at the Italian Grand Prix on a miserable Saturday afternoon for Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, who saw title rival Max Verstappen take pole position and extend his lead in the standings.
GOLF: Francesco Laporta of Italy 2 shot 3-under 69 to take a onestroke lead after three rounds of the BMW PGA Championship on Saturday as Bernd Wiesberger moved closer to sealing a place in Europe’s Ryder Cup team. Nineteen players were within five shots of the 264th-ranked Laporta, who was 14 under overall, heading into the final round of the flagship event on the European Tour.
NASCAR: Noah Gragson held onto 3 the lead after a restart with seven laps to go and held off Justin Haley on Saturday to win his second consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series race. Gragson, driving in the race with JR Motorsports owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., ended a 49race winless streak last weekend at Darlington. Just one race remains before the field is set for the 12-driver postseason.
FOOTBALL: Hall of Fame center 4
Mick Tingelhoff, who started 240 consecutive games at a bruising position for the Minnesota Vikings and played in four Super Bowls, has died. He was 81. No cause was given. Undrafted in 1962 out of Nebraska, he played 17 years.
SOCCER: The Washington Spirit
5 of the National Women’s Soccer League were forced to forfeit their scheduled Saturday match against OL Reign because the Spirit violated the league’s medical protocols, the league said. The Spirit had a COVID-19 outbreak last week, with four players testing positive, forcing the team’s game against the Portland Thorns to be postponed.
The Braves entered Saturday 10 games over .500 at 75-65, which had them 4½ games ahead of the second-place Phillies. Their success against the bottom of the National League East certainly has helped.
In the past three seasons, the Braves’ success in divisional play was pivotal to their three consecutive NL East crowns. In 2021, it’s been a rockier ride, but the team has racked up division wins in the second half.
The Braves are 15-17 against the Mets and Phillies (they’re 7-9 against the latter). But the Braves are also 24-12 against the Nationals and Marlins, helping separate themselves from the Phillies and Mets.
While they’re 11-8 against Washington, the Mets have a losing record against the Marlins (7-8). The Phillies likewise have dominated the Nationals (13-6), but they’re just 8-8 against Miami.
Since the trade deadline, when the Nationals and Marlins weakened their rosters by trading away veteran talent, the Braves have taken advantage. They went 7-2 against the Nationals in the second half. They’re 4-0 against Miami with two headto-head games remaining this weekend.
If the Braves and win their fourth consecutive division title, their success against the Nationals and Marlins in the second half will be an instru
mental reason why.
Other notes from Saturday:
■ Manager Brian Snitker said righty Touki Toussaint is slated to start his next turn, which is Tuesday against the Rockies following Monday’s off-day. Toussaint’s season has taken a downward turn in his past two outings, in
which he logged only three innings each time.
■ Third baseman Austin Riley continues to build his MVP case. He’s among the top 10 in the NL in about every major offensive cate- gory. His 266 total bases are tied for most in the NL. His 151 hits are tied for fourthmost, while his 43 multi-hit games rank fifth. His .300
average is seventh. His 29 homers are tied for seventh. His 88 RBIs rank sixth and his .902 OPS is ninth.
There are few hitters in MLB who can match Riley’s productivity. It might not result in the Braves having MVP winners in back-to-back seasons, but Riley’s surge has them positioned for another postseason berth and has
emphatically answered the question of whether he’s their long-term answer at the posi- tion. Riley, second baseman Ozzie Albies and outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. are all under 25 years old, giving the Braves a powerful nucleus to build their lineup around.
■ Braves pitching prospect Bryce Elder has impressed at Triple-A Gwinnett, posting a 2.78 ERA in four starts. In 22 starts across three levels this season, the right-hander has a 2.91 ERA while holding opponents to a .202 average.
Elder has thrown his name into the mix for 2022. It’s been a rapid ascension for the Texas product the Braves drafted in the fifth round last summer.
“It’s been really good,” Snitker said of the reports on Elder. “I asked (general manager) Alex (Anthopoulos) a couple weeks ago because I kept seeing this kid’s name. I dug in on him a little bit. He’s a college guy from a big school. Sounds like a really good sign, where we got him and all. I’ve heard some really good things about this guy. It’s good he’s in Triple-A and pitching well because you never know what might happen down the road.”
■ The Braves won Friday despite not hitting a home run. That’s a rare occurrence: They’re 9-22 in games without hitting a homer. Their nine victories without homering are tied for the fewest in baseball with Washington (9-39), Cleveland (9-29) and Minnesota (9-23). Each of those teams has a losing record overall.