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#SportsReport: Braves Trim Phillies' Lead...NCAA Adopts Recruiting Reforms

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MLB

The Atlanta Braves have shaved another game off the Philadelphia Phillies' lead in the NL East.

Charlie Culberson belted a three-run homer and Mike Foltynewicz worked into the sixth inning of the Braves' eighth victory in 10 games, an 8-3 dismantling of the Nationals in Washington. Tyler Flowers and Ronald Acuna Jr. added two-run blasts in the fourth off Tommy Milone, who was torched for seven runs over six innings.

Foltynewicz allowed one earned run and six hits over 5 2/3s to move to 9-7.

Flowers had three hits as the Braves climbed within a half-game of the first-place Phillies.

Bryce Harper homered for the Nats, who still trail the NL East by six games.

The Phillies dropped the rubber match of their three-game set in Phoenix as Patrick Corbin struck out nine while allowing four hits over 7 1/3 innings of the Diamondbacks' 6-0 shutout. David Peralta went 4-for-5 and opened the scoring with a two-run triple in the third. Eduardo Escobar had three RBIs, including a two-run double in the seventh.

Phillies starter Vince Velasquez was reached for four runs and six hits in just four innings of work.

The Diamondbacks took over first place in the NL West by a half-game when the Dodgers absorbed a 3-2 loss to the Athletics. Los Angeles erased a 2-0 deficit before Khris Davis hit into a run-scoring fielder's choice in the eighth inning. Mike Fiers was sharp in his Oakland debut, allowing one run and four hits over 5 1/3 innings to help the A's pull within five games of the AL West-leading Astros.

Checking out Wednesday's other major league action:

Milwaukee's 8-4 win over San Diego gets the Brewers within 1 ½ games of the NL Central-leading Cubs. Jesus Aguilar, Travis Shaw and Eric Thames hit consecutive first-inning homers to ruin Brett Kennedy's big league debut. Orlando Arcia and Christian Yelich also homered to back Jhoulys Chacin, who gave up three runs over six innings to move to 11-4.

The Royals crushed the Cubs, 9-0 as Heath Fillmyer allowed three singles over seven innings for his first major league win. Anthony Rizzo drilled Fillmyer with a line drive on the left foot on his third pitch, but Fillmyer stuck around and didn't allow another hit until David Bote and Tommy La Stella singled with one out in the seventh inning. Adalberto Mondesi and Drew Butera drove in three runs apiece in the rout.

The Red Sox earned their sixth win in a row as Xander Bogaerts drove in three runs to lead a 10-5 romp over the Blue Jays. Rafael Devers and Mitch Moreland each had two RBIs, and J.D. Martinez went 3-for-4 with a run-scoring double. Devers smacked a two-run homer in his return from the disabled list to help Boston maintain its nine-game lead in the AL East. The series concludes Thursday at 7:07 p.m.

Luis Severino picked up his first win since July 7 and Giancarlo Stanton hit his first grand slam in four years as the Yankees knocked off the White Sox, 7-3 to complete a three-game sweep. Severino spotted Chicago a 2-0 lead before improving to 15-5. Aaron Hicks also homered for the Yanks, who bounced back nicely in Chicago after being swept in a four-game series at Boston. New York hosts Texas Thursday at 7:05 p.m.

The Indians' lead in the AL Central is back to 10 games over Minnesota after Francisco Lindor's three-run, walk-off homer in the ninth pushed Cleveland past the Twins, 5-2. Lindor's 29th home run of the season came a half-inning after Miguel Sano belted a game-tying blast. Mike Clevenger received a no-decision after holding the Twins to one run and five hits over seven innings.

Chris Archer picked up his first victory in two starts since joining the Pirates, allowing two runs and five hits over five innings of a 4-3 victory at Colorado. Archer blanked the Rockies until David Dahl hit a two-run homer in the fourth. Corey Dickerson and Colin Moran each had two hits and an RBI as the Pirates pushed the Rockies three games off the NL West lead, pending the outcome of the Dodgers-A's contest.

Matt Carpenter slammed his NL-leading 31st home run and Yadier Molina added a solo shot and three RBIs to send the Cardinals to a 7-1 win at Miami. Carpenter's blast broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning of the Redbirds' third straight win. John Gant gave up a run and two hits over six innings before the St. Louis bullpen finished a three-hitter.

The Mariners' free-fall has continued with their seventh loss in nine games as Marco Gonzales was torched for career highs of seven runs and 12 hits in an 11-7 setback at Texas. Joey Gallo homered twice and drove in four runs to support Yovani Gallardo, who allowed three hits and two runs over six innings to win his fourth straight start. Mike Zunino hit two homers for the Mariners, who scored four times in the seventh to get within 7-6.

The Angels were 6-0 winners over Detroit behind Jaime Barria, who allowed five hits over 5 2/3 innings. Kole Calhoun's solo shot in the first put Los Angeles ahead before Justin Upton and Albert Pujols added round-trippers. Pujols has 632 home runs, 28 behind Willie Mays for fifth on the all-time list.

Jacob deGrom picked up his first victory in nearly two months and received rare run support in the Mets' 8-0 rout of the Reds. DeGrom struck out 10, and scattered four hits over six shutout innings that lowered his major league-leading ERA to 1.77. Brandon Nimmo and Austin Jackson each had three hits and three RBIs as New York took the rubber match of the three-game set. The Mets have the night off as they head to Miami to take on the Marlins Friday at 7:10 p.m.

The Orioles pulled out a 5-4 win over the Rays on Trey Mancini's two-run double in the ninth inning. Tim Beckham, Adam Jones and Mark Trumbo homered for Baltimore. Carlos Gomez doubled home a tiebreaking run in the eighth before the Rays dropped back to .500.

Nationals-Herrera:

Washington Nationals right-hander Kelvin Herrera has been placed on the 10-day disabled list with a right rotator cuff impingement.

Nationals’ manager Dave Martinez said the problem is inflammation, stressing that there is no structural damage. Herrera was taken out of Tuesday's 3-1 loss to Atlanta after surrendering a tiebreaking, two-run triple in the ninth inning.

Washington already is without closer Sean Doolittle, who is on the DL with a foot injury.

HORSE RACING

The New York Racing Association announced it will add a new name to the Saratoga Walk of Fame.

The newest member will be trainer Bob Baffert. Baffert has won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer four times in his career.

He may be most well known as the trainer for the last two Triple Crown winners -- American Pharaoh in 2015, and Justify in 2018. This makes him the second trainer ever to win the Triple Crown twice- behind trainer James Fitzsimmons- who trained Gallant Fox in 1930 and Omaha in 1935.

The induction will take place on Friday night August 24, the night prior to the Travers Stakes.

NCAA

College basketball players who go undrafted by the NBA will be allowed to return to school and play as part of sweeping NCAA reforms in the wake of a corruption scandal.

The rule changes include allowing players to work with an agent while declaring for the NBA draft. College players would have to request an evaluation from the NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee on their draft prospects. The rules would also allow elite high school players to work with an agent if the NBA removes its one-and-done rule. The agent would have to be certified by the NCAA no later than August 2020. Until then, agents certified by the NBA players' union would qualify.

The changes reflect the recommendations made in April by the Rice Commission, led by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, was formed in response to an FBI investigation into payments from shoe companies to coaches for steering players to certain schools.

NFL

The Carolina Panthers have signed offensive lineman Tyler Larsen to a two-year contract extension through the 2020 season. Financial terms of the contract were not immediately available.

Larsen has played in 23 games with 15 starts over the last two seasons with Carolina, working at center and guard. Larsen is viewed by coach Ron Rivera as the team's long-term replacement for Ryan Kalil, who has already said 2018 will be his final NFL season.

The extension comes after the Panthers lost starting offensive linemen Daryl Williams and Amini Silatolu to injuries in training camp.

In other NFL news:

Browns rookie receiver Antonio Callaway had bullets and gun parts in his car when he was cited for marijuana possession, according to dash-camera video obtained by TMZ. The video shows an officer asking Callaway to step out of his vehicle after the officer smells marijuana following a routine traffic stop. Callaway cooperates, and later one officer tells his partner that he became "real nervous" when he found the bullets and a strap for a Glock handgun in the vehicle. There is no mention of the ammunition or gun parts in the report filed by Strongsville, Ohio police.

The 49ers will honor former tight end Dwight Clark with a season-long celebration of his life that will include unveiling a statue of "The Catch." All 49ers players will wear 87 helmet decals throughout the season, and Levi's Stadium field bunting will pay tribute to Clark during all 49ers games. Clark was suffering from ALS when he died in June at age 61.

The wife of Los Angeles Chargers owner Alex Spanos, died Tuesday night of undisclosed causes at age 92. Faye Spanos married Alex Spanos in 1948, and they raised four children in Stockton, California. Alex Spanos built a billion-dollar fortune in real estate and construction during their marriage, and he purchased a majority share in the San Diego Chargers in 1984.

WNBA

The L.A. Sparks edged the N.Y. Liberty 82-81 and Connecticut defeated Dallas 101-92

NBA

Devin Harris is returning to the Dallas Mavericks for the third time after signing a $2.4 million free agent contract, six months after being sent to Denver at the trade deadline.

Harris played with the Mavs from 2004-2008 and was brought back as a free agent in the summer of 2013.

The 35-year-old Harris has averaged 11.1 points, 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals in his 917 career games, including 446 starts.

Also in the NBA:

Two people familiar with the situation say free-agent center Jahlil Okafor has agreed to a two-year contract with the New Orleans Pelicans that includes a team option in Year 2. Philadelphia made 6-foot-11 Okafor the third overall pick out of Duke in the 2015 NBA draft, but his production fell considerably last season.

NASSAR

Attorneys for imprisoned sports doctor Larry Nassar have appealed his other sentence for sexually assaulting women and girls who sought treatment for injuries.

The Lansing State Journal reports that the former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor's attorneys filed a motion in Eaton County Circuit Court seeking a new judge and sentencing hearing for Nassar on three sexual assault charges he pleaded guilty to in November.

They recently made a similar request in a separate case in Ingham County, where dozens of Nassar's accusers spoke during a televised sentencing earlier this year of the harm he caused them. The judges in both cases sentenced Nassar to a minimum of 40 years behind bars.

Nassar also has a pending appeal of his 60-year federal prison sentence for possessing child pornography.

GOLF

Australian golfer Jarrod Lyle has died at 36 following a long struggle with cancer.

He returned to the U.S. PGA Tour in 2013 after apparently having beaten cancer for a second time. But the illness returned and Lyle last week announced his decision to forego further treatment and enter palliative care.

© 2018 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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