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• MLB: Acuna hits 40th home run to join exclusive 40-40 club in Braves' win

  Ronald Acuna Jr. joined an exclusive club with his 40th homer of the season and the Atlanta Braves defeated the Washington Nationals 9-6 on Friday.

  Acuna’s 40th home run came off starter Patrick Corbin in the first inning for the 34th leadoff homer of his career and eighth this season.

  He joins Alphonso Soriano (2006), Alex Rodriguez (1998), Barry Bonds (1996) and Jose Canseco (1988) as the only players with 40 homers and 40 stolen bases in a single season.

  The Atlanta superstar has hit safely in 14 of his last 15 games, with eight homers and 15 RBIs during that span.

  Braves starter Charlie Morton walked the two batters in the first inning and left due to right index finger discomfort after throwing 24 pitches.

  He will have an MRI on Saturday but hopes to be ready for the postseason.

  Austin Riley hit a two-run homer and Marcell Ozuna added a three-run shot to increase the Braves’ major league-leading home run total to 296.

   

  Twins hold off Angels to clinch AL Central

  The Minnesota Twins clinched their third AL Central title in five seasons with an 8-6 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

  Alex Kirillof homered and Pablo Lopez pitched six strong innings as Minnesota held on in the ninth for their 82nd win, assuring it of being a division champion with an over .500 record.

  The Twins locked up their 15th trip to the postseason since the Washington Senators moved to Minnesota in 1961 and became the Twins.

  The Twins have lost 18 straight playoff games since their last win in 2004.

   

  Judge hits 3 home runs in Yankees’ win

  Aaron Judge became the first Yankees player to hit three home runs in a game twice in one season in a 7-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

  Judge hit a three-run homer in the third, a two-run shot in the fifth inning off starter Brandon Pfaadt and went deep again in the seventh off Slade Cecconi.

  Judge, who had his first career three-homer game against Washington on August 23, is the sixth player in franchise history with multiple three-home run games.

  The others are Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Alex Rodriguez, Tony Lazzeri and Bobby Murcer.

   

• 'The numbers don't lie' – Djokovic hailed as greatest of all time by Lopez

  Novak Djokovic is just one grand slam away from becoming the most decorated player in history and Feliciano Lopez believes "the numbers don't lie" when it comes to debating tennis' greatest.

  Serbia's Djokovic equalled Margaret Court's record of 24 grand slam triumphs after defeating Daniil Medvedev in straight sets at the US Open earlier in September.

  That made the world number one, aged 36 years and 111 days at the time, the oldest winner of the men's singles title at the US Open.

  It was also Djokovic's third major crown of 2023, winning a trio of grand slams in a calendar year for the fourth time in his career,

  Davis Cup tournament director Lopez, who had previously hailed Djokovic for featuring at the "unique" competition, suggested no one in history compares with the 36-year-old.

  Asked by Stats Perform if Djokovic was the GOAT – greatest of all time – Lopez said: "According to the numbers, yes. The numbers don't lie.

  "If you look at the stats, Novak is the best. So, I mean, what can I say?

  "I think the numbers are very clear, not only by the fact that he's won 24 slams, but also there are other numbers and other statistics that clearly show he's the best player who ever played the sport.

  "According to the numbers, I cannot say anything different."

  Djokovic triumphed at the Australian Open, French Open and US Open, only missing out on a clean sweep of the majors after losing the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz.

  As for Djokovic's chances for more major success going forward, Lopez believes the sky is still the limit.

  "It's very difficult to predict honestly, but as long as he's feeling physically strong I think it's clear that his will in the last three or four years is to keep winning grand slams," Lopez added.  

  "If he is able to sustain his physical condition for the next two years, I can fairly say that he can win, I don't know, two, three or four, but it's very difficult to say one number because this year, for example, he could have won all four.

  "He won in Australia, he won in Paris, he was very close to winning Wimbledon because of that second-set tie-break, and he just won the US Open.

  "You ask me how many grand slams you think he will win in the future when he just won three of them in the same year!

  "I don't know, maybe three or four more is fair to say, but it's very difficult to predict."

• MLB: Margot's hit in 9th caps rally as Rays edge Angels

  Manuel Margot singled to cap a two-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Tampa Bay Rays to a 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday.

  Trailing by one entering the ninth, the Rays rallied against Angels closer Carlos Estevez.

  Pinch-hitter Harold Ramirez and Yandy Diaz opened the inning with singles and runners were at the corners after Curtis Mead’s fly ball.

  Isaac Paredes singled home the tying run and after Randy Arozarena struck out and Josh Lowe walked to load the bases, Margot flared a single to right to win it.

  Tampa Bay already holds the top AL wild card and pulled within 1 ½ games of AL East-leading Baltimore after the Orioles’ 5-2 loss in Cleveland.

  The late rally kept the Rays from losing consecutive games to the Angels, who stopped a six-game skid with an 8-3 win on Wednesday.

  Tampa Bay starter Zach Eflin failed in his bid to become the AL’s first 16-game winner, allowing two runs and six hits in five innings.

   

  Cole sharp as Yankees cool Blue Jays

  Gerrit Cole boosted his Cy Young Award resume with eight stellar innings and the New York Yankees snapped the Toronto Blue Jays’ five-game winning streak, 5-3.

  Cole retired the first 16 batters and allowed a run and two hits in his longest start since pitching a two-hit shutout against Minnesota on April 16.

  He struck out nine without a walk and lowered his AL-best ERA to 2.75.

  Jake Bauers gave Cole all the offense he needed with a three-run homer in the first inning.

  Toronto is one-half game ahead of Texas and Seattle for the second of three AL wild-card spots.

   

  Acuna, Olson power Braves

  Matt Olson hit his major league-leading 53rd home run and Ozzie Albies homered for one of his four hits as the Atlanta Braves rolled to a 10-3 win over the Washington Nationals.

  Atlanta totalled 18 hits with every member of the lineup reaching base at least once.

  The Braves need only two wins in their final nine games to reach 100 wins for the second straight season.

  Olson’s solo homer in the eighth inning gave him 132 RBIs, matching Gary Sheffield in 2003 for the most by a Braves player since the club moved to Atlanta in 1966.

  Ronald Acuna Jr. tripled and scored in the third inning for his 140th run, making him the first player to reach that total since Alex Rodriguez had 143 in 2007.