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Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss reported to Truist Park on Thursday determined to avoid asking ace starter Chris Sale if he'd be available for relief duty only two days after making a start in the National League Wild Card Series opener. "I didn’t want to put him in that position because I knew that even if he was hanging, he would tell me yes," Weiss said. "So I was not going to bring it up." Weiss didn't have to worry. Sale was not going to make Weiss ask. "Literally, as soon as I stepped in my office this afternoon, he was sitting in the chair across from my desk, and he looked at me, and he said, ‘I feel amazing.’ That's what he said. I said, ‘Well, let’s talk.’" That talk led to Sale recording the final four outs of the Braves' clinching 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday night. Sale, the starter in Atlanta’s 5-3 win in Tuesday’s series opener, struck out Bryce Harper to end the eighth and closed out the win in the ninth by striking out Bryan De La Cruz and pinch-hitter Otto Kemp. "I was hoping he only had to go one, but he had to get to four outs," Weiss said. "But what a warrior, man. This guy, I’ve run out of superlatives for Chris Sale. Been talking about him all year. He’s one of the best I’ve ever been around. When you take everything into consideration; teammate, competitor, performer, work ethic, all those things, he’s as good as I’ve ever been around." Weiss said the discussion with Sale in his office did not include any mention of how pitching in relief on Thursday night could affect the left-hander's availability for a possible start on Sunday in Game 2 of the NL Division Series at the Los Angeles Dodgers. Even without the work in relief to close the Wild Card Series, four days' rest would be less than Sale was often given in the regular season, when he was 14-9 with a 2.16 ERA. Sale, 37, often was given extra rest and that helped him stay strong and record 200 strikeouts in 162 2/3 innings. When asked if Sale was an option for Sunday's game, Weiss said, "I don't know. I have no idea. We weren't even worried about that. We haven't even talked about that. We didn't look past tonight." The Braves had Sale and Tyler Mahle start the first two games against the Phillies. Mahle allowed only one run in seven innings in Wednesday's 4-3 loss in 10 innings despite suffering an abdominal pull during his pregame warmup. Weiss was concerned Mahle wouldn't be able to make the start and said Mahle felt better Thursday though still felt some discomfort. Reliever Ray Kerr allowed only one hit in 3 1/3 scoreless innings in the opener on Thursday night and likely will be part of the Braves' plans against the Dodgers. Kerr's strong performance against the Phillies was an important boost for the Braves' depleted rotation. "I was feeding off the crowd from the first pitch of the game," Kerr said. "They motivated me to keep going, throw even harder, throw even more. Every time I threw a strike, they were yelling, so I have to give it up to the fans." Left-hander Martin Perez would have been part of the postseason rotation before landing on the 15-day injured list on Sept. 24 with lower back inflammation. The Braves also have lost starting pitchers Spencer Schwellenbach, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo Lopez and Hurston Waldrep this season. Weiss said "There’s nobody on the planet that had us" in the postseason when the injuries included such projected frontline starters as Schwellenbach and Strider. "Nobody had us making the playoffs," Weiss said. "These guys have overcome so much. ... It’s guys like Ray Kerr and everybody else that step up and perform when the stakes are highest. It’s such a great group." Right-hander Bryce Elder threw off the mound on the Braves' workout on Monday before the start of the Wild Card Series and could be close to returning from the injured list after having surgery on his right knee on Sept. 7. Other possible options include AJ Smith-Shawver and JR Ritchie. Following games Saturday and Sunday in Los Angeles, the best-of-five division series shifts to Atlanta on Tuesday and Wednesday, if necessary. A fifth game, if necessary, would be played in Los Angeles.

We're running out of things to say about Ohio State superstar wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, so, instead, we'll provide pro comparisons. Speaking at his weekly press conference, Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz — whose Week 5 opponent is the No. 5-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET) — offered up a unique player comparison for Smith, specifically regarding his physical impact on a game. "There are several guys over the last 20-plus years, but the first guy that comes to mind would be [Penn State Nittany Lions running back] Saquon Barkley. Just different guys. They're at a little different level [than other players]," Ferentz, who has been Iowa's head coach since 1997, said when asked if he had a comparison for Smith. "The performance Barkley had against us [in 2017] is about as impressive as you're going to see. "I thought we knocked him out of the game. He took a hit and came back in a couple plays later. It's amazing. A really good player plus great toughness, and he's doing the same thing in the NFL." Barkley torched the Hawkeyes' defense in the two games he played against them. In 2016, Barkley rushed for 167 yards and one touchdown on 8.4 yards per carry, while also pulling off a 44-yard receiving touchdown in a 41-14 win for Penn State. Then, in the 2017 road bout that Ferentz referenced, Barkley rushed for a career-high 211 yards and one touchdown on 7.5 yards per carry, while also totaling 12 receptions for 94 yards in a 21-19 win for the Nittany Lions that saw them win the game on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Trace McSorley to Juwan Johnson as time expired in the fourth quarter. Barkley was a two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Award winner, leading the conference with 18 rushing touchdowns in both 2016 and 2017. He also finished fourth in the voting for the 2017 Heisman Trophy Award and was selected by the New York Giants with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. In the pros, Barkley has won the 2018 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and the 2024 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award — in what was a campaign that saw him become the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season — while racking up three Pro Bowl nods and helping the Philadelphia Eagles win Super Bowl LIX, among other accomplishments. As for the 6-foot-4 Smith, the junior receiver recently became Ohio State's all-time leader in receiving yards and is coming off the best statistical game of his career. In a 42-19 win at home over the Illinois Fighting Illini on Sept. 26, Smith totaled 12 receptions for 217 yards and four touchdowns, which were all career highs. On the year, Smith, who's averaging 16.2 yards per reception over his collegiate career, has totaled 33 receptions for a nation-high 617 yards and seven touchdowns. He led the Big Ten in receiving yards in both 2024 and 2025, while leading the conference with 15 receiving touchdowns in 2024. Smith (34 receiving scores) is now two away from passing Chris Olave as the Buckeyes' all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, and is five receptions away from passing Emeka Egbuka as the program's all-time leader in receptions (Smith has 201 career receptions). Ferentz conceded there's only so much the Hawkeyes' defense — which is first in the Big Ten in opponent points (8.0 per game), third in opponent rushing yards (87.8 per game), fourth in opponent passing yards (152.0 per game) and fifth in opponent yards (239.8 per game) — can do to slow down Smith on Saturday afternoon, who also reminds the coach of a Hall of Fame wide receiver. "I remember, two years ago, getting ready to play [Smith and the Buckeyes] and watching a couple plays he made the week before where he's perfectly defended, and he still makes the play, and sometimes that's the way it goes," Ferentz said. "I remember being up at the New England Patriots' training camp in the late 2000s and seeing Randy Moss do the same thing on a red-zone play. I'm sitting next to the secondary coach, and he looked at me and just shrugged. "That's what great players do. If you can find a way to maybe make them play a little bit off their rhythm, that's a good thing, but it's easier said than done." After lighting up the Mid-American Conference with the Marshall Thundering Herd from 1996-97, the 6-foot-4 Moss went on to be a four-time All-Pro and lead the NFL in receiving touchdowns five times. Furthermore, Moss stands second in NFL history with 156 receiving touchdowns and fourth with 15,292 receiving yards. He was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in the Class of 2018. As for the aforementioned 2024 Iowa-Ohio State game, Smith was actually held to just four receptions. Granted, those completions went for 89 yards and a score in a 35-7 win at home for the Buckeyes. Iowa is coming off a thrilling victory on the road over the then-No. 18-ranked Michigan Wolverines, as quarterback Hank Brown and wide receiver Reece Vander Zee hooked up for a walk-off, 16-yard touchdown as time expired, moving the Hawkeyes to 4-0 on the year. Prior to their Big Ten season opener, the Hawkeyes got wins at home over the Northern Illinois Huskies (40-0), Iowa State Cyclones (16-13) and Northern Iowa Panthers (55-0). Meanwhile, Ohio State has wins at home over the Ball State Cardinals (56-3), Kent State Golden Flashes (59-3) and Fighting Illini (42-19) under its belt. The Buckeyes' one blemish is blowing a 20-point, second-half lead to the now-No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns on the road in Week 2. Ohio State has historically dominated Iowa, boasting a 17-3 record in the all-time series. With that said, the Hawkeyes were victorious the last time they played the Buckeyes in Iowa City, annihilating them 55-24 in 2017. cat-cross.com

Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota will get his second straight start in place of the injured Jayden Daniels on Sunday when Washington faces the Indianapolis Colts at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Head coach Dan Quinn announced the decision Friday after practice at the team’s luxury hotel accommodations outside London. Daniels returned to practice this week after dislocating his elbow in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys. He's been wearing a protective brace and expressed no concerns about further damage. "He had a great week. It was awesome to have him back on the field in a limited fashion," Quinn said. "He'll be out. Marcus will start." Quinn called Daniels' return to practice "a huge positive step for us and for him." "We'll assess where we are next week when we get to a full week of practice all the way through," the coach said. Last week, Mariota threw three touchdown passes in the 33-31 win over the Seattle Seahawks. It’s the second elbow dislocation for Daniels, who missed most of the second half of last season with the same injury. The third-year quarterback, who led the Commanders to the NFC championship game in his rookie season, had said Thursday he was preparing mentally to start against the Colts and wasn’t worried about re-injuring the elbow. "That’s what the brace is for," Daniels said. The Commanders host the New York Giants on Sunday, Oct. 11. The team has a bye in Week 7. "Certainly, anytime you can practice, that’s a big deal," Quinn said. "So for him to get back, that was a big step for us. Typical for him, he’s more ready than you’d expect. That’s just kind of how he is." Quinn was asked what he needs to see to put Daniels back on the field. "It's really just like an entire group medical performance. Where he’s at, the practice part was a big piece of that today. But next week we’re planning on for him to get a full week of practice. That would be a big deal for us." Also Friday, running back Rachaad White (shoulder) did not practice for a third straight day. His game designation will be in the official injury report later Friday. White has rushed for 100 yards on 22 carries through three games. He also has 9 receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown. The team signed Austin Ekeler on Monday and the veteran running back "had a good week," Quinn said. "He’s certainly not a player that you would say, ‘he looks rusty.’ That did not surprise me." Reporting by The Associated Press.