Sale strikes out 10 in 14th win and Braves hit 3 HRs to rout Angels 11-3

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Chris Sale struck out 10 in his 14th win and Marcell Ozuna went 3 for 3 with an early three-run homer as the Atlanta Braves blew out the Los Angeles Angels 11-3 on Saturday night.

Whit Merrifield and Ramón Laureano also went deep for the Braves, who improved to 5-3 since a six-game losing streak. They remained a game ahead of the New York Mets for the final National League playoff berth.

Sale (14-3) allowed two runs on six hits and two walks over six innings, tying Detroit ace Tarik Skubal for the major league lead in wins. The eight-time All-Star moved to 8-0 in 11 appearances (nine starts) against the Angels with a 1.24 ERA — his lowest versus any team he's faced at least 10 times.

“We’re getting to know him and seeing the pro he is, how he works, the competitiveness,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said about Sale, derailed by injuries in recent seasons. “The stuff’s really good. I’m happy for him with all he’s been through that he’s having a normal year. And it’s a great year.”

It was Sale's third consecutive double-digit strikeout game and sixth this season, which is his first in Atlanta.

“I'm just enjoying where I'm at and having fun playing baseball again, honestly,” said Sale, who leads the NL in wins, ERA (2.62) and strikeouts (187) in his quest for a pitching triple crown. “Obviously, my last few years have been well documented and it was tough. But people go through tough things, you get over it and here we are.”

Nolan Schanuel had three hits for the Angels and Kevin Pillar drove in two runs against his former club as Los Angeles dropped to 1-4 on a six-game homestand. Griffin Canning (4-11) gave up a season-high seven runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings.

The Braves led 3-0 three batters into the game when Michael Harris II doubled, Austin Riley singled and Ozuna hit a home run to center field, his 36th. They made it 4-0 in the second on an RBI single from Harris.

“(The home run) meant a lot for the team and especially for me,” Ozuna said. “I had that situation the last series a lot and this series was the first time I was not (thinking), ‘Please, don’t strike out.' I got a good pitch to hit and I hit it.”

Atlanta put away the game with five runs in the fifth. Merrifield hit a leadoff homer, Travis d’Arnaud had a two-run double and Laureano followed with a two-run homer.

“A night like tonight, you have a 3-0 lead before you even walk on the field, that helps a lot, too,” Sale said. “I’m surrounded by a lot of good people that push me in the right direction and have been able to keep me upright and keep me going.”

A rare Angels highlight came in the sixth. Left fielder Taylor Ward tried to make a sliding catch along the foul line, but the ball eluded his glove and bounced off his leg before he corralled it in his lap for the out.

The Angels broke through against Sale in the sixth on an RBI double from Pillar, who later scored on a wild pitch.

“If we could have come with our bullpen and held that game right there and not given up those five runs in that fifth inning, it would have been a ballgame,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “That type of guy (in Sale), you just have to stay in the ballgame with him, let him pitch, keep grinding, get him out of there and get into the bullpen. But we couldn't stay in there.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Braves: After getting hit by a pitch on the inside of his right wrist in the seventh, d’Arnaud was replaced at catcher by Sean Murphy in the bottom of the inning. X-rays were negative. ... OF Ronald Acuña Jr., who is out until 2025, said all is going well in his rehab from surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee and vowed not to rush his return the way he did after surgery on his right ACL in 2021. ... OF Jorge Soler was not in the starting lineup for a third consecutive game because of a left hamstring strain.

Angels: RHP José Soriano went on the 15-day injured list with right arm fatigue, while INF Luis Rengifo (wrist) was moved to the 60-day IL. RHP José Cisnero (shoulder) was reinstated from the IL. ... 3B Anthony Rendon was out of the lineup after getting hit by a pitch on the right elbow Friday.

UP NEXT

Braves: RHP Charlie Morton (6-7, 4.40 ERA) matched a season high with eight strikeouts in a six-inning no-decision Tuesday against the Giants.

Angels: RHP Jack Kochanowicz (1-2, 7.98) will make his fourth career start and first since his first major league win last Sunday against the Nationals.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna gestures after hitting a single during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Los Angeles Angels' Nolan Schanuel, right, slides home past Atlanta Braves catcher Travis d'Arnaud, left, to score off a double by Kevin Pillar during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna celebrates in the dugout after scoring off a two-run double hit by Travis d'Arnaud during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Atlanta Braves' Whitt Merrifield celebrates after scoring off a single hit by Michael Harris II during the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Griffin Canning throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna runs the bases after hitting a three-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna celebrates after hitting a three-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

CHICAGO (AP) — A judge sentenced a man convicted of killing a Chicago police officer, wounding her partner and firing at a third officer to life in prison Wednesday.

A jury found Emonte Morgan, 24, of Chicago, guilty in March of first-degree murder, attempted murder of a peace officer and possession/use of a firearm as a felon. Prosecutors say he fatally shot 29-year-old Officer Ella French, wounded her partner, Officer Carlos Yanez Jr., and shot at Officer Joshua Blas during a traffic stop in August 2021.

Cook County Circuit Judge Ursula Walowski sentenced him to a mandatory life sentence and added 57 years after listening to French and Yanez family members describe their grief, the Chicago Tribune reported.

“The memories, they sneak up on me sometimes and I am filled with grief and sadness,” French's mother, Elizabeth French, told the judge. “I don’t know that closure will ever be possible for me. … Someday my daughter and I will meet again. Until then I will miss Ella every day.”

Yanez's father, Carlos Yanez Sr., a retired Chicago police officer himself, swore at Morgan and said someone should have killed him long ago. As Yanez spoke, Morgan's mother yelled a profane insult about his son. Deputies quickly removed her from the courtroom as Yanez told Morgan he hopes he rots in jail.

Morgan's attorney, assistant public defender Kristine Neal, told the judge that Morgan isn't beyond redemption and can still be rehabilitated. Morgan said that the prosecution was unjust, that the traffic stop that precipitated the shooting wasn't lawful and that French died accidentally.

Morgan's attorneys argued at trial that body camera video of the shooting was unclear, making it hard to determine what happened during the traffic stop.

Morgan's brother, Eric Morgan, who was driving the vehicle, pleaded guilty in October 2023 to charges of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, battery and obstruction of justice and was sentenced to seven years.

Another man, Jamel Danzy of Hammond, Indiana, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in December 2022 after pleading guilty to a federal firearms charge for buying the handgun used to kill French in an illegal straw purchase.

FILE - Chicago police work the scene where two police officers where shot during a traffic stop along the 6300 block of South Bell in the West Englewood neighborhood, Aug. 7, 2021. (Tyler LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP, File)