Chris Sale stymies Dodgers and Ohtani on his way to 17th win as Braves beat LA 10-1

ATLANTA (AP) — Chris Sale allowed one run and struck out six over six innings, shutting down Shohei Ohtani in the process, for his major league-leading 17th win of the season as the Atlanta Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-1 on Saturday night.

Ohtani, who had a strikeout and walk, has stalled in his quest to be the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season, going 0 for 6 in his last two games since hitting his NL-best 47th home run on Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs. He has 48 steals.

“He’s a special player, and when he gets barrel to the ball it’s going to be hard," Sale said. “With what he’s done this year, if he gets the ball in the air, it’s probably not going to be good for me, so I’m really just trying to throw swing and miss pitches from the first pitch of the game.”

Sale (17-3), who hasn't been charged with a loss since June 27, became the first player in Braves franchise history to allow no more than two earned runs in 17 straight starts, passing Hall of Famer Greg Maddux's previous record of 16 starts. He also surpassed Padres starter Dylan Cease for most strikeouts in the NL this season with 219.

Atlanta is now a season-high 14 games over .500 and pulled even with the Mets for the final NL wild-card spot. New York lost at the Phillies 6-4 on Saturday night.

“These last couple of nights, this is what we’ve expected from ourselves,” Sale said. “We knew what this series means and it’s been a good couple of games for us.”

Atlanta scored six runs in the sixth inning, which featured Matt Olson's bases-loaded double and RBIs from Whit Merrifield and Michael Harris II.

Olson also opened the scoring for Atlanta in the first with an RBI double that scored Harris, who had reached on a single. Olson finished with four RBIs on 2-of-4 hitting.

“When we hit like that, we’re capable of a lot," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "You just kind of get cautiously optimistic that we’re going to get on a run because we’re getting a lot from everybody again, which is really good.”

Jack Flaherty (5-2) lasted just three innings, giving up four earned runs on five hits while walking four and striking out four.

Orlando Arcia broke a 1-1 deadlock in the third with a bases-loaded double off the center-field wall that scored Jorge Soler, Marcel Ozuna and Jarred Kelenic.

Mookie Betts had the only RBI for Los Angeles with a single in the third inning that tied the game at 1-1.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Dodgers: RHP Tyler Glasnow is “highly unlikely” to return this season, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Saturday. Glasnow hasn't pitched since Aug. 11 due to elbow tendinitis. On Friday night, he was supposed to pitch a simulated game, but felt pain in his elbow while warming up in the bullpen.

UP NEXT

Braves RHP Charlie Morton (8-8, 4.11) will start the third of a four-game series opposite Dodgers RHP Walker Buehler (1-5, 4.11).

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This story has been changed to reflect that Shohei Ohtani leads the National League with 47 home runs, not the major leagues.

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Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani, left, shares a laugh with first base coach Clayton McCullough, right, before he takes the field after the National Anthem in the xxxx inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman watches the pitch in the third inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani watches the pitch in the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)

Atlanta Braves' Jorge Soler runs to second base after hitting a double in the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)

Atlanta Braves' Orlando Arcia (11) gives praise when he reaches second base after hitting a double to center field in the third inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)

Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale throws in the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)

LONDON (AP) — Google won a court challenge on Wednesday against a 1.49 billion euro ($1.66 billion) European Union antitrust fine imposed five years ago that targeted its online advertising business.

The EU's General Court said it was throwing out the 2019 penalty imposed by the European Commission, which is the 27-nation bloc's top antitrust enforcer.

“The General Court annuls the Commission’s decision in its entirety,” the court said in a press release.

The commission's ruling applied to a narrow portion of Google’s ad business: ads that the U.S. tech giant sold next to Google search results on third-party websites.

Regulators had accused Google of inserting exclusivity clauses in its contracts that barred these websites from running similarly placed ads sold by Google’s rivals. The commission said when it issued the penalty that Google's behavior resulted in advertisers and website owners having less choice and likely facing higher prices that would be passed on to consumers.

But the General Court said the commission “committed errors” when it assessed those clauses. The commission failed to demonstrate that Google's contracts deterred innovation, harmed consumers or helped the company hold on to and strengthen its dominant position in national online search advertising markets, it said.

The ruling can be appealed, but only on points of law, to the Court of Justice, the bloc's top court.

The commission said in a brief statement that it “will carefully study the judgment and reflect on possible next steps.”

Google said it changed its contracts in 2016 to remove the provisions in question, even before the commission imposed its decision.

“We are pleased that the court has recognised errors in the original decision and annulled the fine,” Google said in a statement. "We will review the full decision closely.”

The company's legal victory comes a week after it lost a final challenge against a separate EU antitrust case for its shopping comparison service that also involved a hefty fine.

They were among three antitrust penalties totaling about 8 billion euros that the commission punished Google with in the previous decade. The penalties marked the beginning of an era of intensifying scrutiny for Big Tech companies.

Since then, Google has faced escalating pressure on both sides of the Atlantic over its digital ad business. It’s currently battling the Justice Department in a U.S. federal court over allegations that its dominance over the technology that controls the sale of billions of internet display ads constitutes an illegal monopoly.

British competition regulators this month accused the company of abusing its dominance in the country’s digital ad market and giving preference to its own services.

EU antitrust enforcers carrying out their own investigation suggested last year that breaking up the company was the only way to satisfy competition concerns about its digital ad business.

FILE - In this April 17, 2007 file photo, exhibitors work on laptop computers in front of an illuminated sign of the Google logo at the industrial fair Hannover Messe in Hanover, Germany. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer, File)