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.

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

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)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)