Rays denied potential playoff clinch as Braves win 3-1 behind Martín Pérez and Austin Riley

ATLANTA (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays were prevented from possibly becoming the first team to clinch a playoff berth when Martín Pérez threw seven scoreless innings and Austin Riley's run-scoring single in the eighth inning gave Atlanta its first lead of the series in the Braves' 3-1 win Thursday.

Seeking its first division title since 2021, Tampa Bay (87-59) entered with a four-game AL East lead and would have clinched no worse than a wild card with a victory and a loss by Texas to Seattle or the Chicago White Sox to Pittsburgh.

Riley's hit came after pinch-hitter Ozzie Albies' had his first triple of the season, a drive against Kevin Kelly (6-4). Light-htting Ha-Seong Kim tacked on a two-run single for the offensively struggling Braves that proved crucial when Victor Mesa Jr. led off the ninth with a homer against Raisel Iglesias.

Iglesias bounced back to get the final three outs for his 32nd save in 35 chances for the Braves, who began the day with a three-game NL East lead.

Didier Fuentes (6-2) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win, which sent the Braves into an important series against second-place Philadelphia with a big lift.

The Braves, who had scored just three runs in a three-game losing streak and lost the previous two games to the Rays by a combined score of 14-3, were held to two hits in 6 1/3 innings by Nick Martinez. But the offense finally came to life in the eighth against the bullpen, stringing together five straight hits.

Pérez turned in a stellar outing after escaping a major jam in the first. The Rays loaded the bases on three singles, but Chandler Simpson hit into an inning-ending double play that began with a sharp grounder to first baseman Matt Olson. He threw home for the force at the plate and catcher Drake Baldwin’s throw back to first just beat the speedy Simpson.

Rays: RH Drew Rasmussen (14-5, 2.88) will take the mound for the opener of a three-game home series against the Houston Astros.

Braves: LH Chris Sale (14-9, 2.10) gets the ball for the start of the big series against the Phillies. The Atlanta ace will face RH Aaron Nola (6-10, 4.76).

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Atlanta Braves pitcher Martín Pérez pauses in between Tampa Bay Rays batter during the first inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Nick Martinez delivers to an Atlanta Braves batter during the first inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Nick Martinez delivers to an Atlanta Braves batter during the first inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)

Atlanta Braves pitcher Martín Pérez delivers to a Tampa Bay Rays batter during the first inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)

Atlanta Braves left fielder Brewer Hicklen fields a single hit by Tampa Bay Rays' Ryan Vilade during the first inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)

DETROIT (AP) — More than a dozen former hockey players are suing the University of Michigan, alleging their coach and other staff were aware of sexual hazing that included the forced shaving of their genitals and other abuse by teammates decades ago.

"The abuse was ritualized, meticulously planned, and sadistic. ... Enduring sexual abuse was required to be a member of the Michigan Men’s Ice Hockey team,” attorney Michael Pitt said in a sex discrimination lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Detroit.

The plaintiffs are 16 men who played at Michigan between 1984 and 2001. The lawsuit apparently grew out of conversations among several former teammates in 2024.

The university said the allegations are “disturbing,” but denies responsibility.

“To the extent any former student athlete engaged in hazing or other misconduct, they were violating university policy,” spokesperson Paul Corliss said in a written statement.

“The university first adopted an official anti-hazing policy in 1982. It was one of the first universities in the country to do so, and it has earned its standing as a leader in this area,” he said.

The 72-page document describes players being forced to consume excessive amounts of alcohol and eat live fish. A common allegation: They were forced to have hair around their genitals shaved by teammates. A player identified as John Doe 7 said he was taunted with a blowtorch while on a table.

The lawsuit says Red Berenson, who was coach from 1984 to 2017, was aware of the abuse and did not intervene.

John Doe 3 said he told Berenson that he didn't want to participate in the hazing. The coach coerced him by telling him to be a “Michigan Man” and a ”good teammate," according to the lawsuit.

Berenson announced the end of “freshman hazing” in 2012, mostly referring to first-year players being forced to carry equipment and eat team meals last. He made no mention of physical abuse but acknowledged “captains that got too carried away," according to news reports at the time.

Berenson, 86, declined to comment on the lawsuit Thursday.

“Give me a chance to absorb what's going on,” the former NHL player said.

The university could argue that the hockey players waited too long to file a lawsuit, a position it took in 2020 when former athletes sued over sexual misconduct committed decades earlier by a campus sports doctor. The university ultimately agreed to pay $490 million to settle claims by more than 1,000 people.

FILE - Michigan head coach Red Berenson walks across the ice after the Midwest Regional final against North Dakota in the men's NCAA college hockey tournament, Saturday, March 26, 2016, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

FILE - Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson watches NCAA college hockey practice in Ann Arbor, Mich., Tuesday, March 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)