ATLANTA (AP) — Chris Sale struck out 10 and reached 200 Ks for the season, Mauricio Dubón delivered a winning RBI single in the 10th inning, and the Atlanta Braves defeated the Cincinnati Reds 3-2 on Wednesday night.
Matt Olson and Austin Riley hit solo homers for the Braves. Brent Suter (3-2) worked a scoreless 10th inning and earned the win.
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Cincinnati Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott delivers to an Atlanta Braves batter during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale (51) delivers to a Cincinnati Reds batter during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Atlanta Braves center fielder Michael Harris II misses catching a leadoff solo home run hit by Cincinnati Reds' Juan Brito during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale (51) delivers to a Cincinnati Reds batter during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Sale went 5 2/3 innings and was removed after recording his third strikeout of the game of Reds rookie Sal Stewart. The 37-year-old left-hander has reached 200 strikeouts nine times, which is the most of any pitcher since 2013. In his final start before the postseason, he allowed one run on four hits. Sale hit at least 99 mph on the radar gun on 12 of his 97 pitches.
Olson’s home run was his 41st of the season and tied the game at 1 in the sixth. Riley's homer tied the game at 2 in the seventh. Dubón was 2 for 4 with a walk and extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
Reds right fielder Juan Brito led off the game with a home run to center field off Sale. He went 2 for 4, including his third homer of the season.
Braves reliever Robert Suarez pitched for the first time since June 19 after being sidelined due to elbow inflammation. He pitched the seventh inning and gave up a leadoff triple to Matt McLain and a sacrifice fly to Will Banfield that gave the Reds a 2-1 lead. He threw 13 pitches.
Braves right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. sat out after suffering a bone bruise when he fouled a ball off his shin in Tuesday's 4-0 loss to the Reds. Braves manager Walt Weiss said Acuña was asking to play and felt he could play right field Wednesday, but the Braves decided to be cautious with a postseason berth clinched.
Braves RHP Tyler Mahle (7-10, 3.81) will make his final start before the postseason against Reds RHP Brady Singer (6-15, 5.67) in the series finale Thursday.
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott delivers to an Atlanta Braves batter during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale (51) delivers to a Cincinnati Reds batter during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Atlanta Braves center fielder Michael Harris II misses catching a leadoff solo home run hit by Cincinnati Reds' Juan Brito during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale (51) delivers to a Cincinnati Reds batter during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivered a defiant speech at the United Nations on Wednesday as his government downplayed talks with the United States.
Meanwhile, another ship attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz was struck by a projectile, highlighting the dangers that continue to restrict traffic through the critical waterway as the seven-month war grinds on.
Here is the latest news from the Middle East. More coverage of the U.N. General Assembly is available here.
Iran's president said his country's people had been the “victims of terrorism” by the United States.
Delivering a rare wartime speech at the U.N. General Assembly, Pezeshkian displayed images of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and more than 150 schoolchildren killed in the opening days of the conflict.
“We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists,” he said. “Our innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggressions imposed upon our country.”
Turning to the United States, Pezeshkian added: “Yes, they did hit us, but we did not bend the knee.”
Pezeshkian addressed world leaders a day after U.S. President Donald Trump used the same stage to suggest that he might “annihilate” the Islamic Republic if an agreement was not reached soon to end the nearly seven-month war.
Hours later, Trump touted “a very good meeting” between his chief envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and Iranian officials. Tehran, however, downplayed the talks. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said they were “not anything new.”
On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that Trump remained open to an agreement “that allows Iran to be what it should be, which is a great and prosperous country.”
Rubio said the prospects for such a deal were hindered by Iran’s nuclear ambitions and “their support of terrorism.” If those policies continued, he said, Trump could exercise “a number of options,” including further military action.
Hard-line figures in Iran attacked Iran’s top diplomat for engaging with the U.S. at the U.N., triggering pushback from rival factions in Tehran.
In an X post, lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei demanded that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi explain the decision to meet with “the aggressor enemy.”
Ali Ahmadnia, a media official for Iran’s president, responded by posting an AI-generated image depicting Araghchi as a wounded warrior.
“How can a soldier be on the battlefield while the home front is being weakened from within?!" Ahmadnia wrote on X. “The Iranian delegation in New York operates in full coordination with the relevant institutions.”
The U.S.-backed Board of Peace is proposing a six-month, $2.45 billion plan to begin reconstruction and governance in Gaza as President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan struggles to stay afloat.
At a meeting of the group’s board in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, the governors unveiled a 66-project blueprint to get things started while acknowledging enormous hurdles that must still be overcome. The projects include ambitious infrastructure, education and health initiatives that are designed to support Trump’s 20-point plan to end the Israel-Hamas war.
The proposal comes as the the U.S.-backed plan has largely stalled.
While the ceasefire halted the heaviest fighting and humanitarian conditions have improved, the Israeli military has expanded its control of Gaza and now occupies some 60% of the territory. Hamas has not given up its weapons. The international military force and new government still have not entered Gaza, and reconstruction has not begun. The vast majority of Palestinians continue to live in tent camps or ruins of their former homes.
“The need is immense,” the board said, noting that full reconstruction from the physical damage across Gaza will cost roughly $35.2 billion over the medium term and an additional $71.4 billion over the next 10 years.
A cargo ship was struck in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said, citing an unidentified company security officer.
The vessel was hit by an “unknown projectile,” resulting in two casualties, UKMTO said without providing further details. The crew abandoned the ship, which caught fire and was left adrift.
The attack was the first reported in two days. No one immediately claimed responsibility.
The incident highlighted the continuing danger to ships attempting to navigate the waterway. Some vessels appear to be making “dark passages” without transmitting identifying signals, but Iran and the United States have maintained their competing blockades. Commercial traffic remains well below prewar levels, according to ship-tracking data from analytics firm Kpler.
Restrictions on shipping through the strait have become one of the war’s most persistent consequences. Before the conflict, one-fifth of the world’s traded oil passed through the narrow waterway, along with large volumes of natural gas, fertilizer and other petroleum products.
The son of Israel’s ambassador to the United States was gravely injured in a ramming attack in the occupied West Bank.
Neria Leiter, a reservist in Israel’s military, “needs a miracle,” Ambassador Yechiel Leiter posted on social media. The ambassador’s older son, Moshe Yedidya Leiter, who also served in Israel’s military, was killed in Gaza about a month after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack, which triggered the war in Gaza.
According to the military and law enforcement, a Palestinian man rammed his car into a security checkpoint Wednesday afternoon near the settlement of Beit Horon, seriously wounding the soldier. Israeli forces then opened fire at the man as he attempted to flee and killed him.
More military forces were deployed in the aftermath in the area, which is crossed by a major highway connecting Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog both sent wishes for Leiter’s recovery. A social media post by Herzog described Leiter as “fighting for his life.”
Israel’s election commission voted Wednesday to disqualify major Arab political parties and candidates from running in next month’s polls.
The disqualification came at the request of two right-wing parties, including the Likud party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The parties had said the candidates were ineligible under a law barring those who reject Israel’s existence, incite racism or support armed struggle against Israel.
Wednesday’s vote targeted the United Arab List, a religious Arab Muslim party also known by its Hebrew name Ra’am; as well as the Joint List, an alliance of left-wing and Arab-majority parties. Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas said the decision was a “political, illegitimate, and anti-democratic move” and that the party would appeal to the Supreme Court.
Elections will be held next month, the first since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that plunged Israel into war.
This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
Tents sheltering displaced Palestinians are seen amid war-damaged buildings in Gaza City, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian holds an image of late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at his Likud party New Year event in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian waves to media and officials as he boards his plane while leaving Mehrabad airport for New York to attend the UN General Assembly, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
