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MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers became the first major league team to clinch a division championship Wednesday when it sealed its third National League Central title in the past four years.

The Chicago Cubs‘ 5-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics enabled the Brewers to wrap up the division crown.

The Brewers’ clubhouse emptied with one out to go in the ninth inning in Chicago, a couple of hours before Milwaukee’s scheduled first pitch against Philadelphia. A muffled cheer could be heard after the final out when the Brewers won consecutive division titles for the first time in 42 years.

Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said he watched the final outs of the Cubs’ game with 90-year-old longtime Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker.

“We were doing our show and I watched it with him,” Murphy said. “What’s better than that? Awesome.”

This marks the Brewers’ sixth postseason berth in the past seven years — a remarkable accomplishment for a team that made the playoffs only twice in a 35-year stretch from 1983 to 2017.

But this run to the playoffs has been a little different from the rest.

“Nobody wants it to be easy, let’s just be honest,” first baseman Rhys Hoskins said. “Everybody that’s in that room cherishes challenges. The first challenge [is] down. We obviously have a few more ahead of us. We’re excited about that.”

Although the Brewers have grown accustomed to outperforming preseason expectations, the odds seemed stacked against them even more than usual this year.

Craig Counsell, the winningest manager in Brewers history, left for the rival Cubs. Corbin Burnes, the 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner, was traded to the Baltimore Orioles.

Two-time All-Star right-hander Brandon Woodruff didn’t pitch all year as he recovered from shoulder surgery, and two-time NL Reliever of the Year Devin Williams sat out the first half of the season because of stress fractures in his back.

All-Star outfielder Christian Yelich and pitchers Wade Miley and Robert Gasser suffered season-ending injuries.

None of it mattered.

“You can do all that to us, but it’s still about people, and you have no idea what their best is,” Murphy said. “These guys don’t know what their best is and didn’t know what their best was and still don’t. But they know one thing: Pulling together, competing, being doubted is something that can vault you forward into a championship.”

The Brewers took over first place for good at the end of April and never looked back. Now they’ve won back-to-back division titles for the first time since 1981-82. That 1982 season marked Milwaukee’s lone World Series appearance, which ended with a seven-game loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

“We were all kind of written off, right?” Yelich said. “So that makes this one kind of special because we found a way. We faced a lot of adversity. We believed in each other. We came together as a group and got it done.”

The Brewers benefited from the leadership of Murphy, who had been Counsell’s bench coach since 2016. Rather than following Counsell to Chicago, Murphy stayed in Milwaukee and got his first full-time opportunity as a major league manager two weeks before his 65th birthday. Murphy’s only previous MLB managerial experience had come as an interim manager with San Diego in 2015.

Murphy has kept the locker room loose while guiding a team that hasn’t suffered more than three straight losses at any point this season. The Brewers are the only team that hasn’t had a losing streak of at least four games.

“They overachieved in every way, shape or form,” Murphy said.

The Brewers have succeeded with what Murphy refers to as an “all-hands-on-deck” approach.

Milwaukee’s had 17 different pitchers start games this season (only the Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Angels had more). Twelve different Brewers pitchers have collected a save, just two shy of the record of 14 set by the 2021 Tampa Bay Rays. Milwaukee entered Wednesday with a 3.65 ERA that ranked fourth in the majors.

Offensively, the Brewers rank fourth in total runs scored (733) and 11th in OPS (.735) after finishing 17th in runs (728) and 23rd in OPS (.704) last year.

Yelich was leading the NL in batting average (.315) and on-base percentage (.406) before back issues ended his season in late July. William Contreras has developed into one of the game’s best hitting catchers. Willy Adames is the first Brewers shortstop to have a 30-homer, 100-RBI season, something even Hall of Famer Robin Yount never accomplished in Milwaukee.

Jackson Chourio, who doesn’t turn 21 until next spring, is the youngest player to ever hit 20 homers and steal 20 bases in one season.

“This is exactly what you as a competitor want to be a part of, right?” Hoskins said. “It didn’t necessarily look exactly the way that maybe some of us thought, but what’s cool is that we still were able to find ways to get the job done.”

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Ohtani becomes first 50/50 player in MLB history

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Ohtani becomes first 50/50 player in MLB history

MIAMI — Shohei Ohtani became the first player in baseball history to reach the 50/50 club on Thursday, and he did so in dominant fashion — with three home runs and two stolen bases in a six-hit game that led the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 20-4, postseason-clinching victory.

Ohtani opened the game with a line-drive double off the wall in right-center field against Miami Marlins starter Edward Cabrera, then picked up his 50th steal of the season by swiping third base. A second-inning single was followed by stolen base No. 51. Ohtani then added a two-run double in the third — before getting thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple — and followed with a 438-foot home run into LoanDepot Park’s second deck in the sixth for his 49th home run.

Ohtani came to bat again with runners on second and third and two outs in the seventh inning, prompting many to wonder whether the Marlins would pitch to him. They did — and Ohtani delivered, taking a 1-2 curveball from Mike Baumann and lofting it over the fence in left-center field for his 50th home run of the season.

Ohtani roared as he made his way up the first-base line, then stepped out of the dugout for a curtain call after celebrating with teammates. He then giggled as he made his way back into the first-base dugout the next half-inning — after clobbering a 440-foot home run off Marlins infielder Vidal Brujan.

Ohtani’s three homers, six hits and 10 RBIs all set new career highs. The 10 RBIs set a Dodgers record. He became the first player with three home runs and two stolen bases in a game since at least 1900 and the first player since RBIs became official in 1920 with 10 RBIs and five extra-base hits in a game. Ohtani also became the second player since at least 1901 with six hits in a game, including five for extra bases, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

The man who secured a 40/40 season with a walk-off grand slam on Aug. 23 had found another way to reach history in grand fashion.

The best part: The Dodgers’ convincing victory secured them another playoff spot. For Ohtani, it will be his first. The two-way star has played in 866 games without reaching the postseason, the most among active players.

Soon — officially — that will come to an end.

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Reports: Gators WR Wilson has surgery on knee

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Reports: Gators WR Wilson has surgery on knee

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Eugene “Tre” Wilson III, Florida’s top wide receiver, had minor knee surgery this week, according to multiple reports Thursday.

The surgery reportedly is not considered season-ending. Wilson already had been ruled out for Saturday’s matchup against Mississippi State per the initial release of the SEC’s availability report Wednesday night.

The injury leaves the Gators (1-2, 0-1 SEC) and under-fire coach Billy Napier scrambling for a replacement three games into the season.

Week 1 starter Kahleil Jackson (knee) is out for the season, and Florida won’t have senior Ja’Quavion Fraziars for the fourth consecutive game. Freshman Tank Hawkins is questionable to face the Bulldogs, so Napier might have to turn to redshirt freshman Aidan Mizell, reserve Marcus Burke or former walk-on Taylor Spierto to play alongside starters Elijhah Badger and Chimere Dike.

“We’re definitely a better team with Tre Wilson for sure,” Napier said.

A sophomore from Tampa, Florida, and the son of a two-time Super Bowl-winning safety, Wilson has a team-leading 13 receptions for 191 yards and a touchdown in two games.

He injured a knee in a 45-7 victory against Samford two weeks ago and was a game-time decision against Texas A&M. He warmed up before the game and then wasn’t in uniform when the Gators came out of the locker room for kickoff. The Gators lost 33-20.

“He woke up the next day, and I think we’ve gotten to the bottom of what it is and all that,” Napier said. “So all good.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Horns’ Manning to get 1st start as Ewers recovers

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Horns' Manning to get 1st start as Ewers recovers

With Quinn Ewers still recovering from an oblique injury, Arch Manning will make his first start for No. 1 Texas on Saturday night against UL Monroe, Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday.

“Quinn has made great strides ever since Saturday night into where he’s gotten to,” Sarkisian said. “But my decision is I’m looking forward to his future as a player, but also the future of the season for us. … And getting him possibly one more week healthier for the long term, I think, is good for us as we’re getting ready for SEC play.”

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Manning, the top prospect in the Class of 2023, has appeared in four games for Texas but had his breakout last week in a 56-7 win over UTSA after Ewers was injured.

Manning, who entered in the second quarter, accounted for five touchdowns. His 75-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo and his 67-yard touchdown run — the longest ever by a UT freshman — marked the first time in school history that a player recorded a run and throw of at least 65 yards in the same game. Only Colt McCoy and Vince Young had done it in the same season for Texas.

Sarkisian said Manning always prepares as if he could start, but it’ll be different operating the game plan from the opening series rather than just being thrown into the fire.

“Arch is more than capable, as I think we all know,” Sarkisian said. “I mean, you go out and you have five touchdowns coming in off the bench, you’ve already proved you can play. Now, it’s about executing the plan, doing it with confidence and fixing some of the issues on the field when they arise.”

Sarkisian said Ewers will be there to help Manning with any of those issues.

“Quinn will obviously have an earpiece in. He’ll hear every play call,” Sarkisian said. “Without question, his support of Arch is critical, and I don’t foresee anything different than that.”

“All the goals [Ewers] had and that we’ve had for him coming into this season are all still there for him. I think we have a national championship-caliber team, and he’s the quarterback of that team. And I think we still have that in front of us to go do that. … This guy’s going to be in New York for the Heisman … and I think he has the ability to be a top-five NFL draft pick.”

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian

Sarkisian said he impressed upon Ewers that resting a week doesn’t change anything. The Longhorns play their first SEC game on Sept. 28 against Mississippi State. After a bye week, they have back-to-back games against No. 15 Oklahoma in Dallas and No. 2 Georgia in Austin.

Ewers is completing 73.4% of his passes this season, throwing for 691 yards and eight touchdowns, with two interceptions.

“All the goals he had and that we’ve had for him coming into this season are all still there for him,” Sarkisian said. “I think we have a national championship-caliber team, and he’s the quarterback of that team. And I think we still have that in front of us to go do that.

“I think with some of the games that we have coming up down the road, this guy’s going to be in New York for the Heisman. And whether he wins it or not, he has the ability to do that, and I think he has the ability to be a top-five NFL draft pick.”

ULM’s defensive coordinator, Earnest Hill, raised eyebrows Wednesday when he referred to his team’s familiarity with Manning, a New Orleans native who attended Isidore Newman for high school.

“We actually have some kids on our team who played against him in New Orleans, and a couple guys done beat him already,” Hill said. “So they don’t hold too much fear against him. They’re not going to hold any fear against him coming up here.”

The Longhorns are 44.5-point favorites for Saturday’s game, according to ESPN BET.

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