The Chant Came First

Two Atlanta finals this afternoon, fifty-one minutes apart by the feeds, and the order is the story. The Falcons' home opener ended first, at 4:06, the crowd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium having chanted, by ESPN's account, for the rookie behind Cooper Rush before he came on; the Braves' last out at Daikin Park came at 4:57, and MLB's standings now mark the division clinched beside Atlanta's name, where Friday's mark was a berth.

Braves

Atlanta 4, Houston 2, Atlanta the visitors, the sweep complete. Atlanta trailed 1-0 into the sixth, then Ozzie Albies's single tied it and Mike Yastrzemski's three-run home run off Bryan King, his 12th, made it 4-1. Martín Pérez went four and a third innings for one run and no decision; Victor Mederos, two outs in the fifth, has the win; Dylan Dodd struck out the side in the ninth for his second save. Ellis has the finale.

Which leg of this morning's or fired: Atlanta's. Philadelphia won 7-2 at the Mets, and it did not matter. The AP's sentence, filed at 5:31 this evening, calls it the seventh NL East championship in nine years; a season ago this club finished 76-86 and fourth in the division. At 92-64, Atlanta holds the third-best record in the National League tonight, behind Milwaukee at 98-58 and Los Angeles at 96-60, all three Sunday games final; the top two, by the AP's line, get a first-round bye. Six to play: three against Cincinnati at Truist Park from Tuesday, then three at Miami.

Falcons

Carolina 34, Atlanta 3, the home opener, five Atlanta turnovers to Carolina's none and not one red-zone trip. Rush: 10 of 17 for 86 yards, two interceptions, a lost fumble on the first series. After the second interception, with 7:13 left in the third by ESPN's clock, Jack Strand replaced him: 8 of 15 for 59, an interception Devin Lloyd returned for a touchdown, a lost fumble. ESPN Research's two-game column, 16 points and seven turnovers, is attributed here and rebuilt by Miles.

Kevin Stefanski would not name Thursday's starter; asked about the plan for next week, he said now was not the time to know it, per Marc Raimondi, ESPN, 5:59 this evening. Miles and Dex both print the sentence. The report that Michael Penix Jr. could make his debut Thursday at Green Bay carries Ian Rapoport's and Adam Schefter's bylines and a 6:00 AM stamp, seven hours before kickoff; it came before the loss, not after it. Dex has the quarterback receipt, and folds it.

Drake London's sideline confrontation, Raimondi's story at 5:39, is with a fan in ESPN's headline and with somebody in London's own answer. The AP's in-game report has A.J. Terrell Jr. leaving in the first quarter with a groin injury, Samson Ebukam late in the first half with a hamstring, and Jawaan Taylor questionable in the fourth quarter with ribs. Thursday at Lambeau Field, 8:15 on Prime Video, is 103 hours and 15 minutes from Sunday's kickoff.

Atlanta United

No fixture today. Saturday's 1-0 at Portland is Tito's; the next one is New York City FC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, 7:30.

Tomorrow's watch. Monday: the Falcons' designations after Terrell, Ebukam and Taylor, if the club posts them; nothing on its site promises a Monday post. Tuesday: Cincinnati at Truist Park, 7:15, JR Ritchie listed to start.

One more thing. Houston's row on MLB's standings reads three straight losses, all of them to Atlanta, and second in the AL West by a game to Texas, who lost 7-2 to Toronto today; the AP adds that the Astros hold the tiebreaker.