The Opener: Story, Nola, Dodgers

Nationals right-hander Cade Cavalli will face the Angels tonight. He could head into the start with a new deal in hand. The sides are nearing a contract extension, first reported by Robert Murray of FanSided. 1. Story stuns Rangers Texas was two innings away from sweeping Boston and keeping pace with Houston in the AL West. After two runners reached to start the eighth inning, manager Skip Schumaker called on All-Star closer Jacob Latz. After retiring Adley Rutschman, Latz left a curveball up to Trevor Story, who deposited it over the left field wall. The Red Sox bullpen navigated the final frames with the help of two double plays. A sports hernia wrecked Story’s season, but he’s been excellent since returning from the IL. The shortstop has an .867 OPS in 16 games following his activation. 2. Nola shines again Phillies righty Aaron Nola stayed hot on Thursday, tossing seven shutout innings in a win over the Mets. The veteran didn’t allow a hit until a Nick Morabito single with one out in the sixth inning. Morabito was quickly erased on a double play. Nola has a 2.10 ERA over his last 10 starts. He’s allowed two earned runs or fewer in eight straight outings. The underlying metrics aren’t as good, but a 3.69 xERA and a 3.78 xFIP are still better than Nola had been before the calendar flipped to August. He’s surging at the right time with Jesus Luzardo on the IL and Cristopher Sanchez struggling in September. 3. Dodgers clinch NL West The Dodgers wrapped up another division title with a win over the Reds yesterday. L.A. got seven scoreless innings from Justin Wrobleski and Landon Knack. Kyle Tucker continued his productive stretch, going 4-for-5 with a homer and three RBI. It’s the Dodgers’ fifth consecutive division title and 13th in the past 14 seasons. The club will now turn its attention toward securing a first-round bye. Los Angeles is four games up on Atlanta for the second-best record in the NL. Photo courtesy of Raymond Carlin III, Imagn Images View Comments (7)