week prior -- ostensibly to not go up against the Ryde week prior -- ostensibly to not go up against the Ryde | Forum

ATLANTA -- While the Atlanta Braves are suddenly surging, the San Diego Padres are heading in the wrong direction. Reggie White Jersey .Freddie Freeman homered and the Braves broke the game open with a five-run fifth inning, beating the skidding Padres 9-6 on Thursday to complete a three-game sweep.For San Diego, it was the seventh loss in nine games.One day after Minnesota dipped below Atlanta to the worst record in the majors, the Braves kept on winning behind a six solid innings from Mike Foltynewicz (8-5) and another strong showing from the offense.It was the first time theyve had five consecutive home games scoring at least seven runs since Aug. 7-10, 1953, the teams debut season in Milwaukee.Were not having the kind of season we wanted to, Freeman said. But we want to finish strong.The Braves also put together their first three-game sweep at Turner Field this season, outscoring the Padres 24-10.Freeman put Atlanta up in the third with his 28th homer, a two-run liner into the right-field seats off Jarred Cosart (0-2).After Hector Sanchez homered for the Padres in the fifth, the Braves finished off Cosart in the bottom half. Freeman walked with the bases loaded, followed by two-run singles from Matt Kemp and Anthony Recker.The Braves two previous three-game sweeps this season came on the road. Theyre still just 22-44 at Turner Field.Foltynewicz won his fourth straight decision over six starts. He went six innings, yielding just four hits though he did get touched for a pair of homers. Wil Myers went deep in the sixth, lofting a two-run shot just inside the left-field pole.Cosart lasted only 4 1/3 innings, charged with seven runs on five hits and three walks.The Padres scored three runs in the ninth off Chaz Roe before Jim Johnson came on to get the final out for his 14th save.RARE COMPANYMyers homer was his 24th of the season, to go along with 24 stolen bases.The last San Diego player to pull off such a double was Reggie Sanders in 1999. He had 26 homers and 36 stolen bases.NEW FACESBoth teams made some minor changes on the first day of expanded rosters.San Diego called up left-hander Ryan Buchter from Triple-A El Paso of the Pacific Coast League. He has spent most of the season with the Padres, going 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 58 games before being sent out Aug. 20 for a brief stint in the minors.The Braves, meanwhile, reinstated right-handed reliever Chris Withrow and catcher A.J. Piersynski from the 15-day disabled list, and also called up left-hander Jeb Bradley from Triple-A Gwinnett. To make room for him on the 40-man roster, Atlanta transferred injured pitcher Eric OFlaherty to the 60-day disabled list.UP NEXTPadres: LHP Clayton Richard (1-3, 3.51) gets the nod Friday as the Padres begin a three-game series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. The 32-year-old will be making his fourth start since signing with the Padres. He has not allowed an earned run in 14 consecutive innings.Braves: RHP Joel De La Cruz will again be seeking his first big league win when he starts the opener of a weekend series against the Philadelphia Phillies. The 27-year-old is 0-7 with a 4.66 ERA in 15 games -- including eight starts -- since being called up from Triple-A Gwinnett. He 0-1 with a 3.27 ERA in three appearances vs. the Phillies.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry . Wilbert Montgomery Jersey . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Shareef Miller Womens Jersey . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. https:///...ert-Inverted-Jersey/ . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide. 1. Soft openingGolf in general and the PGA Tour in particular has never really been into the idea of celebrating Opening Day. Unlike MLB and the NFL, leagues who circle the date on the calendar, a new golf season isnt really much to rejoice about.Aside from those players who are exempt and missed the FedEx Cup playoffs or maybe bowed out early, and those who just last week earned their PGA Tour cards, the start to the 2016-17 season at this weeks Safeway Open in Napa, California, is more continuation of a long golf year than it is a start of a new one.Just 18 days before the first tee shots are hit at Silverado Resort, Rory McIlroy was hoisting the FedEx Cup trophy following his Tour Championship victory at East Lake. Were still trying to decompress from the highly-charged Ryder Cup -- with Phil Mickelson and Matt Kuchar the only Ryder Cuppers competing this week in California.And so the PGA Tours fourth version of a wrap-around schedule is set to begin, the first of seven tournaments played during the coming six weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. The official season then resumes at the Tournament of Champions on Jan. 5.2. Of course, Tiger ...Had Tiger Woods played the Safeway Open as originally hoped and planned, the season-opening event would have taken on an entirely different vibe. Woods return to competitive golf after a now 14-months-and-counting hiatus was a story that went well beyond the sleepy opening to a golf season. Based on ticket sales and media interest, the tournament would have rivaled any of the biggest events of the coming season.Understandably, there have been some disappointed people in Napa, many of whom bought tickets with the express intention of coming to see Woods. And many were dismayed to learn there are no refunds.That is standard operating procedure at a PGA Tour event. Tickets are non-refundable, and a good lesson in reading the fine print.As it pertains to Woods hope to participate announcement on Sept. 7, the Safeway Open promoted that on its website and didnt go out of its way to explain that the 14-time major had not officially committed to the tournament. For those who think the tournament is losing out on Woods withdrawal, it managed to sell a good number of tickets based on his hopeful participation.3. When commitment is a bad wordIn order to play in a PGA Tour event, a player must commit to it by the Friday prior to tournament week. The terminology should really be enter because there is nothing at all that commits you to playing. It is a procedural move that is required. To play, you must commit -- but its not binding. Many players will commit to every tournament they think they will play early in the season, so as not to forget to do so. They then withdraw if their schedule changes or if they change their mind.In Woods case, a commitment has been a huge deal to any tournament for the duration of his 20-year career and his reluctance to commit early stems from something that occurred early on.When Woods turned pro in August of 1996, he had no status on the PGA Tour. As a non-member, he was allowed to take up to seven sponsor exemptions, and tournaments lined up to extend them. Before winning in Las Vegas, Woods goal was to earn enough money to finish among the top 125 on the money list, thereby foregoing the qualifying tournament.He had scheduled eight straight weeks of tournaments (he could forego a sponsor exemption if he finished top 10) and played Greater Milwaukee (T-60), Canadian Open (11th), Quad City Classic (T-5) and the B.C. Open (T-3). The next week, he was scheduled to play the Buick Challenge, and was actually on site when he became ill and withdrew, also skipping a dinner where he was to be honored as the college player of the year.Woodds was heavily criticized -- even Arnold Palmer took issue with it at the time, saying he should have played. Randall Cunningham Eagles Jersey. . The lesson is you dont make commitments you cant fulfill, unless youre on your deathbed, and I dont believe he was on his deathbed.The following week, Woods won the first of his 79 PGA Tour titles at the Las Vegas Invitational and adopted a longstanding policy of not committing to events early so as not to disappoint in case he changed his mind.But Palmers comments notwithstanding, in order to play that tournament, Woods had to enter -- which is far from the commitment it is made out to be.4. About that Tiger-Phil pairingTheres been a good bit of speculation about Woods being grouped this week with Phil Mickelson at the Safeway Open and how that might have been one of the reasons he decided against playing.Its safe to say that it had nothing to do with it. The PGA Tour several weeks ago made overtures to both parties to see if they would be opposed to the idea. Mickelson had said on Sept. 7 when Woods first announced his intentions to possibly play that hed love to be grouped with Tiger at the Safeway. Woods agent, Mark Steinberg, was also approached.Aside from major championships and World Golf Championship tournaments where they might have been grouped together in the first two rounds, Woods and Mickelson had not played together on the opening days of a PGA Tour event since the 1998 Nissan Open. They have routinely been put on opposite sides of the pairings draw in order to have marquee players in the TV window for Rounds 1 and 2.Although the tour does not necessarily always ask participants if they are okay with a marquee grouping as is often orchestrated, in this case it happened. And Woods could have declined.5. What will Phil do next?For the first time since the start of the wraparound schedule, Phil Mickelson is playing a fall event -- aside from the World Golf Championship tournament in China he has played on several occasions. He announced months ago he would be playing the Safeway Open, which marks the start of his 26th PGA Tour season.Mickelson, 46, has played 548 events to date, with 42 victories, 34 runner-up finishes and 182 top-10s.6. In his own wordsWhen Tiger Woods did officially withdraw from the Safeway Open, he posted his statement at his website and also via his Twitter account.7. And at least one person was happy Tiger didnt showThat would be Max Homa, who got into the field when Woods withdrew. 8. Schedule crunchAn unfortunate -- but avoidable -- situation occurred last week when the PGA Tour had to cancel the Web.com Tour Championship due to the threat of Hurricane Matthew. Canceling the event due to the impending storm was the only option aside from trying to move it, although that likely presented numerous logistical concerns.The fallout, however, was severe for those players who were counting on the event to try to secure their PGA Tour card for the season that begins this week. And therein lies the problem.With the wraparound schedule as it is, determining playing status for the first event of the new season has to be completed. Hence, the Web.com Tour Championship could not be moved to this week.But there was an off week prior -- ostensibly to not go up against the Ryder Cup -- and that proved to be the problem, offering no room for error.9. Confidence boostAustralian Steven Bowditch has been in a slump that saw him miss 15 cuts this year, including his past six in a row. But the two-time PGA Tour winner has had a great sense of humor about it, this time offering a shout out to Tiger Woods for a practice round. ' ' '