The Atlanta Braves have agreed to a deal with free-agent left-hander Dallas Keuchel, sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan, confirming a report by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The veteran starter will receive a one-year deal that will pay him $13 million, which is prorated from a figure closer to $20 million, sources said, confirming a Yahoo report.

Atlanta is 33-29 this season and entered Thursday night two games back of the first-place Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East.

Atlanta also had interest in signing All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel but wasn't willing to be as aggressive as the Chicago Cubs were. Chicago and Kimbrel on Wednesday agreed to a three-year deal worth $43 million that includes a fourth-year option, sources said.

The Braves have an abundance of talented young starters -- such as Mike Soroka, Max Fried, Kevin Gausman and Mike Foltynewicz -- but Keuchel could be a stabilizer in their rotation.

Keuchel, the 2015 AL Cy Young Award winner, went 12-11 with a 3.74 ERA and 153 strikeouts in the 2018 regular season for the Astros and made two postseason starts with a 3.60 ERA and no record. He made $13.2 million.

The 32-year-old turned down a $17.9 million qualifying offer by the Astros after the season.

Keuchel is particularly reliant on the ground ball. Though his ability to change speeds and the movement of his slider are what propelled him to ace status, both his change and slider were below-average pitches in 2017. This at times necessitated an over-reliance on the cutter, now his best pitch, which got Keuchel into trouble in 2018, as he lost eight of his first 13 starts.

He rebounded with a 3.23 ERA over his final 20 starts.

"He got back to being himself," Astros manager A.J. Hinch told reporters during the postseason. "He knows who he is, what he does best -- attacking the game plan, improvising as the game goes along. He gets the ball on the ground. He gets soft contact. He got ultra-focused on just getting back to his strengths and being himself."

Keuchel earned his second All-Star nod in 2017 and was 14-5 with a 2.90 ERA in 23 regular-season starts, helping lead Houston to its first World Series title. He struck out 10 in seven scoreless innings to get the win in the opener of the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees and won Game 2 of the AL Division Series against the Boston Red Sox.

In seven seasons with the Astros, Keuchel was 76-63 with a 3.66 ERA. He was 20-8 with a career-best 2.48 ERA in 33 starts in 2015 and set a major league record by going 16-0 at home. He was the starting pitcher for the AL in the 2015 All-Star Game and won three Gold Gloves.

He also dazzled the Yankees over six shutout innings to win the 2015 AL wild-card game after helping Houston reach the playoffs for the first time since 2005.

Keuchel, a seventh-round pick in the 2009 amateur draft, made his major league debut in 2012, when he posted a 3-8 record in 16 games while striking out 38 batters.

MILWAUKEE, Wis. – In his 43 year driving career, Rich Bickle Jr. has raced at a staggering 225 paved race tracks across America.

He has cataloged more than 500 race victories in his storied career. It may be hard to believe, but the 58-year-old is still in pursuit of his first win at the famed Milwaukee Mile oval.

For Bickle, winning on Wisconsin short tracks against the likes of his hero and friend, Dick Trickle, made him a top caliber racer in Wisconsin. He won the 1990 Red, White and Blue State Championship, he owns four Slinger Nationals titles and several weekly track championships.

Getting the opportunity to race at The Milwaukee Mile starting in the late 1980’s helped propel and prepare him for 218 NASCAR national series starts between 1989 and 2005.

With determination and talent, Bickle was hired by NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip at some point to drive for their NASCAR teams, and fielded his own entries in what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

“I first saw Don White and Roger McCluskey racing in USAC stock cars at the Mile in the 1960’s with my mom and dad, and I knew from that day that I just had to race there,” Bickle said. “I had the same feeling after going to the 1976 Daytona 500 with my parents and witnessing the famous Richard Petty and David Pearson crash.  I just knew I had to race there someday.”

Bickle raced twice in the Daytona 500, and began chasing the checkered flag at The Milwaukee Mile in 1988 in a 60-lap ARTGO-sanctioned race, in which he finished 12th.

“I’ve raced in just about every kind of stock car at The Mile, but something has always bit me there,” Bickle shared. “I’ve led laps in NASCAR Trucks and XFINITY Series there, had a shot at winning a couple races in my Miller-sponsored late model there, too.”

In total, Bickle raced in five ASA National Tour races held at The Milwaukee Mile, led in two of the three NASCAR Xfinity Series races he competed in there, and in five NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series races, his best result was a third place finish in 1997, the year he finished second in the series championship points.

Flash forward to 2019 and Bickle is back home on the Wisconsin short tracks, and he’s not just making laps.  He’s already finished third at the Dells Raceway Park in a 100-lap race, and second in the 200-lap Joe Shear Classic at Madison Int’l Speedway. He feels he had a shot to win both races had it not been for bent suspension components from race altercations in each event.

Bickle and Tony DeAmbrose of T1 Racing have been “trying to put better stuff together for 2019,” including long hours preparing their race car in recent weeks for Milwaukee.  Bickle offered that the speed in his car can be credited to DeAmbrose and what the pair have worked on and fine-tuned down south.

Bickle competed in December at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., the track where he’s won the prestigious Snowball Derby race a record five times.  He also competed in January in a 250-lap race in Cordele, Ga., against some of the same national traveling stars he’ll face on Father’s Day Sunday.

After two top-10 finishes in the first two ARCA Midwest Tour events this year, he enters The Milwaukee Mile race third in series points. He is confident he will be among a handful of drivers who have a real shot to win the 100-mile race on June 16th.

Bickle has ten top-five finishes in 39 ARCA Midwest Tour races since 2007. He raced a full season in 2013, including an abbreviated run to a 33rd place finish due to an engine failure at The Milwaukee Mile that season.

“I think it’s the only track I’ve raced at in Wisconsin that I have not won at,” he exclaimed. “Winning at Milwaukee would top off my career.”

MOHNTON, Pa. – Maple Grove Raceway, a stalwart on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule since 1985, has been listed for sale.

The track has been owned by the Stauffer family since 1962, when Alfred Stauffer built the facility. The sale includes 14 parcels of land totaling 450 acres and the racing business. The asking price for the facility is listed as $8 million.

“It’s not hard times or anything like that,” Maple Grove Raceway’s Director of Communications Sarah Gingrich told The Reading Eagle. “The family is aging. The parents that owned it passed it down to their kids, and then their kids, it wasn’t in the cards for them. Running a race track is not easy.”

The NHRA has been visiting Maple Grove Raceway since the late 1960s and the track hosted its first NHRA national event in 1985. The NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series is scheduled to return to Maple Grove on Sept. 12-15.

SAPULPA, Okla. – Showers, with the threat of severe weather with flash flooding, has forced the as the cancellation of Thursday’s Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series and American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region event at Creek County Speedway.

This marks the eight time this season that the National Tour of the American Sprint Car Series has been slid by Mother Nature.

The next event for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network is Saturday, June 8 at Salina Speedway in Salina, Kan.

The event is also co-sanctioned with the American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region.

TOPEKA, Kan. – The deadline has been extended to Saturday, June 22 to submit 2020 SCCA Hall of Fame nomination suggestions.

Any SCCA member can submit a nomination to the Hall of Fame Committee. Submissions should be approximately two pages in length and summarize the nominee’s background and reasons for consideration. The goal should be to help the Nomination, Legacy and Selection Committees understand why and how the nominee was impactful.

Submissions should be more than just a resume. Ideally, those preparing submissions will paint a picture as to why their nominee should be considered. Include when the nominee joined SCCA, the nominee’s Region affiliation, and the offices held or competition accomplishments of the nominee. It is also important to note how the nominee shaped SCCA as a National organization.

Nominations can be submitted to [email protected] or mailed to SCCA Hall of Fame, 6620 SE Dwight Street; Topeka, KS 66619. Those submitting nominations should also include their own email address, phone number or mailing address in case they need to be contacted for more information about a nominee.

The purpose of the SCCA Hall of Fame is to preserve, protect and record the history and accomplishments of the Club for current and future members by recognizing those who have had a significant impact on the Club and the sport. This may be through service to the national organization, achievements in competition, advancement of the sport, or bringing recognition to the SCCA that inspires enthusiasts to seek out and become SCCA members.

Since 2005, a wide array of individuals have been nominated to the Hall of Fame. Candidates have been indispensable members from a Region or Division, as well as those who have made an impact on a national level. Some people have been nominated based on the fact they attracted others to the Club or have even been role models.

Multiple independent nominations will be gladly accepted. This is a chance for SCCA members to leave a permanent mark on the Club by being the one responsible for nominating a member for next year’s Hall of Fame class.

England manager Gareth Southgate was left to rue two shocking defensive errors in extra time which gifted the Netherlands a 3-1 win in the Nations League semifinals on Thursday but he refused to put the blame on his players.

John Stones was caught in possession on the edge of the area which led to the goal that saw the Dutch go 2-1 up and then put Ross Barkley under pressure with a needless short pass that the midfielder misplaced to hand the Netherlands their third goal.

"Fatigue has played a part tonight, and a lack of match sharpness," said Southgate, who added that his commitment to playing the ball out from the back was not to blame.

"I'm asking them to play a tough game at the back - if we didn't play that way we wouldn't be here," he told reporters.

Ogden: Dutch defeat extinguishes good wil for World Cup run

"The Netherlands also made a huge mistake at the back tonight," he said, referring to Matthijs de Ligt giving away a penalty for the first goal. "We didn't lose because of how we wanted to play; we lost because of poor execution and fatigue."

The defeat makes it four losses in their last four semifinal appearances in competitive tournaments for England including the 1990 and 2018 World Cup and Euro '96.

"We talked before the match about the incredible games England have been involved in in past tournaments. We were up against a high level of opponent but we solved the problems they posed. We just made too many mistakes in our third," said Southgate.

Manchester United youngster Marcus Rashford gave England the initial lead on a first-half penalty before the Dutch fought back to grab the win.

England midfielder Declan Rice called the loss "gutting."

"After Marcus Rashford put that penalty in, we ran our socks off in the first half," Rice told the BBC. "But then we sat back a bit and the set-piece is a tough one to take because we work on that day in day out."

England produced what they thought might be the winner in the second half but the referee chalked it off after Jesse Lingard was shown by VAR to be centimetres ahead of the last man.

"It's a tough one to take while we were all celebrating. We have to take it on the chin and then we gifted them two goals," Rice said.

England captain Harry Kane called the game "a massive disappointment" after the Three Lions gave up their initial lead.

"We dropped too deep and it took them to equalise for us to step it up again. We scored what we thought was going to be the winner but that's the fine margins in games like this. It's part of learning as a team, we take that on the chin and that's the way we want to play," Kane told Sky Sports.

"That's what VAR is there for. It's hard because you think you've won but we've got to get used to it. I'm sure they got it right.

The Tottenham Hotspur man came on as a second-half sub, having started for the club in their Champions League final loss to Liverpool last week.

"I don't think the Champions League final affected it tonight, as a squad we are good enough whoever plays," Kane said of his performance. "This is when the tournaments are going to be, you've got to pick yourself up at this stage of the season. We were a few inches away from winning it.

"We made sloppy mistakes giving the ball away but that's what we have to learn from. When you come across good teams that's what they do."

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

GUIMARAES, Portugal -- For 120 minutes of this Nations League semifinal in Guimaraes, Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk was booed every time he touched the ball by England's vast army of travelling supporters.

It is difficult to come up with a credible explanation for that, especially considering the contribution that Van Dijk made to Liverpool's Champions League-winning campaign, but perhaps it was down to plain old envy. After all, here was a defender who produced a masterclass in his art, while at the other end, every England player in Gareth Southgate's back four performed as though they were auditioning for a role in the Keystone Cops.

Van Dijk was not the only Dutchman to stand head and shoulders above their England opponents during the 3-1 victory, after extra time, which secured a date with Portugal in Sunday's inaugural Nations League final in Porto. Frenkie de Jong, Memphis Depay, Daley Blind and Matthijs de Ligt -- after a shaky first half that saw him concede a penalty for a foul on Marcus Rashford -- all stood out for Ronald Koeman's team because they all displayed the technique required to excel on the international stage.

As for England, their supporters could point to Southgate resting all seven of the players who participated in last Saturday's Champions League final as one factor in their team's failure to win this game. The emerging talent of Phil Foden, James Maddison, Harry Winks and Mason Mount may also be players who could make a difference in the coming months and years.

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Yet while England were unfortunate to see Jesse Lingard's second-half goal ruled out for the tightest of offside decisions by VAR -- a goal that would have put them 2-1 ahead with seven minutes to play -- the reality is that last season's World Cup semifinalists were outplayed and out-thought by the Dutch.

"I think we have learned so much in terms of playing against a top-quality team that posed us different problems to what we have faced in the past," Southgate said. "We posed a threat in the game but we have conceded really poor goals.

"The Dutch pressed very well with a real intensity and we were not quite as sharp on some of the decision making. But I think it's a really important game for us to reflect on and we will be stronger for the experience. We could have had a Euro 2020 qualifier and learned nothing."

But for the heroics of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, England would have slumped to a much heavier defeat because their defending was careless, they could not get a grip of the game in midfield and chances were too few for their forwards.

Less than a year ago, England returned from the World Cup in Russia having restored the nation's reputation as a major player on the international stage, and victories over Spain and Croatia in the Nations League group stage appeared to underline their status as a force to be reckoned with ahead of Euro 2020 and Qatar 2022. But this defeat against the Dutch in northern Portugal offered a timely reminder of the shortcomings that were underplayed in Russia.

England still cannot control a game against a team capable of passing the ball, and they continue to struggle to score from open play against an elite opponent. In Guimaraes, England's goal came from the penalty spot after Rashford converted from 12 yards following the foul by De Ligt.

In Russia, England at least looked competent at the back, with Kyle Walker, Harry Maguire and John Stones all returning to their clubs with enhanced reputations. But individually and collectively against the Netherlands, they were all error prone and unconvincing, as was left-back Ben Chilwell.

Maguire was caught in possession in dangerous positions more than once, while Stones's defensive naivety saw him give the ball away to Memphis on the edge of the penalty area in the 97th minute -- a mistake that led directly to Quincy Promes putting the Dutch ahead, courtesy of a heavy deflection off Walker. Stones was also at fault when failing to halt De Ligt's run to his headed equaliser from a corner early in the second half, while Walker and Chilwell were both guilty of leaving huge gaps at the back when going forward, so it was a bad night all round for Southgate's back four.

Unless England learn how to defend properly, they can forget about winning a major tournament anytime soon. And the same applies to their inability to control the tempo of games at this level.

Yes, they have players who helped Manchester City win a domestic treble and Liverpool the Champions League, but the likes of Stones and Walker are less exposed defensively at City thanks to the foreign talent around them, while Jordan Henderson's shortcomings at Liverpool are masked by Van Dijk behind him and the attacking talents of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino ahead of him.

Without the superior technical qualities of their club teammates around them with England, the true level of many of Southgate's players becomes apparent. Raheem Sterling, another standout performer for City, is perhaps an exception, but even he has struggled to consistently reproduce his club form for England.

Players unable to shine for England as they do for their clubs has been a long-standing problem for the national team, but Russia 2018 suggested that Southgate might have found a way to reverse the trend. Yet at the halfway point between the World Cup and Euro 2020, England's progress has stalled and this defeat against the Dutch was a worrying return to the old failings.

If they are to rediscover momentum, England need to defend properly again and, somehow, find a way to keep the ball and use it properly when they have it. It sounds simple, but they have now been trying and failing to do that since 1966.