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KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Tyler Reddick will start from the pole in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Kansas Speedway.

Reddick leaned on his extensive background driving dirt late models to ride the rim around the mile-and-a-half track on Saturday. He stopped the clock in 29.899 seconds, denying Joey Logano a second straight pole.

“It took off fast. I was really happy with the car,” Reddick said. “It definitely likes the top two or three grooves of this race track, but just really happy with the entire performance of our team today.”

It’s the first time that Reddick, who is fifth in the playoff standings, has earned the pole on an oval.

“I’m really excited about that,” he said, “and it’s crazy — I think my first Xfinity pole came here, too.”

The drivers who made the final round had to contend with changing conditions – the first few qualifying laps were made under cloud cover, while the sun began peeking out for Austin Cindric and remained out the rest of the session.

They also had to decide whether to ride the far outside groove or a line that was slightly lower on the track.

Christopher Bell, who opted for the rim, was the fastest in the first group of five with a lap of 30.057 seconds. And he was pleased with the time for Joe Gibbs Racing, telling his team over the radio, “That’s all I got, buddy.”

It was enough to start alongside Alex Bowman on the outside of the second row.

Bowman took a slightly lower line around the track and posted a time of 29.964 seconds before Logano overtook him down the back stretch and carried enough speed through Turn 3 and Turn 4 to set a new best time of 29.936.

“I thought we had a pretty good lap,” Logano said. “Our car was tighter than it was the first run. It was so good the first run that we didn’t want to adjust too much. We picked up a lot from practice and laid down a pretty good lap.”

Just not quite as good as Reddick, who landed the No. 8 of Richard Childress Racing up front.

“This place continues to change. It’s the kind of track you can move around a lot,” he said. “Just the amount of on-throttle time you have is a big adjustment and, thankfully, we got it pretty good and got to the last round.”

The top five starting spots belong to playoff drivers with Ross Chastain rounding it out. Bubba Wallace qualified sixth, ahead of three more playoff drivers in Kyle Larson, Cindric and William Byron. Chris Buescher will start 10th.

The rest of the playoff field has some ground to make up.

Austin Dillon will start 11th with Chase Briscoe in 13th, Kevin Harvick behind him, and Daniel Suárez in 15th. Ryan Blaney qualified 17th with Kyle Busch in 20th, Chase Elliott in 22nd and Denny Hamlin 25th.

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Hard-throwing rookie Misiorowski going to ASG

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Hard-throwing rookie Misiorowski going to ASG

Hard-throwing rookie Jacob Misiorowski is a National League All-Star replacement, giving the Milwaukee Brewers right-hander a chance to break Paul Skenes‘ record for the fewest big league appearances before playing in the Midsummer Classic.

Misiorowski was named Friday night to replace Chicago Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd, who will be unavailable for the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Atlanta because he is scheduled to start Saturday at the New York Yankees.

The 23-year-old Misiorowski has made just five starts for the Brewers, going 4-1 with a 2.81 ERA while averaging 99.3 mph on his fastball, with 89 pitches that have reached 100 mph.

If he pitches at Truist Park, Misiorowski will make it consecutive years for a player to set the mark for fewest big league games before an All-Star showing.

Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander getting ready for his second All-Star appearance, had made 11 starts in the majors when he was chosen as the NL starter for last year’s All-Star Game at Texas. He pitched a scoreless inning.

“I’m speechless,” said a teary-eyed Misiorowski, who said he was given the news a few minutes before the Brewers’ 8-3 victory over Washington. “It’s awesome. It’s very unexpected and it’s an honor.”

Misiorowski is the 30th first-time All-Star and 16th replacement this year. There are now 80 total All-Stars.

“He’s impressive. He’s got some of the best stuff in the game right now, even though he’s a young pitcher,” said Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who is a starting AL outfielder for his seventh All-Star nod. “He’s going to be a special pitcher in this game for a long time so I think he deserved it and it’s going be pretty cool for him and his family.”

Carlos Rodón, Carlos Estévez and Casey Mize were named replacement pitchers on the AL roster.

The New York Yankees‘ Rodón, an All-Star for the third time in five seasons, will replace teammate Max Fried for Tuesday’s game in Atlanta. Fried will be unavailable because he is scheduled to start Saturday against the Chicago Cubs.

In his final start before the All-Star game, Rodón allowed four hits and struck out eight in eight innings in an 11-0 victory over the Cubs.

“This one’s a little special for me,” said Rodón, an All-Star in 2021 and ’22 who was 3-8 in his first season with the Yankees two years ago before rebounding. “I wasn’t good when I first got here, and I just wanted to prove that I wasn’t to going to give up and just put my best foot forward and try to win as many games as I can.”

The Kansas City Royals‘ Estévez replaces Texas’ Jacob deGrom, who is scheduled to start at Houston on Saturday night. Estévez was a 2023 All-Star when he was with the Los Angeles Angels.

Mize takes the spot held by Boston‘s Garrett Crochet, who is scheduled to start Saturday against Tampa Bay. Mize gives the Tigers six All-Stars, most of any team and tied for the franchise record.

Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia will replace Tampa Bay‘s Brandon Lowe, who went on the injured list with left oblique tightness. The additions of Estévez and Garcia give the Royals four All-Stars, matching their 2024 total.

The Seattle Mariners announced center fielder Julio Rodríguez will not participate, and he was replaced by teammate Randy Arozarena. Rodríguez had been voted onto the AL roster via the players’ ballot. The Mariners, who have five All-Stars, said Rodríguez will use the break to “recuperate, rest and prepare for the second half.”

Arozarena is an All-Star for the second time. He started in left field for the AL two years ago, when he was with Tampa Bay. Arozarena was the runner-up to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the 2023 Home Run Derby.

Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen, a first-time All-Star, is replacing Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, who is scheduled to start Saturday night at Arizona. Rasmussen is 7-5 with a 2.82 ERA in 18 starts.

San Diego added a third NL All-Star reliever in lefty Adrián Morejón, who replaces Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler. The Phillies’ right-hander is scheduled to start at San Diego on Saturday night. Morejón entered the weekend with a 1.71 ERA in 45 appearances.

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Giants’ Devers dealing with disk injury in back

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Giants' Devers dealing with disk injury in back

SAN FRANCISCO — Giants designated hitter Rafael Devers is dealing with a disk injury in his lower back that has limited his production since joining his new club.

Manager Bob Melvin is hopeful Devers won’t require a stint on the injured list given the upcoming time off for the All-Star break.

Devers has begun anti-inflammatory medication for the irritation symptoms he is experiencing and is playing through the issue. He underwent an MRI exam Thursday.

“He went on some medication, feels a little bit better today. We’ll see how he responds to that,” Melvin said Friday. “I’m glad we got the MRI done so we know what’s going on.”

Acquired last month from the Red Sox, Devers entered the series opener Friday against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers batting .245 with 23 strikeouts, four doubles, a home run and six RBIs over his past 14 games dating to June 26. He was hitting .261 with 17 homers and 67 RBIs overall.

The Giants took on Devers’ mega contract when they traded for him June 15 to boost their offense after the slugger made it known he didn’t want to play first base for Boston. But he arrived in the Bay Area insisting he would do anything asked of him to help San Francisco win.

A three-time All-Star, Devers signed a $313.5 million, 10-year contract with the Red Sox in 2023.

On Friday, he was in the lineup as DH batting third. He isn’t ready to play the field, including first base, where he has been doing regular fielding work.

“He feels it mostly running, probably a little bit at the plate, but not as much as when he’s running bases,” Melvin said. “I think with the break hopefully [he’ll be OK]. I think he’s been playing through it for a little bit, basically since he’s been here. It’s the reason he’s not out in the field right now.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Cardinals’ Arenado (sprained finger) exits early

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Cardinals' Arenado (sprained finger) exits early

The St. Louis Cardinals removed star third baseman Nolan Arenado from their 6-5 loss to the visiting Atlanta Braves on Friday night because of a sprained right index finger.

Arenado, who was 1-for-3, was replaced in the seventh inning by Thomas Saggese. While it was unclear how Arenado hurt the finger, it is the same injury that kept him out of two games last week during a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Arenado has 10 home runs and 42 RBIs in 84 games this season.

Field Level Media contributed to this report.

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