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FORT WORTH, Texas — Tyler Reddick opened the round of 12 in NASCAR’s playoffs with a victory at Texas on Sunday, winning a week after being one of the first four Cup drivers knocked out of title contention.

After none of the contenders won the first three races of the playoffs — a first in any round in this postseason format — the trend continued with the eliminated Reddick leading 53 of the final 54 laps on a long race day that went into the night.

Reddick finished 1.19 seconds ahead of Joey Logano at the end of an extended race that had a track-record 16 cautions, a record 36 lead changes, a 56-minute red flag for lightning and multiple tire issues leading to crashes — including those involving playoff contenders Chase Elliott, the points leader going into the second round, and Christopher Bell.

“I was extremely worried, I’m not going to lie,” Reddick said. “Unfortunately, just about every time we’ve had fast cars, we’ve had some tire problems. That last run, the right sides were vibrating really, really hard there. … I was just trying to maximize and use the gap that I built over [Logano] just in case.”

Logano took over the points lead by 12 over Ross Chastain.

Elliott, who entered the round of 12 as the points leader, had a fiery finish after contact with the outside wall in Turn 4 when leading just past the halfway mark of the race.

Flames were already visible from under the right side of the No. 9 Chevrolet when he got onto the frontstretch, then turned across and came to a stop in the middle of the infield, where he climbed out uninjured as the car was being engulfed by flames. He finished 32nd.

“I’m not sure that Goodyear is at fault,” Elliott said. “Goodyear always takes the black eye, but they’re put in a really tough position by NASCAR to build a tire that can survive these types of racetracks with this car. I wouldn’t blame Goodyear.”

Goodyear and NASCAR officials said there were several teams that didn’t have tire issues, and the reports from those teams indicated that they were conservative with the air pressure they used in their tires.

Non-playoff drivers Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. also had tire issues when leading the race at the 1½-mile track.

Bell, the Oklahoma native who considers Texas his home track, couldn’t recover from a second tire issue that led to his race-ending crash after finishing only 136 laps. He was the only driver to finish in the top five in all three races in the first round of this postseason but was 34th at Texas.

Contenders Ryan Blaney and Chase Briscoe finished fourth and fifth. The other finishers still eligible for the title were William Byron (seventh), Kyle Larson (ninth), Denny Hamlin (10th), Daniel Suarez (12th), Chastain (13th), rookie Austin Cindric (15th) and Alex Bowman (29th).

Soon after the caution came out for Truex’s spinout from the lead on Lap 268, Hamlin was sliding through the infield after Byron made contact with him from behind. When pressed after the race, Byron acknowledged that he intentionally did it, upset about being pushed up against the wall by Hamlin during green-flag laps just before that.

Hamlin stayed side-by-side and nose-to-tail with Byron during the caution period, livid because of the position he was losing on the track. Since he couldn’t keep pace after going into the grass, Hamlin had to restart 22nd instead of near the front.

“I guess we can just wreck each other under caution. I tried to wreck him back,” Hamlin said. “Yeah, I don’t think we touched. I got to look. I don’t think we touched. Obviously, he sent us into the infield under caution.”

Scott Miller, NASCAR’s senior vice president for competition, said officials didn’t see the incident in real time while focused on what caused the caution. He said the incident will be reviewed to determine whether there will be any penalties.

The race was about to resume following the caution period for the end of the second stage when NASCAR ran some extra laps under caution because there was light rain falling on some parts of the 1½-mile track. But when there was lightning in the vicinity, the cars were brought to park on pit road with 220 of 334 laps completed.

Drivers got a chance to get out of the cars for a break on a day with record heat. Temperatures in the upper 90s made for the hottest Cup race ever at the track that opened in 1997.

ANOTHER EARLY BUSCH EXIT

Kyle Busch completed only 48 laps and was last in the 36-car field, marking the first time in his 32 Cup starts at Texas that he didn’t finish the race.

Busch got loose when going higher up the track as he was getting close to teammate Hamlin.

“I went to the high groove where I was making time in the spray and the sticky stuff, but it is not so sticky apparently. I crashed,” Busch said. “I’m trying to go, trying to race. Banana peels out there for me.”

The race came a week after the two-time champion was eliminated from title contention in his final season with Joe Gibbs Racing before going to Richard Childress Racing. Busch finished 34th at Bristol after an engine failure just past the halfway mark of the race.

MULTIPLE IMPACTS

Cody Ware‘s car went nearly nose-first into the safety barrier on the outside wall in Turn 4, then shot down the track and onto pit road. There was then an even bigger hit when the car slammed hard just past a cutout in the pit wall.

Ware escaped serious injury, though he was put on a stretcher and into an ambulance after first being tended to for several minutes after getting out of the car. He was taken to the infield care center, where he was treated and released.

His team said he had some discomfort in an ankle but no broken bones.

UP NEXT

The middle race of the second round of the playoffs is Sunday at Talladega, where Chastain got his second win of the season in April. He hasn’t won since but has finished seventh or better in the past three playoff races.

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Walker back in Phils’ rotation after Abel demoted

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Walker back in Phils' rotation after Abel demoted

PHILADELPHIA — Mick Abel couldn’t sustain his sublime major league debut and is headed to the minors.

Taijuan Walker is back in Philadelphia’s rotation. And anticipation that prized prospect Andrew Painter could be headed to the Phillies will stretch past the All-Star break.

Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez are about the only sure things this year in Philadelphia’s rotation.

The Phillies demoted Abel, the rookie right-hander who has struggled since he struck out nine in his major league debut, to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The Phillies also recalled reliever Seth Johnson from Lehigh Valley ahead of Friday’s loss to Cincinnati.

The 23-year-old Abel made six starts for the Phillies and went 2-2 with 5.04 ERA with 21 strikeouts and nine walks.

“Mick needed to go down and breathe a little bit,” manager Rob Thomson said. “Just get a little reset. It’s not uncommon.”

A 6-foot-5 right-hander selected 15th overall by the Phillies in the 2020 amateur draft, Abel dazzled against Pittsburgh in May when his nine strikeouts tied a Phillies high for a debut, set by Curt Simmons against the New York Giants on Sept. 28, 1947.

Abel hasn’t pitched beyond the fifth inning in any of his last four starts and was rocked for five runs in 1⅔ innings Wednesday against San Diego.

Abel was 3-12 with a 6.46 ERA last year for Lehigh Valley, walking 78 in 108⅔ innings. He improved to 5-2 with a 2.53 ERA in eight minor league starts this year, walking 19 in 46⅓ innings.

“This guy’s had a really good year,” Thomson said. “His poise, his composure is outstanding. He’s really grown. We just need to get back to that. Just attack the zone and get through adversity.”

The Phillies will give Walker another start in Abel’s place against San Francisco. Walker has bounced between the rotation and the bullpen over the past two seasons. He has made eight starts with 11 relief appearances this season and is 3-5 with one save and a 3.64 ERA.

Thomson had said he wanted to give Walker an extended look in the bullpen. Abel’s struggles instead forced Walker — in the third year of a four-year, $72-million contract — back to the rotation. For now.

“He always considers himself a starter and ultimately wants to start,” Thomson said. “He’ll do anything for the ballclub, because he’s that type of guy, but I think he’s generally happy he’s going to go back into a normal routine, normal for him, anyway.”

Wheeler, Suárez and Sánchez have been lights-out in the rotation this year and helped lead the Phillies into first place in the NL East. Jesús Luzardo was a pleasant early season surprise but has struggled over the past two months and gave up six runs in two-plus innings in Friday’s 9-6 loss to the Reds.

“I still have all the confidence in the world in Luzardo,” Thomson said. “Everybody’s going to have bad outings here and there. I think we’re still fine.”

Thomson said he had not made a final decision on who will be the fifth starter after the All-Star break. Painter has two more scheduled starts in Triple-A before the MLB All-Star break and could earn a spot in the rotation. The 22-year-old will not pitch in the All-Star Futures Game as part of the plan to keep him on a hopeful path to the rotation.

Painter hurt an elbow during spring training in 2023 and had Tommy John surgery later that year. He was the 13th overall pick in the 2021 amateur draft and signed for a $3.9 million bonus.

Because of the All-Star break and a quirk in the schedule that has them off on all five Thursdays in July, the Phillies won’t even need a fifth starter after next week until July 22.

Aaron Nola could be back by August as he works his way back from a rib injury. Nola will spend the All-Star break rehabbing in Florida and needs one or two minor league starts before he can rejoin the rotation.

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Cubs’ Taillon (calf) to miss more than month

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Cubs' Taillon (calf) to miss more than month

CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs righty Jameson Taillon was placed on the injured list on Friday with a right calf strain, the team announced before its game against the St. Louis Cardinals. He’s expected to miss “more than a month,” according to manager Craig Counsell.

Taillon, 33, injured his calf on his last wind sprint after a bullpen session on Thursday.

“He’s going to miss a pretty significant amount of time,” Counsell said.

Taillon was 7-6 with a 4.44 ERA in 17 starts for the Cubs this season who just got lefty Shota Imanaga back from a hamstring injury. Now they’ll have to navigate at least the rest of this month without one of their other key starters.

“There’s a little room for us to be flexible right now,” Counsell said citing the upcoming All-Star break. “We’ll use that to our advantage and we’ll go from there.”

The team recalled left-hander Jordan Wicks to take Taillon’s spot on the roster, though he won’t go directly into the rotation. Instead, the Cubs will throw a bullpen game on Saturday against the Cardinals and “go from there,” according to Counsell.

Wicks, 25, went 1-3 with one save, a 4.06 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 12 appearances (11 starts) with Triple-A Iowa this season. In his past five starts dating to May 18, he posted a 1.65 ERA with 20 strikeouts, compared to just three walks, a 0.86 WHIP and a .186 opponent batting average.

The team might also consider a bigger role for righty Chris Flexen who has been fantastic for them out of the bullpen. Flexen, 31, has a 0.62 ERA in 16 games, including a four inning stint late last month.

“He’s a candidate to be stretched out for sure,” Counsell said. “He’s prepared to do a little bit more.”

Cubs brass have already stated they are looking for starting pitching before the trade deadline later this month. Counsell was asked if Taillon’s injury increases that need. He didn’t take the bait.

“The trade deadline isn’t until July 31,” he said. “I’m focused on the next week or 10 games before the All-Star break.”

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Guardians OF Thomas reinjures foot, exits game

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Guardians OF Thomas reinjures foot, exits game

CLEVELAND — Guardians outfielder Lane Thomas left during the sixth inning of Friday night’s game against the Detroit Tigers due to mild plantar fascia symptoms with his right foot.

Thomas missed 11 games in late May and early June because of plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He is batting .160 this season and .197 (13-for-66) since coming off the injured list on June 9. He does have four homers in his past 10 games.

“We think he’s good. The plantar fasciitis flared up a little bit again and I just didn’t like the way he looked running around the outfield. So rather than take a chance, I got him out of there,” manager Stephen Vogt said after the 2-1 loss to the Tigers.

Thomas also missed five weeks due to a right wrist bone bruise after getting hit by a pitch during the April 8 home opener against the Chicago White Sox.

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