Connect with us

Published

on

INDIANAPOLIS — Ty Gibbs finally figured out how to defeat A.J. Allmendinger in Indianapolis. He made it to the front during the third stage of Saturday’s Xfinity Series race — then pulled away from the recent king of road courses.

But it wasn’t easy … and it wasn’t dry.

The race was red-flagged, in fact, for nearly 45 minutes because of lightning, which was followed by heavy rain that saturated the track. When racing resumed a rainbow appeared near the third turn of Indy’s 2.5-mile oval and the cars were running on rain tires, which came off quickly as the track dried.

Gibbs, 20, drove into Victory Lane for the first time this season by outlasting Sam Mayer to the finish line by more than seven seconds and relegating Allmendinger, the defending race champ and pole winner, to third. Gibbs now has 13 career Xfinity wins.

“Definitely about time, really cool to get one here at the Brickyard,” the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said. “Awesome car, great car. The team did such a great job, this is just so special.”

Recently, Allmendinger has been virtually untouchable on Indy’s 14-turn, 2.439-mile course and has finished in the top three for three consecutive Xfinity races at Indy. Last year’s win also came from the pole.

This time, as Allmendinger raced again as his wife, Tara, was expecting the couple’s first child. He opted to race anyway — and made it pay off yet again by winning the first two stages before fading late and finishing more than 10 seconds off the pace.

He’ll face an even more daunting challenge Sunday, when he starts from the No. 26 spot.

On Saturday, Allmendinger took control of the race, leading for 21 laps and seemingly making all the right moves as Brad Perez‘s stopped car brought out another yellow flag in the second stage.

But once Gibbs moved past Allmendinger in Stage 3, it was all over as the sun set over the speedway’s front straightaway — just about an hour’s drive away from the New Castle, Indiana, track where Gibbs used to drive go-karts.

“We’ve got the Brickyard, let’s go,” Gibbs shouted before explaining what he learned from Saturday’s race. “Just go win.”

Gibbs is starting 10th on Sunday. Xfinity Series points leader John Hunter Nemechek finished 13th with four races remaining before the 12-driver playoffs begin.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Sources: Yankees get 3B in Rockies’ McMahon

Published

on

By

Sources: Yankees get 3B in Rockies' McMahon

NEW YORK — The Yankees are acquiring third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Rockies in exchange for minor league pitchers Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz, sources confirmed to ESPN on Friday.

The Yankees will assume the remainder of 30-year-old McMahon’s contract, which includes approximately $4.5 million for the remainder of 2025 and $32 million over the next two seasons.

An All-Star last season, McMahon was batting .217 with 16 home runs and a .717 OPS in 100 games for Colorado in 2025. He hit home runs in the first two games after the All-Star break and another on Tuesday and is on pace to keep his four-year 20-homer streak alive.

While the production has resulted in a 92 OPS+, which suggests McMahon has been 8% worse than the average major league hitter this season, he still represents a significant offensive upgrade at third base for New York.

The Yankees have had Oswald Peraza, one of the worst hitters in the majors, manning third base nearly every day since the club decided to release DJ LeMahieu, another former Rockies player, earlier this month and move Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base. Peraza, while a strong defender, is slashing .147/.208/.237 in 69 games this season. His 24 wRC+ ranks last among the 310 hitters with at least 160 plate appearances this season.

Defensively, McMahon is a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman whose four Outs Above Average is third in the majors this season. He joins a Yankees club that has been marred by sloppy defense, most recently on Wednesday when it committed four errors in a defensive meltdown against the first-place Toronto Blue Jays.

Herring, 22, has recorded a 1.71 ERA in 89⅓ innings across 16 starts between Low- and High-A this season. He was a sixth-round pick out of LSU in the 2024 draft.

Grosz, an 11th-round pick in 2023, had a 4.14 ERA in 87 innings over 16 games (15 starts) for High-A Hudson Valley this season.

With third base addressed, the Yankees will continue to seek to acquire pitchers to bolster both their rotation and bullpen.

MLB.com first reported on the Yankees trading for McMahon.

Continue Reading

Sports

Mets trade for reliever in Orioles left-hander Soto

Published

on

By

Mets trade for reliever in Orioles left-hander Soto

The Mets acquired left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from the Orioles on Friday in exchange for two minor leaguers in what could be the first of multiple moves by New York to bolster its bullpen before the trade deadline Thursday.

The trade, which sent Class A right-hander Wellington Aracena and Double-A right-hander Cameron Foster to Baltimore, gives the Mets a hard-throwing left-hander to complement the club’s only lefty on the roster, Brooks Raley, who returned from Tommy John surgery last week.

Soto, who is 30 and was an All-Star with the Detroit Tigers in 2021 and 2022, has posted a 3.96 ERA with a 27.5% strikeout rate in 45 appearances this season. The Mets will be his fourth team since the 2022 season.

On Monday, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns plainly signaled that upgrading the bullpen for the stretch run is his top priority.

The need is clear. Injuries and overuse have depleted a relief corps that led the majors in bullpen ERA through May 31. Since June 1, the group has posted 4.52 ERA, good for 23rd in the majors.

Aracena, 20, is 1-1 with a 2.38 ERA in 17 games for St. Lucie. The Orioles said he is one of two pitchers in the minors this season to have thrown at least 60 innings without surrendering a home run.

Foster, 26, is 5-2 with two saves and a 2.97 ERA while pitching at the Double-A and Triple-A levels.

Continue Reading

Sports

Fenway concession workers strike for Sox series

Published

on

By

Fenway concession workers strike for Sox series

BOSTON — Hundreds of Aramark workers at Fenway Park are on strike and planning to stay out for all of a homestand between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers starting Friday night.

Concession workers had set a deadline of noon Friday for Aramark and Fenway Park to reach an agreement with the Local 26 chapter of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island hotel, casino, airport and food services workers union.

The union went on strike at noon asking for “living wages, guardrails on technology and R-E-S-P-E-C-T!”

With the Red Sox and Dodgers scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m. EDT, union officials had a request for fans attending this homestand with food and beer workers on strike.

“We’re asking you to NOT buy concessions inside the ballpark,” Local 26 wrote on social media. “Tailgate before the games!”

Union workers walked the picket line wearing green T-shirts declaring “FENWAY WORKERS ON STRIKE.” They carried signs in the shape of a baseball proclaiming Local 26.

The Red Sox go out of town Monday with a game that night at Minnesota.

Continue Reading

Trending