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Iran says its forces have seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman. This comes as tensions have been soaring for weeks in the Red Sea. On Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution calling for Yemen’s Houthi forces to stop attacking ships in the Red Sea. The vote came a day after U.S. and British forces shot down 21 drones and missiles fired by the Houthis, who have vowed to continue attacks until Israel halts its assault on Gaza.

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Pirates ball-crusher Cruz accepts HR Derby invite

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Pirates ball-crusher Cruz accepts HR Derby invite

Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz accepted an invitation on Tuesday to compete in Monday’s Home Run Derby in Atlanta.

Cruz is the fifth player to commit to the competition, held one day before the All-Star Game. The others are Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves, Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals and Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins.

Cruz, 26, is known for having a powerful bat and regularly delivers some of the hardest-hit homers in the sport. His home run May 25 at home against the Milwaukee Brewers had an exit velocity of 122.9 mph and was the hardest hit homer in the 10-year Statcast era.

But Cruz has never hit more than 21 in a season, and that was in 2024. He’s on track to set a new high this year and has 15 in 80 games.

Cruz has 55 career homers in 324 games with the Pirates.

Cruz will be the first Pittsburgh player to participate in the Derby since Josh Bell in 2019. Other Pirates to be part of the event were Bobby Bonilla (1990), Barry Bonds (1992), Jason Bay (2005), Andrew McCutchen (2012) and Pedro Alvarez (2013).

Overall, Cruz is batting just .203 this season but leads the National League with 28 steals.

Among the players to turn down an invite to the eight-player field are two-time champion Pete Alonso of the New York Mets, Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies and 2024 runner-up Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals.

Defending champion Teoscar Hernandez of the Los Angeles Dodgers recently turned down a spot as a consideration to nagging injuries.

Top power threats Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers also are expected to skip the event.

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Yanks moving Chisholm back to 2B after 3B stint

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Yanks moving Chisholm back to 2B after 3B stint

New York Yankees All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr., after making 28 starts in a row at third base, is moving back to second base starting with Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners, manager Aaron Boone said.

Boone confirmed the change on the “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast on Tuesday.

Chisholm, who is batting .245 with 15 home runs, 38 RBIs and 10 steals in 59 games, has recently been bothered by soreness in his right shoulder, which he said is an issue only on throws.

He said he prefers to play second base and prepared in the offseason to exclusively play in that spot before injuries played havoc with Boone’s lineup card, starting with Chisholm’s oblique injury in May.

Third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera went down with a season-ending ankle injury on May 12.

DJ LeMahieu manned second base while Chisholm was at third, but Boone has a better glove option in Oswald Peraza, a utility man with a stronger arm plus defensive skills across the infield.

LeMahieu, 36, is batting .266 with two home runs and 12 RBIs this season.

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Willie Mays’ personal collection going to auction

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Willie Mays' personal collection going to auction

The personal collection of Willie Mays, including a Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded to the Hall of Famer by President Barack Obama, will head to auction via Hunt Auctions on Sept. 27-28 in San Francisco.

“Per Mays’ wishes, all proceeds from this auction will go to delivering education, training, and health services for youth through the Say Hey! Foundation which Willie Mays founded in 2000,” Hunt Auctions said in a statement.

Other items to be auctioned include Mays’ 1954 New York Giants World Series ring, his 1954 and 1965 NL MVP Awards, his Baseball Hall of Fame induction ring and his 1962 home San Francisco Giants uniform — photo-matched to that year’s MLB All-Star Game and two other games from that season.

There’s also a 1977 Stutz Blackhawk VI, custom made for Mays.

“We are deeply humbled and grateful to Willie Mays for having been selected to represent this important offering of his personal collection,” said David Hunt, president of Hunt Auctions, who also handled the auctioning of Bill Russell’s and Bill Walton’s personal collections.

“For all of his extraordinary achievements as a baseball player, Willie Mays wanted his enduring legacy to be helping children,” Jeff Bleich, Mays’ friend and the chair of the Say Hey! Foundation, said in a statement.

The collection’s first public display will be at the 2025 National Sports Collectors Convention, held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, from July 30 through Aug. 3.

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