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CLEVELAND — Boston Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas is out indefinitely after breaking a rib on his left side while taking a hard swing in Saturday’s game at Pittsburgh.

Casas, who had been placed on the injury list with a strain, underwent tests in Boston that revealed the fracture. Manager Alex Cora said there is no timetable on when the 24-year-old will be back.

“He’ll be out for a while,” Cora said Tuesday before the Red Sox opened a three-game series at Progressive Field against the Guardians. “We just have to be patient. It has to heal on its own, so we just have to be patient.”

Cora expects Casas, who was batting .244 with six homers and 10 RBI, to return at some point this season. Cora said Casas told him that his rib was bothering him last week in a series against the Guardians.

On Saturday, Casas injured himself while fouling off a two-strike pitch in the first inning. He drew a walk and was replaced defensively in the next half inning.

“He’s still in a lot of pain and it’s difficult to rest that way,” said Cora, who texted with Casas earlier in the day. “Obviously, he’s disappointed, but it is what it is. There’s nothing we can do, just got to be patient.”

Cora said Boston’s lineup will miss Casas’ presence.

“He’s a force,” Cora said. “We saw that last year in the second part of the season. He was really good and then he got hurt. He’s very important, but we’ve got to keep going, man, and we’re not going to stop.”

With Casas out, Cora said Bobby Dalbec will get most of the playing time at first. Dalbec has been in a prolonged slump dating to last season and entered the series batting just .033.

He snapped a 0-for-19 drought on Friday with a double against the Pirates.

“We’re going to play him a lot,” Cora said of Dalbec. “Obviously, the front office is studying the situation and looking around to see if we go somewhere else for that. I talked to Bobby today. He’s done if before. In ’21 he was really good for us and hit the ball out of the ballpark and played good defense.”

Casas’ injury is just the latest for the Red Sox.

Outfielder Tyler O’Neill was re-instated on Tuesday after being in concussion protocol following a scary collision last week at Fenway Park with third baseman Rafael Devers. O’Neill sustained a gash on his head that required eight stitches.

Devers has been slowed by a bone bruise in his knee and hasn’t played since April 17. Cora decided not play him against the Guardians because of wet field conditions.

Also, the Red Sox placed catcher Tyler Heineman on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain.

Boston’s rotation has been ravaged by injuries. Garrett Whitlock was placed on the 15-day injured list last week with an oblique strain. Nick Pivetta also is on the 15-day IL with a right elbow flexor strain.

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Betts (illness) out for Tokyo Series; lost 15 pounds

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Betts (illness) out for Tokyo Series; lost 15 pounds

TOKYO — Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts will not play in the two-game Tokyo Series against the Chicago Cubs because of an illness that has lingered for the past week.

Manager Dave Roberts said Monday that Betts is starting to feel better but has lost nearly 15 pounds and is still trying to get rehydrated and gain strength. Roberts added that the eight-time All-Star might fly back to the United States before the team in an effort to rest and prepare for the domestic opener on March 27.

The Cubs and Dodgers open the Major League Baseball season on Tuesday at the Tokyo Dome. A second game is on Wednesday.

“He’s not going to play in these two games,” Roberts said. “When you’re dehydrated, that’s what opens a person up to soft tissue injuries. We’re very mindful of that.”

Roberts said Miguel Rojas will start at shortstop in Betts’ place for the two games at the Tokyo Dome.

Betts started suffering from flu-like symptoms at the team’s spring training home in Arizona the day before the team left for Japan. He still made the long plane trip but hasn’t recovered as quickly as hoped.

Roberts said if the team had known the illness would linger this long, Betts wouldn’t have traveled. Betts tried to go through a workout on Sunday but became tired quickly.

Betts is making the full-time transition to shortstop this season after playing most of his career in right field and second base. The 2018 AL MVP hit .289 with 19 homers and 75 RBIs last season, helping the Dodgers win the World Series.

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Berry gets first career Cup Series win at Vegas

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Berry gets first career Cup Series win at Vegas

LAS VEGAS — Josh Berry raced to the first Cup Series victory of his career, taking NASCAR’s oldest team to victory lane Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Berry, in his first season driving the famed No. 21 for Wood Brothers Racing, had the first victory for a Ford team through five races this season. William Byron opened the year with a Daytona 500 victory in a Chevrolet and Christopher Bell in a Toyota won the next three races.

Berry, meanwhile, had to run down Daniel Suarez following a restart with 19 laps remaining to take control. Although Harrison Burton won at Daytona last summer for the Wood Brothers, Berry’s victory is the first not at a superspeedway since Ryan Blaney won for the team in 2017 at Pocono.

It was the 101st victory for the organization spanning 20 drivers.

Suarez in a Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing finished second, followed by Ryan Preece in a Ford for RFK Racing. Byron was fourth for Hendrick Motorsports, followed by Ross Chastain of Trackhouse, Austin Cindric of Team Penske and Alex Bowman of Hendrick.

AJ Allmendinger of Kaulig Racing was eighth, and Hendrick drivers Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott rounded out the top 10.

Joey Logano had late control of the race until Las Vegas native Noah Gragson hit the wall with 25 laps remaining to bring out the ninth caution of the race. Berry was in second when the caution came out and second behind Suarez on the restart.

Berry won in his 53rd Cup race and just his fifth race with the Wood Brothers, the team that signed him when Stewart-Haas Racing shuttered at the end of last season.

The 34-year-old Tennessee driver was a 40-1 underdog to win Sunday’s race and his win put the Wood Brothers back into the playoffs for a second consecutive season.

Bell to the back

Bell came to Las Vegas on a three-race winning streak with an opportunity to become the first driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2007 to win four consecutive Cup races.

But his chance to extend his streak was stymied when Joe Gibbs Racing had to change the throttle body on the No. 20 Toyota after Bell qualified 13th and the penalty dropped him to the back of the field for the start of the race.

He never recovered in what was an overall subpar day for the four-driver JGR contingent.

Bell, who complained about the handling of his car most of the race, finished a team-high 12th. Only eight drivers have won four straight Cup races in the modern era of NASCAR that began in 1972.

Chase Briscoe was 17th and Ty Gibbs, who rolled a sprint car Saturday night at the dirt track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, finished 22nd. Denny Hamlin, winner of more than $200,000 over two nights of playing slots in the Las Vegas casino, couldn’t convert his luck to the track and finished 25th.

Up Next

The Cup Series races next Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, a track that had been in the playoff rotation the last three years but has now been moved to a spring race. Tyler Reddick won last October and Bell won in 2023.

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Bell to start at rear of field after prerace penalty

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Bell to start at rear of field after prerace penalty

LAS VEGAS — Christopher Bell will have to start from the back of the field in his attempt to win a fourth consecutive Cup Series race after NASCAR penalized the Joe Gibbs Racing driver on Sunday for making changes to his Toyota.

Bell had been set to start 13th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he is trying to become the first driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2007 to win four consecutive Cup races. But JGR changed the throttle body on the No. 20 Toyota after qualifying, resulting in Bell forfeiting his starting spot.

Bell came to Las Vegas coming off victories at Atlanta, Circuit of the Americas in Texas and Phoenix. Only eight drivers have won four straight Cup races in the modern era of NASCAR that began in 1972. Among those who have accomplished the feat, seven are in NASCAR’s Hall of Fame and six are Cup Series champions.

The drivers who have won four consecutive races in the modern era are Cale Yarborough in 1976, Darrell Waltrip in 1981, Dale Earnhardt in 1987, Harry Gant in 1981, Bill Elliott in 1992, Mark Martin in 1993, Jeff Gordon in 1998 and Johnson 18 years ago.

Bell’s three straight wins are the Cup Series’ longest streak since Kyle Larson won three in a row twice in 2021, and Bell is the first to do it in NASCAR’s Next Gen car, which was introduced in 2022.

His three wins this year tie his career-high victory tallies set in 2022 and matched in 2024. At Las Vegas, Bell has five career top-10 finishes in 10 starts and three poles. He was the runner-up in Vegas’ past two fall races.

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