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INDIANAPOLIS — Riley Herbst saw an opening Saturday and made it pay off with a trip to victory lane at the Brickyard.

The 25-year-old NASCAR Xfinity Series driver chased down Aric Almirola on on the final lap, then got close enough to tap Almirola’s car with his front bumper in the final turn, dart to the inside for the lead and hold onto his sliding car to win his first race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Herbst gave Stewart-Haas Racing its second straight victory, finishing ahead of teammate Cole Custer by 0.167 seconds. Almirola wound up third.

“This is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, everyone in the world wants to race here and win here,” Herbst said, explaining he barely held onto the car when it started to go sideways. “I don’t care if it’s the Xfinity Series or the go-kart series. This is Indianapolis.”

Herbst’s only other career win came on his home track, Las Vegas, in October. This most recent victory comes just one week after his teammate, Custer, captured his first win of the season at Pocono.

The back-to-back wins give SHR, a team that’s closing its doors after the season, some momentum heading into the final six regular-season races.

Herbst also won the first Xfinity race held on Indy’s historic 2.5-mile oval since 2018, doing it in thrilling fashion.

Each of the top three finishers held the lead during the final three laps and Custer came within a whisker of capping a perfect weekend with his second straight trip to victory lane when he passed Almirola on the inside of the front straightaway. Earlier Saturday, Custer was named the Haas Factory Team’s Cup driver for 2025.

“I just needed one less lap, you know,” Custer said. “I felt like it was kind of a disadvantage to lead, in my opinion, all day. If you were in second, it actually got your car looser and it would save your tires. But what an awesome day for SHR.”

The results kept Custer atop the series standings while Herbst locked up a playoff spot. Custer led the most laps, 47, while Herbst led 30 in a race marred by seven caution periods and a big crash on Lap 2.

Herbst also won the first stage and finished third in the second stage.

Almirola, meanwhile, led five laps but couldn’t hang on when it mattered most.

“Maybe just not carry as much speed at Turn 3,” he said when asked if he’d have done anything different.

That miscue was all Herbst needed to get past Almirola for a milestone win.

“It’s fun, it’s fun,” Herbst said. “I’m going to go drink a beer and turn my phone on. This is iconic.”

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Rodriguez makes history with another 20-20 year

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Rodriguez makes history with another 20-20 year

SEATTLE — Julio Rodriguez homered to become the first player in major league history with 20 or more home runs and 20 or more stolen bases in each of his first four seasons, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 5-4 on Sunday.

Rodriguez hit a two-run shot in the third inning — his 100th career homer — and the slugging and speedy center fielder also added his 21st stolen base of the season after singling in the fifth inning.

“That’s a very big accomplishment,” Rodríguez told reporters, according to MLB.com. “I know my family’s very happy, and I’m sure they’re thinking of all the things I had to do to be able to get here. To be able to do it with this team and this organization is awesome. I’m just excited to see where things are going to go from here.”

Jorge Polanco added a solo shot in the second, and shortstop J.P. Crawford smacked a two-run blast in the fourth against Rangers starter Jacob deGrom (10-4), who became the fastest pitcher in major league history to reach 1,800 career strikeouts by games and innings Sunday.

The Rangers kept things close by pushing across three runs against Mariners starter Logan Evans (5-4), but tallied only one run against the Mariners bullpen before closer Andrés Muñoz locked down his 25th save of the season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Marlins def. Yankees, earn 1st-ever sweep of N.Y.

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Marlins def. Yankees, earn 1st-ever sweep of N.Y.

MIAMI — Kyle Stowers hit a three-run homer and the Miami Marlins defeated the New York Yankees 7-3 on Sunday, completing their first-ever sweep of the Yankees in a series of three or more games.

The Marlins (55-55) reached .500 for the first time since April 15, when the team was 8-8. Since June 13, the Marlins are 30-14; that’s tied with the 2003 team for the most wins in a 44-game span in franchise history, according to ESPN Research.

The 2003 Marlins went on to beat the Yankees in the World Series in six games.

Marlins starter Edward Cabrera (5-5) pitched six innings of two-hit ball with seven strikeouts and one walk. His only blemish came against the first batter he faced. Trent Grisham drove Cabrera’s 98.1 mph four-seam fastball to right-center.

Miami rookie Jakob Marsee, who made his major league debut on Friday, was 2-for-4 and finished a single short of the cycle.

Stowers made it 6-1 when he connected on an 0-2 fastball from Brent Headrick, who entered in the fourth with two on after starter Luis Gil (0-1) was lifted 3⅓ innings into his season debut.

Gil, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, struck out three and surrendered five runs and five hits while issuing four walks in his return from a high-grade lat strain. He threw 77 pitches.

Gil’s shaky debut comes at a rough point in the season for the Yankees, whose inconsistency has prompted a rash of criticism, the latest coming from former Yankees stars Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez on Fox’s pregame show Saturday night.

“They make way too many mistakes,” Jeter said. “Way too many mistakes, and you can’t get away with making that number of mistakes against great teams.”

Added Rodriguez: “Where’s the accountability?”

Boone addressed those criticisms before Sunday’s game, saying it comes with the territory of being the Yankees, but he added after the loss that it’s “gut-check” time for his club.

New York’s weekend series at Miami included the Yankees blowing a six-run lead in a wild 13-12 loss on Friday, before a 2-0 loss on Saturday.

The Yankees had a seven-game lead in the AL East in late May. By July 2, the lead was gone and the Yankees have been looking up at Toronto in the division ever since. The red-hot Boston Red Sox, who were more than 10 games behind the Yankees about two months ago, have overtaken their rival for the second spot in the AL East and AL wild-card lead.

“It’s getting late,” Boone said. “And it’s certainly not too late for us. I am confident that we’re going to get it together. But that’s all it is right now is, you know, it’s empty until we start doing it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Rodriguez makes history with 4th 20-20 season

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Rodriguez makes history with another 20-20 year

SEATTLE — Julio Rodriguez homered to become the first player in major league history with 20 or more home runs and 20 or more stolen bases in each of his first four seasons, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 5-4 on Sunday.

Rodriguez hit a two-run shot in the third inning — his 100th career homer — and the slugging and speedy center fielder also added his 21st stolen base of the season after singling in the fifth inning.

Jorge Polanco added a solo shot in the second, and shortstop J.P. Crawford smacked a two-run blast in the fourth against Rangers starter Jacob deGrom (10-4), who became the fastest pitcher in major league history to reach 1,800 career strikeouts by games and innings Sunday.

The Rangers kept things close by pushing across three runs against Mariners starter Logan Evans (5-4), but tallied only one run against the Mariners bullpen before closer Andrés Muñoz locked down his 25th save of the season.

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