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HAMPTON, Ga. — Kyle Busch completed a 5-for-5 sweep of what might be his final season in the Xfinity Series with a late recovery at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday.

Busch finished 0.550 seconds ahead of Jeb Burton for his 102nd Xfinity victory and 222nd overall in NASCAR’s three national series.

Busch took the lead after pushing Daniel Hemric on a restart with six laps remaining. Busch appeared to be trying to give Hemric, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, a helpful push on the restart but instead Hemric lost control and hit the wall.

“I just wanted to hit him forward and straight but turned him sideways a little bit,” Busch said, adding the incident made the victory “a little somber.”

Busch has hinted that this might be his final season in Xfinity. He repeated that plan Saturday, saying he didn’t plan to return to Xfinity “as far as what’s going to happen right now.”

Busch added “Never say never, but this is it.”

Busch won the first two stages in Atlanta before needing to reclaim the lead following a final restart.

One week after Hemric had a runner-up finish to Busch, he was on the verge of his first career win before spinning on a restart when pushed by Busch with six laps remaining.

Hemric took the lead on the final stage after Busch won the first two stages.

Busch has 102nd Xfinity victories and 222 overall in NASCAR’s three national series.

Noah Gragson was third, followed by Justin Haley and Ty Dillon.

NASCAR only allows Cup Series drivers, including Busch, to compete in five Xfinity and five Truck Series races each year. Atlanta was Busch’s fifth and final Xfinity event — and fifth win — of 2021.

Before the race, Busch tweeted “Let’s go out w one more.” It appeared to be another sign he doesn’t intend to return to the Xfinity Series next season.

Busch raced as if determined to make sure he departed Xfinity on top. He raced to the lead from start, led every lap of the first stage and also won the second stage after briefly falling behind Gragson.

With 17 laps remaining, Carson Ware’s crash into the wall caused a caution, sending leaders to the pits. On the restart with 11 laps remaining, there was another crash when Kyle Weatherman appeared to lose power and fell back quickly from the lead pack.

Busch will start second, behind Chase Elliott, in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event, the final race before the Atlanta Motor Speedway track is repaved and remodeled.

Austin Dillon finished 11th as a late fill-in for Michael Annett, who was unable to drive the No. 1 Chevrolet due to a nagging leg injury. Dillon started at the back of the field. Most NASCAR Cup drivers were not at the track, but Dillon arrived early for Sunday’s race and was available for the substitute role.

One of Dillon’s first radio communications was a question asking for the name of his spotter and crew chief.

Heat forced C.J. McLaughlin to leave his 66 Toyota about halfway through the final stage.

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Kentucky Derby to remain on NBC through 2032

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Kentucky Derby to remain on NBC through 2032

STAMFORD, Conn. — The Kentucky Derby will remain on NBC through 2032 after the network and Churchill Downs Inc. extended their contract, announcing it hours before the running of the 150th race Saturday.

The race switched to NBC in 2001 after airing on ABC from 1975 to 2000 and CBS from 1952 to 1974. The multiyear extension will make NBC the longest-running home of the race for 3-year-old horses.

The deal includes multiplatform rights to the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks, and Derby and Oaks day programming, which will be presented on NBC, Peacock, USA Network and additional NBCU platforms.

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Padres trade for Marlins batting champ Arraez

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Padres trade for Marlins batting champ Arraez

The San Diego Padres have acquired second baseman Luis Arraez in a trade with the Miami Marlins for reliever Woo-Suk Go and prospects Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee and Nathan Martorella, the teams announced Saturday.

The Padres also received nearly $7.9 million in cash considerations, leaving them responsible only for the major league minimum salary for Arraez.

The transaction represents the first significant move for the Marlins since Peter Bendix took over as the team’s president of baseball operations in November after Kim Ng departed. It marks the beginning of the Marlins’ teardown of an underachieving roster that has produced the third-worst record in the majors at 9-25 with a minus-61 run differential after reaching the postseason in 2023.

On the other side, it’s another aggressive deal for A.J. Preller, the leader of the Padres’ front office since 2014. Arraez, one of the sport’s best contact hitters, will give the Padres a needed left-handed-hitting weapon after Juan Soto was sent to the New York Yankees in December. San Diego is 17-18 with a plus-6 run differential.

“It’s really amazing — that guy is a baller,” Fernando Tatis Jr. said about Arraez after the Padres’ win Friday night. “He’s probably the closest to Tony Gwynn right now, so looking forward to seeing him in our lineup. … The guy’s a pure hitter, and I can’t wait for him to help us.”

Miami is paying San Diego $7,898,602 of the $8,491,398 remaining for the final 149 days of Arraez’s $10.6 million salary. That left his cost to the Padres at $592,796 — exactly a prorated share of the $740,000 minimum.

Arraez, 27, was the Marlins’ best player, an All-Star and batting champion each of the past two seasons. This season, he is batting .299 with a .719 OPS in 33 games, all started at second base. He also has extensive experience at first base.

“When a guy like that is taken out of the lineup or potentially traded, you feel it, because he’s such a good kid and one of the leaders in that clubhouse,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said, “so there’s definitely a shock value.”

Arraez is expected to start games as the Padres’ designated hitter, but the club plans to cycle through the DH spot. Jake Cronenworth, Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado could also get at-bats there. Bogaerts has been the club’s starting second baseman.

Go spent seven seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization before signing a two-year deal with a mutual option worth $4.5 million guaranteed during the offseason. The 25-year-old right-hander appeared in 10 games for Double-A San Antonio, posting a 4.38 ERA across 12⅓ innings after failing to make the Padres’ bullpen out of spring training.

Head was the Padres’ first-round pick (25th overall) last year out of high school. The 19-year-old center fielder is batting .237 with a .683 OPS and three stolen bases in 21 games in low-Class A.

Martorella is batting .294 with an .820 OPS in 23 games in San Antonio. The Padres selected the 23-year-old first baseman in the fifth round of the 2022 draft. Marsee, a 22-year-old outfielder, has spent the season in San Antonio batting .185 with two home runs. He was a sixth-round pick in 2022 out of Central Michigan.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Yanks’ Cole takes next step, throws off mound

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Yanks' Cole takes next step, throws off mound

NEW YORK — Yankees ace Gerrit Cole threw off a mound Saturday morning for the first time since being shut down in mid-March, checking off another box in his road back from an elbow injury.

Cole took the mound in the Yankees’ bullpen at 10:40 a.m., hours before New York took on the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium. He said he threw 15 pitches, 13 for strikes and all fastballs. He said the pitches averaged 89 mph.

“It was exciting,” Cole said. “This was a good day for me. I was fired up.”

Cole, 33, started the season on the 60-day injured list after being diagnosed with nerve irritation and edema in his pitching elbow following one spring training outing. The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner is eligible to come off the injured list May 27, but the Yankees have declined to share a timetable for Cole’s return.

On a scale from 1 to 10 — 10 being game ready — Cole reported he is “somewhere between 1 and 5.” He said how his body responds over the next 48 hours will decide when he throws off a mound again.

Cole’s injury was a significant blow to a club with championship-or-bust aspirations, but the Yankees’ starting rotation has been one of the best in the majors and a primary reason for the team’s 21-13 start. The rotation’s 3.43 ERA through Friday ranked ninth in the majors. Its 183⅔ innings pitched ranked fourth.

Luis Gil, Cole’s rotation replacement, logged the best start of his young career Wednesday, holding the explosive Baltimore Orioles scoreless on two hits over a career-high 6⅓ innings. Gil, 25, has recorded a 3.19 ERA in 31 innings across six starts despite leading the American League with 20 walks.

Earlier this week, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said neither the team’s nor the rotation’s success will impact Cole’s timeline. Asked whether the overall success has made his absence more “palatable,” Cole was unsure.

“I don’t really have anything unpalatable to compare it to,” Cole said. “You know what I’m saying? So I’m just kind of like, just like everybody else, just glad we’re playing well.”

Also on Saturday, the Yankees reinstated infielder Jon Berti from the 10-day injured list and designated former first-round pick Taylor Trammell for assignment.

Berti, 34, has been out of the Yankees’ lineup since April 10 with a left groin strain. The Yankees had selected Trammell off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 18, and he collected 1 hit, 1 walk and 2 runs in five games with New York.

Field Level Media contributed to this report.

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