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TALLADEGA, Ala. — NASCAR driver Jordan Anderson was airlifted out of Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday with burns from a crash in the Truck Series race.

Anderson’s truck was spinning across the track when flames began shooting from underneath the Chevrolet. The truck continued to spin and slide toward an interior wall and Anderson appeared to be halfway out of the window when it came to a rest aligned with the wall.

Anderson scrambled to the top of the wall and away from the flames. He was initially seen in the infield care center and then airlifted to a Birmingham hospital.

It was the fifth start of the season for Anderson, a 31-year-old journeyman in NASCAR’s lower level national series.

Matt DiBenedetto was later named winner of the race after a lengthy review by NASCAR officials of the finishing order following a crash in overtime.

DiBenedetto and Alabama native Bret Holmes both waited inside their trucks, parked side-by-side, as NASCAR reviewed its data.

The race went to overtime and there were several lead swaps over the two-lap shootout finish. But then a crash in the middle of the pack as the leaders were headed to the checkered flag caused NASCAR to throw the caution.

Holmes in the outside lane seemed to be the first driver to the finish line by inches over DiBenedetto on the bottom, but NASCAR reverted back to who was the leader when the caution flag waved — seconds before the drivers reached the checkered flag.

It was the first national series victory for DiBenedetto, a journeyman who lost his Cup seat and alliance with Team Penske at the end of last season and dropped down to the Truck Series to remain employed.

DiBenedetto, in a Chevrolet, led only one lap — the last one. It’s the first lap he’s led in 21 Truck Series races.

Holmes finished second and was followed by series champion Ben Rhodes, Ryan Preece and Chase Purdy.

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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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White Sox reinstate OF Robert (hamstring) from IL

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White Sox reinstate OF Robert (hamstring) from IL

The Chicago White Sox reinstated outfielder Luis Robert Jr. (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list Tuesday.

Robert, 27, has struggled this season through career lows in batting average (.185), on-base percentage (.270) and slugging percentage (.313). Through 73 games, he has amassed just 16 extra-base hits (eight doubles, eight home runs) in 285 plate appearances.

He does have 22 stolen bases in 28 attempts and is just one shy of his career- high in steals.

In a corresponding move, the White Sox optioned infielder Tristan Gray to Triple-A Charlotte. Gray was just recalled before Monday night’s game but did not play.

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