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FORT WORTH, Texas — John Hunter Nemechek moved into the round of eight of the Xfinity Series playoffs with a win at Texas, where he took the final lead after front-running Justin Allgaier got moved up the track on the 195th of 200 laps on Saturday.

It was the seventh win of the season for Nemechek, the fifth in the past 12 races in his Toyota.

Nemechek was running behind Allgaier and Parker Klingerman, who appeared to get loose on the inside and sent the leader up the track. Nemechek, who led 38 laps, then tucked in behind Klingerman going on the frontstretch before racing by him.

“Well, I messed up that final restart. It bounced out of third gear. That one was on me. I knew that I had to push hard and try to recover right there,” Nemechek said. “Hats off to the 20 team, Joe Gibbs Racing. It is absolutely amazing what we’ve been able to accomplish so far this year and I don’t think we are done yet.”

The top eight finishers were all playoff contenders, with only a race at the Roval in Charlotte in two weeks remaining before the series moves into its second playoff round. There will be nine drivers competing for five remaining spots.

“My goal coming into today was to lock ourselves in to the next round,” Nemechek said. “Going into the Roval and not having to worry about that is definitely a relief.”

Allgaier was already in the round of eight after winning the playoff opener at Bristol, and the JR Motorsports driver won both stages for the 10th time this season before finishing fifth. Cole Custer also clinched a spot in the round of eight on points by finishing sixth.

Klingerman was the runner-up ahead of Sammy Smith and Chandler Smith. Austin Hill was seventh, and Sheldon Creed eighth.

The late slip wasn’t the first time that Allgaier, who led four times for 134 laps, slid out of the lead at the 1 1/2-mile oval. He was in front after a restart with 86 laps remaining when he got loose and drifted up the track as other cars drove by him. He fell all the way to 15th.

With a temperature of 99 degrees, five degrees warmer than last September, it again was the hottest Xfinity race at Texas. Temperatures inside some cars exceeded 130 degrees.

Sammy Smith had issues with the cool shirt, while Josh Williams was replaced by another driver in the No. 92 midway through the race after he started feeling bad.

“My cool shirt broke at the end of stage one, and it was just miserable,” Smith said.

There were 12 cautions, a season high for the Xfinity Series. That was one below the track record.

Playoff contenders Josh Berry and Hill got caught up in an incident on lap 98, after the restart following the second stage when Trevor Bayne got loose in Turn 4.

After clipping the right rear of Berry’s car, Bayne slid down the track and was hit by Hill, who was behind that mess after losing seven spots — from third to 10th — in the pits on the yellow flag at the end of the second stage.

Playoff driver Sam Mayer crashed out from his third consecutive race, and this time the No. 1 JR Motorsports car didn’t even complete the first lap. Mayer got loose out of Turn 2 and slammed hard into the wall. He finished last in the 38-car field.

In the playoff opener at Bristol last week, Mayer and teammate Berry were involved in a crash with each other. Mayer finished 35th, still two spots better than the regular-season finale at Kansas when he crashed out after finishing only 20 of 200 laps.

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Former White Sox pitcher, world champ Jenks dies

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Former White Sox pitcher, world champ Jenks dies

Bobby Jenks, a two-time All-Star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox who was on the roster when the franchise won the 2005 World Series, died Friday in Sintra, Portugal, the team announced.

Jenks, 44, who had been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer, this year, spent six seasons with the White Sox from 2005 to 2010 and also played for the Boston Red Sox in 2011. The reliever finished his major league career with a 16-20 record, 3.53 ERA and 173 saves.

“We have lost an iconic member of the White Sox family today,” White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “None of us will ever forget that ninth inning of Game 4 in Houston, all that Bobby did for the 2005 World Series champions and for the entire Sox organization during his time in Chicago. He and his family knew cancer would be his toughest battle, and he will be missed as a husband, father, friend and teammate. He will forever hold a special place in all our hearts.”

After Jenks moved to Portugal last year, he was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. That eventually spread into blood clots in his lungs, prompting further testing. He was later diagnosed with adenocarcinoma and began undergoing radiation.

In February, as Jenks was being treated for the illness, the White Sox posted “We stand with you, Bobby” on Instagram, adding in the post that the club was “thinking of Bobby as he is being treated.”

In 2005, as the White Sox ended an 88-year drought en route to the World Series title, Jenks appeared in six postseason games. Chicago went 11-1 in the playoffs, and he earned saves in series-clinching wins in Game 3 of the ALDS at Boston, and Game 4 of the World Series against the Houston Astros.

In 2006, Jenks saved 41 games, and the following year, he posted 40 saves. He also retired 41 consecutive batters in 2007, matching a record for a reliever.

“You play for the love of the game, the joy of it,” Jenks said in his last interview with SoxTV last year. “It’s what I love to do. I [was] playing to be a world champion, and that’s what I wanted to do from the time I picked up a baseball.”

A native of Mission Hills, California, Jenks appeared in 19 games for the Red Sox and was originally drafted by the then-Anaheim Angels in the fifth round of the 2000 draft.

Jenks is survived by his wife, Eleni Tzitzivacos, their two children, Zeno and Kate, and his four children from a prior marriage, Cuma, Nolan, Rylan and Jackson.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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In search of infield options, Yanks add Candelario

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In search of infield options, Yanks add Candelario

NEW YORK — The New York Yankees, digging for options to bolster their infield, have signed third baseman Jeimer Candelario to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the affiliate announced Saturday.

Candelario, 31, was released by the Cincinnati Reds on June 23, halfway through a three-year, $45 million contract he signed before the start of last season. The decision was made after Candelario posted a .707 OPS in 2024 and batted .113 with a .410 OPS in 22 games for the Reds before going on the injured list in April with a back injury.

The performance was poor enough for Cincinnati to cut him in a move that Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall described as a sunk cost.

For the Yankees, signing Candelario is a low-cost flier on a player who recorded an .807 OPS just two seasons ago as they seek to find a third baseman to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base, his natural position.

Candelario is the second veteran infielder the Yankees have signed to a minor league contract in the past three days; they agreed to terms with Nicky Lopez on Thursday.

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Dodgers’ Snell pitches to hitters, ‘looked good’

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Dodgers' Snell pitches to hitters, 'looked good'

LOS ANGELES — Pitchers Blake Snell and Blake Treinen are progressing toward a return for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Snell and Treinen each faced hitters Saturday, and Snell pitched two innings. Each could begin a rehab assignment after the All-Star break.

The 32-year-old Snell has pitched in two games for the Dodgers following his five-year, $182 million free agent deal after spending last season with the San Francisco Giants and three before that with the San Diego Padres. He is a two-time Cy Young Award winner.

“(Snell) looked good. He looked really good,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I don’t know what the velo was but the ball was coming out really well. He used his entire pitch mix. I thought the delivery was clean, sharp, so really positive day.”

The Dodgers’ starting rotation has been injury-prone this season but is starting to get a boost from Shohei Ohtani, the two-way superstar who is working as an opener in his return from elbow surgery.

Treinen is looking to get back to his role in the back end of the bullpen. He threw one inning Saturday.

“Blake Treinen I thought was really good as well,” Roberts said. “Both those guys should be ready at some point in time shortly after the All-Star break.”

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