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CONCORD, N.C. — Sam Mayer rallied from the verge of elimination into the next round of the Xfinity Series playoffs with a season-defining win Saturday on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

It was the third career win for the 20-year-old driver for JR Motorsports, who was ranked 12th and last in the standings as drivers vied for the five open slots in the round of eight of the playoffs for NASCAR’s second-tier series. All three of Mayer’s wins this season are on road courses.

“Our car was so fast, it really felt unbeatable,” Mayer said. “We kicked their tails today and it just feels so great. Winning solves everything, that’s the name of the game. This is our second-chance moment, I think we can make something out of this.”

Mayer called it the biggest win of his career. He led a race-high 51 of the 67 laps in his Chevrolet.

Justin Allgaier, John Hunter Nemechek and Cole Custer had already locked themselves in to the round of eight before the race on Charlotte’s hybrid road course/oval. The remaining five spots were essentially up for grabs, and Mayer dominated the race.

A late caution caused him to concede the lead for a pit stop that put Mayer fourth on the restart. Allgaier and Jeb Burton did not pit and restarted as the leaders but crashed each other headed into the first turn. It brought out another caution, and Mayer had to chase down Custer with five laps remaining to maintain his title chances.

Daniel Hemric, Parker Kligerman, Josh Berry and Burton were eliminated from the playoffs. Hemric was the reigning Xfinity Series champion and was in a three-wide race to the finish line as he tried to squeeze the extra points needed to avoid elimination.

Hemric finished seventh overall and third in that race with Kligerman and Kaz Grala.

“I was in the best position I could be, just came up a little short,” Hemric said. “Before the day started, I said, ‘Be humble in victory and gracious in defeat,’ and we were defeated in this round. That’s the way it goes.”

Mayer is the first new Xfinity Series winner in five years at The Roval. Chase Briscoe won the inaugural race on the 2.32-mile road course in 2018, then AJ Allmendinger won the next four. Briscoe and Allmendinger are running the Cup race on Sunday, and neither is in playoff contention.

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A’s Kurtz (oblique) day-to-day after ‘clean’ MRI

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A's Kurtz (oblique) day-to-day after 'clean' MRI

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Athletics rookie Nick Kurtz is day-to-day after experiencing right oblique soreness against the Texas Rangers on Friday, Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said Saturday.

Kurtz had an MRI that returned “clean,” Kotsay said. He was not in the lineup for the second game of a three-game series Saturday.

Kurtz began feeling discomfort after batting practice Friday. After drawing a walk, he was rounding third base and heading for home on Brent Rooker‘s double in the third inning when Kurtz apparently aggravated the soreness and slowed down. He crossed the plate to tie the score at 2-2 but immediately walked to the clubhouse with the team medical staff.

Kotsay said there is no strain in terms of muscle tissue, but Kurtz is dealing with pain tolerance. Kotsay did not say when Kurtz would return.

“We hope to get him back sooner than later,” Kotsay said.

Kurtz is hitting .308 with 23 doubles, 2 triples, 27 home runs, and 70 RBIs this season. He is one of just three players in the majors this season to hit four home runs in a game.

Kurtz is the first rookie in major league history to hit four homers in a game and matched the MLB record for total bases with 19 in a July 25 game against the Houston Astros. He also had a double, a single, and a total of six RBIs in that game.

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FBI reveals more Pete Rose gambling documents

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FBI reveals more Pete Rose gambling documents

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released 130 pages of documents relating to Pete Rose, Major League Baseball’s career hits leader who was subsequently banned from the game and the Baseball Hall of Fame until earlier this year for betting on baseball.

The documents focus on Rose’s deceased bookie, Ronald Peters, and a mid-1980s investigation into narcotics and bookmaking operations that Peters ran. Some of the information in the released Rose file appears to have been covered in the 1989 Dowd report, commissioned by Major League Baseball.

Rose was banned from baseball in 1989 following an investigation that showed he bet on baseball. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred removed Rose from the permanently ineligible list in May, allowing him to be eligible for Hall of Fame induction. There is no specific mention of Rose betting on baseball — something he eventually acknowledged having done — in the documents released by the FBI.

Rose died on Sept. 30, 2024, at age 83. After an individual dies, the FBI publicly releases records it maintains on individuals, often with redactions. Many names in the Rose file have been redacted. It is not clear whether there will be further releases of Rose-related files. In this release, 125 additional pages were deleted as duplicates or for reasons such as interagency or intra-agency memos, personnel or medical files, an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or the revealing of the identity of a confidential source.

Among the documents was a 1987 memo requesting an FBI investigation. The memo cited a cooperating witness who said that “at one time Rose owed Peters $90,000 in sports wagering losses.” In the same memo, police officers in Franklin, Ohio, are said to have seen Rose often enter Peters’ establishment, called Jonathan’s, “through its private entrance.” The same memo alleged Rose was “a silent partner in a bar that Peters operated in Cincinnati before [Peters] moved to Franklin.”

A November 1987 interview with a person whose name was redacted said Rose would bet on 10 football games a weekend in 1986, usually around $1,000 to $2,000 per game, and that at one point Rose owed Peters $80,000. The individual also “believes that Rose bet only on football, basketball, and horse racing; he never saw Rose place a bet on a baseball game.” The report also said the individual believed another person “stole $3,500 of Rose’s money” and that person then left town.

The same person also told the FBI that Rose “sometimes places bets with an individual known to [redacted] only as [redacted] in New York when Peters will not accept Rose’s bets.” In an interview summary with a redacted individual in March 1988, the individual said someone called in bets for Rose but that “if I had called in bets for Pete, or if I knew if [redacted] did, I wouldn’t tell you. I don’t want to implicate a ballplayer.”

A summary of a July 1987 interview with a redacted individual said that person was in a business partnership with Rose until Rose’s “gambling debts created a financial problem for him.” The individual ended the partnership with Rose but remained in touch with both him and Peters, the summary said.

Some of the documents had been released to ESPN in an earlier request for documents relating to Peters, but Rose’s name was redacted at the time.

The vast majority of the file centered around the FBI requesting subpoenas for phone records and surveillance recordings related to Peters. It is unclear whether any of those subpoena requests also tied to Rose or his involvement with Peters.

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Tong receives ovation, wins debut in Mets’ rout

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Tong receives ovation, wins debut in Mets' rout

NEW YORK — Jonah Tong allowed one earned run in five innings in his major league debut and the New York Mets hit six homers and set a franchise record for runs in a home game in a 19-9 victory over the Miami Marlins on Friday night.

Tong (1-0) received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 42,112 when he took the mound for a six-pitch first inning. The 22-year-old Canadian right-hander had a 5-0 lead when he returned for the second, and the Mets made it 12-0 in the bottom of the inning.

With an over-the-top delivery that has drawn comparisons to Tim Lincecum, Tong struck out six without a walk. He threw 63 of 97 pitches for strikes.

In the bottom of the first, Juan Soto hit a two-run homer and Brandon Nimmo had a three-run shot before an out was recorded.

Pete Alonso had a two-run homer in the second. Nimmo added a solo shot in the sixth before Mark Vientos went deep, and Luis Torrens slugged a three-run shot in a six-run eighth off infielder Javier Sanoja.

Tong allowed all four runs in the fifth following fielding errors by Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso. Lindor dropped a throw from second baseman Brett Baty on a force attempt, and Alonso misplayed a grounder by Jakob Marsee.

After allowing Lopez’s hit, Tong ended his outing by getting a called third strike on a 95 mph fastball against Liam Hicks.

The Mets won for the ninth time in 13 games.

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