Sports
Carson Hocevar avoids Big One at Talladega, nabs 1st Cup Series win
Mar 29, 2026; Martinsville, Virginia, USA; Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar (77) during practice at Martinsville Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Carson Hocevar told his fans on Instagram during the week he would win at Talladega Superspeedway.
He finally did his part to perfection on Sunday.
The Spire Motorsport driver recorded his first NASCAR Cup Series win, pulling away from Chris Buescher off the final turn in a three-lap shootout to win the wreck-ridden Jack Link’s 500 in Talladega, Ala.
The high-speed, 188-lap drafting race was interrupted by a chaotic accident on Lap 115 in Stage 2 that eliminated many competitors, but the two drivers ran side-by-side until Erik Jones, running third, wrecked with seven laps left.
Hocevar’s No. 77 Chevrolet then beat Buescher’s No. 17 Ford by 0.114 seconds for his first Cup win in his 91st start, becoming the 13th driver to notch his first-ever victory at the Alabama track.
As cars wrecked coming to the final flag, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott and Zane Smith navigated their way to finish third through fifth, respectively.
Hocevar celebrated by sitting on his Chevy’s door, with his body halfway hanging out, and waved to the fans as he slowly drove by the flagstand then pointed the car nose-first against the wall and did a celebratory burnout.
But it took a moment or two to get it right.
“I’ve had this thought up for a while and I’ve messed it up every which way not to do it,” said Hocevar, who led Chevy to its fifth win in the past nine starts at Talladega and second overall in 2026. “I didn’t care if it took me 20 minutes or whatever, I was going to figure out how to do it.”
The 23-year-old Portage, Mich., native took to the social media platform this week and told his fans a win was in store.
“I knew we were going to win, and we did,” he said.
In typical Talladega fashion, the 2.66-mile superspeedway produced several different leaders moving back and forth, including Chad Finchum, making his second start in 2026, coming from the back in his No. 66 Ford along with Cody Ware and leading his first NASCAR laps as the race became 10 circuits old.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs led after the field pitted in three different large groups — a wild session full of mistakes, which featured JGR teammates Denny Hamlin cited for speeding and Chase Briscoe for a safety violation as he roared the pits.
After the varying pit strategies and infractions played out in Stage 1, Ryan Preece’s No. 60 took the checkers for the top points as RFK Racing led the charge. Teammates Brad Keselowski and Buescher were second and fourth, respectively, while Joey Logano was third, Ryan Blaney fifth and Josh Berry sixth — all in Fords.
The Big One, Talladega’s massive crash, occurred on Lap 115 in Stage 2 as the front of the pack got together when second-place Ross Chastain turned leader Bubba Wallace to start the season’s biggest track mayhem by far.
While the front four cars of Chastain, Preece, Buescher and Christopher Bell all drove away unscathed as bedlam unfolded behind them, 26 cars were sent spinning and sliding in a wreck that forced a red-flag condition of nearly 10 minutes.
In hard two-wide racing to end Stage 2, Chastain held off Bell while Buescher, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Todd Gilliland rounded out the first five under the checkers.
–Field Level Media
Sports
After brief rest, Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani to return vs. Red Sox
Jul 29, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) hits an RBI double during the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images After Shohei Ohtani received an unexpected day off, the Los Angeles Dodgers are expected to have their star back at the top of the order to open a three-game series against the visiting Boston Red Sox on Friday.
Ohtani has been dealing with a sore left knee and some right biceps tightness of late, which has forced him out of the rotation since the return from the All-Star break, but not from the designated hitter spot until Thursday.
After a recent run of five hits in seven at-bats, including three extra-base hits, Ohtani went in for treatment on his knee late Wednesday and was given some downtime.
“The last couple days he’s been on base a lot more, so I think that’s been a good thing in one sense whereas the last part of the (recent) road trip he wasn’t,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So there might have been a little something to that.”
Ohtani received an injection in the knee during the All-Star break and had been making progress with the injury, according to Roberts.
With Tommy Edman in the leadoff spot Thursday, and Teoscar Hernandez serving as the designated hitter, the Dodgers earned a 6-2 victory over the Mariners to take two of the three games in the series. Hernandez hit his first home run since July 3, while Dalton Rushing added a three-run shot.
With Ohtani out of the mix in a six-man rotation, Roberts has resorted to bullpen games on occasion, with another one set for Friday. Right-hander Edgardo Henriquez (4-1, 2.79 ERA) is set to pitch the opening inning.
The Red Sox have a trio of left-handers lined up to face the Dodgers over the weekend, with Ranger Suarez (4-3, 3.02) set to take the ball in the series opener.
Suarez returned from the injured list Sunday, after recovering from a left groin strain and an illness, then delivered four scoreless innings in an eventual victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
“The first couple innings, I was kind of nervous, because I didn’t know how I was going to feel,” Suarez said. “After that, I felt pretty good.”
Suarez gave up four hits with six strikeouts and threw 64 pitches.
“(For) three weeks I never stopped throwing,” Suarez said. “I wasn’t surprised I had my command.”
In eight career appearances (five starts) against the Dodgers, Suarez is 3-2 with 3.64 ERA.
Boston arrived at Los Angeles after rallying for a 5-4 road victory over the Athletics on Thursday with back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning from Wilyer Abreu and Willson Contreras.
The Red Sox improved to 20-3 since July 3 and 25-5 since June 25 when they entered the day with a 32-46 record.
In the midst of his own rough season, Boston’s Jarren Duran appeared to question why Contreras did not tag up from third base on his fly ball in the sixth inning. He gestured back toward the infield as he returned to the dugout. After the game, Duran downplayed the incident.
“That’s nothing. It’s something that, within the team, that we have, that we work on, and it’s nothing,” Duran told reporters. “Like, you guys don’t need to know. Nobody needs to know. That’s something between us and the team that we know (what) it’s about. That doesn’t really matter.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mets deal reliever A.J. Minter to Twins
Jun 7, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher A.J. Minter (33) throws a pitch during the seventh inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images The New York Mets have begun their expected sell-off of veterans before the trade deadline, with the first deal bringing a familiar last name back to Queens.
The last-place Mets traded left-handed reliever A.J. Minter to the Minnesota Twins on Friday in exchange for minor league infielders Bruin Agbayani and Billy Amick.
Agbayani, 19, is the son of former Mets outfielder Benny Agbayani, a fan favorite in his playing days.
Minter, 32, is set to become a free agent after the season. He is 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA and 20 strikeouts and just two walks across 23 innings in 23 appearances this season, his second in New York after eight seasons with Atlanta. He is 25-30 with 36 saves and a 3.18 ERA and 456 strikeouts over 382 2/3 innings in 420 games in his career.
Minter suffered a lat muscle tear last season that delayed his 2026 debut to late May, which could help explain his dip in velocity.
Agbayani was the Twins’ sixth-round draft pick last year out of Saint Louis School in Honolulu. He played 10 games for Class-A Fort Myers this season, batting .268 with no homers and six RBIs, before being sidelined since mid-May due to a right shoulder ailment.
Amick, 23, was Minnesota’s second-round draft choice in 2024 out of the University of Tennessee. He hit .217 with 23 homers and 72 RBIs in 86 games for Double-A Wichita this season.
The Twins enter Friday three games behind the Chicago White Sox for the American League Central lead and one game back of fellow Central foe Cleveland for the final AL wild-card spot.
The Mets, in the cellar in the National League East, hold the second-worst record (47-63) in the NL behind only the Colorado Rockies (42-67).
Among the players they are expected to try to move are relievers Luke Weaver and Brooks Raley as well as starters Freddy Peralta and Clay Holmes.
The trade deadline is 6 p.m. ET on Monday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Karl Ravech not quite finished at ESPN
Jul 13, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; ESPN commentator Karl Ravech before the MLB Draft at The Coca-Cola Roxy. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Longtime anchor and play-by-play announcer Karl Ravech, laid off 10 days ago by ESPN, is not quite finished with the network.
Viewers of ESPN’s coverage of the game between the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals on Thursday night heard Ravech on the call. And The Athletic reported that Ravech still has a few more baseball tasks for the network.
He served as ESPN’s lead MLB announcer and the network’s voice of the College World Series before being laid off.
Per the report, Ravech will be in the booth when the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners meet on Aug. 12. He will follow that by calling some games in the Little League World Series, one of the events closely associated with Ravech through the years.
The LLWS will be held Aug. 19-30 in Williamsport, Pa.
Ravech, 61, began work at ESPN in 1993 and anchored “SportsCenter” and hosted “Baseball Tonight”. He also called college basketball games.
ESPN parted with several employees who work both in front of the camera and behind the scenes in its latest round of layoffs. NFL analyst Ryan Clark and NFL insider Tom Pelissero were among the most prominent cuts.
These layoffs were linked to ESPN’s acquisition of NFL Network, according to an internal memo from ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro that multiple media outlets obtained.
The Athletic said it is expected that Ravech’s time on air at ESPN will conclude with the end of his baseball assignments.
–Field Level Media
After brief rest, Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani to return vs. Red Sox
Mets deal reliever A.J. Minter to Twins
