Sports
Ryan Blaney wins Atlanta pole, leads Team Penske front-row sweep
Jun 14, 2026; Long Pond, Pennsylvania, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney (12) races during The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images HAMPTON, Ga. — Ryan Blaney claimed his second pole position of the season Saturday evening at Atlanta’s fast high-banked EchoPark Speedway — leading a Team Penske Ford front row sweep for Sunday night’s Quaker State 400 (7 p.m. ET, TNT, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford turned in a lap of 179.912 mph around the 1.5-mile track, besting his teammate Joey Logano’s No. 22 Ford by a slight .016-second in Busch Light Pole Qualifying.
It’s the 32-year old Blaney’s 14th career pole and marks the first front-row Penske sweep this year. All three Penske’s advanced to Saturday’s 10-car second round after dominating the top of the speed charts in round one. Austin Cindric will roll off eighth in the No. 2 Penske Ford.
The typically low-key Blaney was thrilled for the result, crediting his team for the hard work. However, the 2023 series champion was quick to remind at a high-speed, drafting track such as Atlanta, he was confident starting up front doesn’t automatically translate into a trip to Victory Lane.
Toyota, which is enjoying a dominant season in wins, failed to place a single car into the final round of qualifying.
NASCAR Cup Series championship leader Denny Hamlin will roll off 28th in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, who trails Hamlin by 44 points in the standings, will start 31st in the No. 45 Toyota. A five-time race winner this year, Reddick won at Atlanta this February.
Gibbs drivers Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell will start 23rd and 32nd. And Reddick’s 23XI teammates Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst are 23rd and 29th on the grid.
“I feel like we’ve seen that,” Blaney said of the Toyotas qualifying effort. “They don’t really qualify great at these speedways, just the build of their race car. So usually that means they can probably be aggressive in the draft and get in the middle and get to the top and things like that. I’m sure we’re going to see them up there.
“If you look at the spring race here and Toyotas were really, really good when it came race time. Hopefully, our balance in the race is good enough to be able to either maintain the lead or if we get shuffled back to be able to go forward. You really don’t know that until the race starts.”
The Chevrolets of Kyle Larson (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports) and Austin Dillon (No. 3 Richard Childress Racing ) make up row two.
Daniel Suarez will start fifth with the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets of Alex Bowman and defending race winner Chase Elliott, Cindric, Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain and Brad Keselowski owner-driver of the No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Ford, rounding out the top 10.
The front row start is especially significant for the three-time series champion Logano, who is enduring one of the most challenging seasons of his Hall of Fame-bound career. He’s still not in the top 16 field that will ultimately settle the title in the 10-race Chase. Logano’s ranked 18th, 16 points behind 16th-place Erik Jones.
“The good news is the Hunt Brothers Pizza Mustang is fast and that speed you see in qualifying will usually show up in the race,” said Logano, a two-time Atlanta winner. “I’m proud to see the speed that’s there and the handling seemed fine in qualifying.
“I feel like our team can handle these speedways really well and you can remember what happened here last Fall (he wrecked after leading laps and winning the pole position), so there’s no guarantee you see the end of it.
“But,” he added with a smile, “The speed’s there and that’s half the battle, so we know we have that.”
–By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media
Sports
Steven Kwan saves run, drives in 2 as Guardians beat Marlins
Jul 11, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Tanner Bibee (28) throws against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images Nine-hole hitter Steven Kwan lined a two-out, two-strike, two-run double and also produced a run-saving defensive gem, leading the Guardians to a 4-1 win over the host Miami Marlins on Saturday afternoon.
Cleveland also got a two-out, two-strike, two-run double from eight-hole hitter Patrick Bailey in the eighth to add some insurance.
Tanner Bibee, who started this season 0-7 with six no-decisions, earned the win. Bibee (3-9) turned in a quality start, allowing five hits, four walks and one run in 6 2/3 innings.
Eury Perez, who pitched seven perfect innings in his previous start, took the loss. Perez (5-7) allowed eight hits, two walks and two runs in six innings. He struck out six.
Cleveland loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning, but Perez struck out Kyle Manzardo and got Kahlil Watson to bounce into a double play.
Miami threatened in the third on two-out walks to Otto Lopez and Kyle Stowers. Xavier Edwards then followed with a single that nearly scored Lopez. However, before Lopez could step on home plate, Stowers was thrown out by Kwan, a four-time Gold Glove winner in left field. On the play, Stowers made too wide a turn from second base.
Cleveland opened the scoring in the fourth on a rally that started with singles from Gabriel Arias and Petey Halpin. The Guardians then executed a double steal before Kwan gave them a 2-0 lead with his opposite-field double down the left-field line.
Miami got on the board in the seventh as rookie Joe Mack doubled, took third on a groundout and scored on Liam Hicks’ bloop single.
Cleveland came right back and extended its lead to 4-1 in the eighth. Manzardo was hit by a pitch, Watson doubled and Bailey nearly hit one out, settling for a two-run double off the wall in left.
In the bottom of the eighth, Kwan made another stellar play, sliding to grab a foul fly off the bat of Stowers.
With All-Star Cade Smith having pitched in each of the past three games, the Guardians turned to Colin Holderman, who pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his fourth career save and first this year.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Pirates take Game 2 to sweep doubleheader against Brewers
Jul 11, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe (5) throws to first base to turn a double play over Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Luis Lara (18) during the second inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Bryan Reynolds went 2-for-3 and drove in the go-ahead run for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who defeated the visiting Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 to sweep a doubleheader on Saturday.
Starting pitcher Bubba Chandler struck out six while limiting Milwaukee to two runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings for the Pirates, who won the first game 7-6.
Shane Drohan (4-3) allowed three runs on five hits and fanned six in 6 1/3 innings for the Brewers, who have lost three of their past four games after going 8-2 in their previous 10.
Pittsburgh went ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth.
Brandon Lowe connected for a one-out double, knocking a fly ball to center field. He then scored when Reynolds followed with a single to right.
Milwaukee threatened to take the lead in the top half of the frame against reliever Johan Ramirez (6-2). Joey Ortiz doubled and Christian Yelich was hit by a pitch, but a pop-out ended the inning.
Held to one baserunner on just one hit through the first three innings, the Pirates finally connected for more in the fourth. With one out, Reynolds lined a double down the right field line. Esmerlyn Valdez then followed with a home run to left field to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.
It was Valdez’s 10th homer of the season and third straight game sending one out of the park. The 22-year-old rookie also had two in the opener of the doubleheader, including the go-ahead grand slam that gave Pittsburgh the win.
The Brewers tied it in the top of the fifth inning.
Joey Ortiz and Christian Yelich connected for back-to-back one-out ground-ball singles before Jackson Chourio grounded into a forceout that took out Yelich. Brice Turang then knocked a double off the wall in left field that drove in Ortiz and Chourio.
That ended Chandler’s outing, with reliever Brandon Eisert stepping in for his Pittsburgh debut. The Pirates acquired the left-hander, along with infielder Jacob Gonzalez, in a trade with the Chicago White Sox on Friday night.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Andruw Monasterio, Masataka Yoshida homer as Red Sox blank Mets
Jul 11, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rivera delivers a pitch during the first inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Andruw Monasterio and Masataka Yoshida each belted two-run homers Saturday and five pitchers combined on a three-hit shutout as the visiting Boston Red Sox blanked the New York Mets 4-0 for their eighth straight win.
Reliever Jovani Moran (2-2) got the win with 1 2/3 innings of scoreless work. Fill-in starter Eduardo Rivera fired 3 2/3 scoreless innings in just his second major league appearance. Rivera gave up one hit, walked two and struck out three.
Freddy Peralta (5-8) absorbed the loss after working 4 1/3 innings and allowing two runs off three hits and five walks. Peralta whiffed six.
Monasterio gave Boston the only runs it would need when he pounced on a fastball right down the middle in the top of the fourth with one out and Caleb Durbin aboard after a walk. Monasterio pulled it an estimated 378 feet into the seats in left field for his fifth homer of the year.
Yoshida supplied insurance in the top of the eighth following a leadoff single by Durbin. Yoshida laced a cutter from reliever Tobias Myers an estimated 360 feet just inside the right field foul pole for his third homer of the season.
Most of the game’s remainder was an exhibition of futility for New York, particularly when it got runners into scoring position. Carson Benge walked and stole second to start the second but never even got to third as Rivera sandwiched two strikeouts around a popup.
The biggest blown chances came in the seventh and eighth. The Mets filled the bases with two outs in the seventh via walks by Eric Wagaman and Bo Bichette sandwiched around a single from Francisco Alvarez. But Justin Slaten slipped a called third strike by A.J. Ewing to quash the threat.
In the eighth, walks by Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor started the inning. Benge’s fly ball to right pushed Soto to third but Jorge Polanco bounced into a 5-4-3 double play to end the threat.
New York went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, stranding nine for the day.
–Field Level Media
