Off the wire

Driver Chase Briscoe is seen in the pits before practice for an NASCAR Xfinity Series auto race on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Bristol, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
Driver Chase Briscoe is seen in the pits before practice for an NASCAR Xfinity Series auto race on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, in Bristol, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

MOTOR SPORTS

Briscoe continues Xfinity roll

Chase Briscoe put on four new tires during a late pit-stop Saturday, then held off AJ Allmendinger and Austin Cindric over the final five laps to win the first Xfinity Series race on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's road course. The Indiana native beat Justin Haley by 1.717 seconds. "I have dreamed of coming to this race track and just getting to race here," Briscoe said. "To win here is unbelievable." Noah Gragson was third. Allmendinger and Cindric faded to fourth and fifth after battling and bumping hard over the final few laps when the top three cars were within a second of one another. It's Briscoe's second consecutive win, his third in the last four races and fifth of the season. Briscoe won the second stage and was in control for most of the final stage. The leaders pitted with eight laps to go, and Briscoe passed three cars on the restart to take the lead. Allmendinger finally caught Briscoe with two laps to go, but Briscoe retook the lead before the end of the lap and pulled away. Cindric took the first stage.

BASEBALL

Tanaka hit by line drive

Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka was alert and sent to a hospital after being hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of slugger Giancarlo Stanton during live batting practice Saturday, a frightening scene during the team's first official summer camp workout. Tanaka's hat flew off, and he immediately collapsed to the ground, cradling his head at Yankee Stadium. Trainers quickly ran to Tanaka, who stayed down for a few minutes before sitting up. The Yankees said in a statement that Tanaka was responsive and walking under his own power. He was sent to New York-Presbyterian Hospital for further evaluation. The 31-year-old Tanaka was 11-9 with a 4.45 ERA last season. The Japanese star is 75-43 in six years with the Yankees.

No plans to change 'Braves'

With teams in two sports taking a second look at names deemed offensive to Native Americans, the Atlanta Braves on Saturday gave no indication they are willing to consider a similar change. The Cleveland Indians said Friday they're reconsidering their nickname after the furor over the NFL Washington Redskins name. The Braves released a statement saying the team "honors, supports, and values the Native American community. That will never change." The Braves have not said if they will encourage the tomahawk chop and chant by fans this season. The chant caused a stir in last year's NL Division Series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Cardinals pitcher Ryan Helsley, a member of the Cherokee Nation, said he found the chant insulting. After Helsley's criticism of the chant, the Braves did not distribute their traditional red foam tomahawks to fans before Game 5 of the series, won by the Cardinals. The foam cutouts are used when Braves fans do the chop chant at games.

SOCCER

MLS match postponed

The MLS is Back Tournament match between FC Dallas and the Vancouver Whitecaps set for Thursday has been postponed after eight players tested positive for covid-19. The group-stage game will be rescheduled, the league said Saturday. FC Dallas announced last week that six players had tested positive for the virus upon arrival in Florida for the tournament. The entire team was quarantined. Two Whitecaps players tested positive, forcing the team to remain in Canada, the league said. Additional tests were negative, but the team had to push back travel until Monday. The MLS is Back Tournament is set to open Wednesday with a match between Orlando City and expansion Inter Miami. The league's 26 teams will be sequestered in hotels for the duration of the month-long tournament played without fans at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex at Walt Disney World.

photo

AP

This is a 2020 photo of Masahiro Tanaka of the New York Yankees baseball team. This image reflects the Yankees active roster as of Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020, when this image was taken. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

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