MLB Unveils NASCAR-inspired Braves, Reds Uniforms for Speedway Classic
MLB unveiled the unis on Monday, which feature different elements inspired by NASCAR: the Braves will wear hats with flames on top of the visor, while the Reds have a checkered flag design, and both jerseys have NASCAR-style numbers such as those found on the stock cars themselves.
The Speedway Classic is the first such event held at Bristol Motor Speedway, and the expectation is that it will set a record for attendance in an MLB game – Bristol is one of the largest sports venues in America, with a capacity of 153,000, or, 97,000 more than MLB's current larger park, Dodger Stadium.
The Speedway Classic will be played on Aug. 2 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee, and air on FOX, the FOX Sports app and FOXSports.com, with first pitch at 7:15 p.m. ET.
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience Atlanta Braves Cincinnati Reds Major League Baseball
recommended
Item 1 of 2 Get more from the Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Astros place left-hander Brandon Walter on injured list with elbow inflammation
HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Astros placed left-handed starter Brandon Walter on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Thursday, with left elbow inflammation. Walter becomes the 18th Houston player currently on the team's IL. In a corresponding move, right-handed reliever Nick Hernandez was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land. Walter is 1-3 with a 3.35 ERA in nine starts for the Astros this season with 52 strikeouts and four walks. He allowed two or fewer runs in seven starts and limited the Diamondbacks to one run over a career-high seven innings on Wednesday. Walter is Houston's eighth starting pitcher on the injured list. Right-handers Hayden Wesneski and Ronel Blanco are out for the season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery. Right-handers Cristian Javier, Spencer Arrighetti, Luis Garcia, and J.P. France have recently started rehab assignments. Right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. was placed in the injured list Saturday due to a blister on a finger of his right hand. ___ AP MLB:
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
MLB trade deadline: Eugenio Suárez, Mitch Keller, Seth Lugo among prized players who could move
PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks got the trade deadline party started on Thursday night when they dealt 2024 All-Star Josh Naylor to the Seattle Mariners for two pitching prospects. That probably won't be the last time the D-backs make news before the July 31 deadline. Arizona has had a disappointing season with a 50-53 record and now appears to be one of the most active sellers on the MLB market, dangling third baseman Eugenio Suárez and starting pitchers Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly. The potential buyers include teams like the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers, who are all trying to beef up their rosters in hopes of a deep playoff run. The market is heating up quickly: The Yankees acquired third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Rockies on Friday while the Mets added left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from the Orioles. The D-backs have been one of the most intriguing teams in baseball over the past few weeks because management has had to make a tough decision whether to buy or sell. Arizona had a 50-50 record after sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals following the All-Star break but were then swept by the Houston Astros. Those three losses appeared to seal their fate as sellers — though Arizona general manager Mike Hazen said he's still open to changing course. 'I want to see this team to continue to go out there and play,' Hazen said. 'I haven't decided what it's going to look like, honestly. I'm open-minded to a number of different things. ... Quite frankly, we're listening to what people have to say and what people have to offer and we're going to do what's best for the long term for this organization.' Naylor's already gone and he'll help a Seattle lineup that could use a little more punch. Suárez is having one of the best seasons of his career, slugging 36 homers over 101 games, and is arguably the best bat on the market. Here's a look at some of the top players who could be available as teams try to upgrade for the stretch run: Eugenio Suárez, 3B, Arizona Diamondbacks Suarez is just an average defensive third baseman these days, but that's not why teams want to acquire him. He's got the kind of bat that can carry a team for weeks at a time, major pop from the right side of the plate. He has 312 career homers, is well-liked in the locker room and has been productive in limited postseason at-bats with a .300 average. Mitch Keller, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates The 29-year-old Keller has been overshadowed in the Pirates' rotation thanks to the emergence of young star Paul Skenes, but the right-hander has been a reliable starter for the past four seasons and was an All-Star in 2023. The one catch is it'll take a sizable haul for the Pirates to make a deal: He's under contract through 2028 as part of a relatively reasonable $77 million, five-year deal. Seth Lugo, SP, Kansas City Royals Lugo has thrived in Kanas City over the past three seasons, moving to the starting rotation from the bullpen and providing consistent results. The 2024 All-Star has a 7-5 record with a 2.95 ERA over 19 starts this year. Zac Gallen, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks Gallen is having the worst full season of his career with a 7-11 record and 5.58 ERA but could still be an attractive add for a team that needs a starter. The 29-year-old right-hander has been one of the top pitchers in the National League over the past five years, finishing in the top 10 of the Cy Young voting in 2020, 2022 and 2023. His stuff is still good and he's had a handful of dominant starts this season. Merrill Kelly, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks The 36-year-old righty has quietly been one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball with a 9-5 record and 3.32 ERA. He was also excellent during the D-backs' postseason run in 2023 with a 3-1 record, 2.25 ERA and 28 strikeouts over 24 innings. Kelly doesn't have an overpowering fastball but has a five-pitch mix that has consistently delivered results. Sandy Alcantara, SP, Miami Marlins The 29-year-old Alcantara isn't the same pitcher he was when he won the 2022 NL Cy Young Award, but the right-hander still has quite a bit of upside. He gave up just one unearned run over seven innings in a win against the Padres on Wednesday, which might help his value. His rotation partner Edward Cabrera — another right-hander — could also garner attention with a 3.48 ERA over 17 starts. Ryan O'Hearn, 1B/DH, Baltimore Orioles The 31-year-old is having a career year with a .281 average, .375 on-base percentage and 14 homers, helping him earn All-Star honors for the first time in his career. His left-handed bat would be useful in a contender's lineup. ___ AP MLB:
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Drake Baldwin, Ryan McMahon and Kyle Bradish
FANTASY BASEBALL WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS Drake Baldwin (C Braves): Rostered in 20% of Yahoo leagues Even for those who weren't fortunate enough to land Cal Raleigh, it's been pretty easy to get solid production from the catcher spot in one-backstop leagues this year, easy enough that most seem too content to make a change at this point. For that reason, Baldwin remains available in 80 percent of Yahoo leagues, even after the Braves turned him into a full-time player by putting Marcell Ozuna on the bench last weekend. He's since started seven straight games, four at catcher and three at DH. With Ozuna seemingly likely to be moved at the deadline, Baldwin should get all of the playing time he can handle the rest of the way, making him the NL Rookie of the Year favorite. He's certainly looked the part thus far in batting .284/.353/.479 with 11 homers. The league as a whole this year has 27% more hard-hit balls than strikeouts. Baldwin has 123% more (89 hard-hit balls, 40 strikeouts). His 50.9% hard-hit rate places him 31st of the 268 batters with 200 plate appearances. Will Smith and Hunter Goodwin are the only catchers hitting at least .280 with at least 10 homers. Maybe Baldwin will wear down some, but all of the DH time will help. If the Braves pivot and trade Sean Murphy instead of Ozuna, I would drop Baldwin in my rankings some. Right now, though, I have him eighth among catchers, and I'd be willing to move on from guys like J.T. Realmuto, Alejandro Kirk, Shea Langeliers, Logan O'Hoppe and Agustin Ramírez in order to add him. Ryan McMahon (3B Yankees): Rostered in 35% of Yahoo leagues It's hard to spin being traded out of Coors Field as a good thing, but getting away from the disaster of an organization that is the Colorado Rockies might pay off for McMahon, an eternally disappointing offensive player who nevertheless possesses excellent exit velocity numbers. Those numbers are actually better than usual this season. McMahon, who was dealt to the Yankees for two pitching prospects on Friday, is currently averaging 94.0 mph off the bat, seventh best in the majors. His top-end numbers aren't as great -- for instance, he's just 46th when it comes to 90th percentile exit velocity -- but that's still a lot of hard contact. He's also hitting more flyballs and pulling the ball more than usual this year. It seems like a recipe for success, but there have been a lot of shots to the warning track thus far. He's also probably been unlucky; Statcast has him with a .466 xSLG, compared to .403 in reality. He's never experienced any sort of gap like that previously. Obviously, the strikeouts really hold McMahon back. He was leading the NL with 127 this season, which is remarkable for a guy playing in the league's preeminent strikeout-suppressing ballpark. The Yankees probably have some ideas on how to help him there, but one can't really expect him to improve much in the near future. If McMahon's value does come up in the short term, it will be a product of hitting in a far better lineup and sneaking balls over the right field wall in Yankee Stadium. It's a far worse offensive ballpark, but it's one that yields more homers to left-handers than Coors does. Unless the Yankees platoon him against southpaws -- they probably ought to, but I'm guessing he'll be a full-timer initially -- he's probably a better rest-of-season bet today than he was yesterday. Kyle Bradish (SP Orioles): Rostered in 10% of Yahoo leagues Bradish pitched in a game Thursday for the first time since Tommy John surgery, throwing two innings and allowing one run for High-A Aberdeen. The stadium gun had him at 94-96 mph, said Jake Rill, putting right back where he was before getting hurt. That bodes well for a right-hander who had emerged as one of the AL's best pitchers at the time of his injury. A subpar pitcher as a rookie in 2022, Bradish busted out about a month into the 2023 season and wound up posting a 2.42 ERA and a 150/35 K/BB in his final 25 starts that year. Last season, he was just as effective, and his strikeout rate jumped from 25 percent to 33 percent in the eight starts before he got hurt. The league had a hard-hit rate of just 29 percent against his arsenal of two fastballs, a slider and a curve. That's not to say Bradish is going to experience the same sort of success right away after returning next month. He might even have a setback before then, and given that the Orioles are out of contention, any sort of setback would probably get him shut down until 2026. However, if his rehab continues to progress smoothly, he could be quite an asset over the final six weeks of the season. Those who look to wait until his rehab is complete to pick him up will probably find they missed out. Waiver Wire Quick Hits - I'm not going to write about rotation-bound Joe Boyle again so soon after featuring him recently, but he ought to be picked up everywhere after the Rays' demotion of Taj Bradley. Instead, he's only 15 percent rostered now. - The Astros' Cristian Javier doesn't need to be picked up just yet as he works his way back from Tommy John, but it was really encouraging that he averaged 93.6 mph with his fastball in his first Triple-A start. That's back where he was in 2021 and '22 before falling off in 2023 (92.8 mph) and 2024 (91.7). I doubt we'll ever again see the Javier of 2022 (2.54 ERA, 33% K rate in 149 IP), but on a fine Houston team, he doesn't need to be that good to offer some value.
