NEW YORK (AP) — The AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays placed Jonny DeLuca on the 10-day injured list Sunday because of a right hamstring strain, two days after the right fielder was injured on the bases.
Victor Mesa Jr. was recalled from Triple-A Durham before Sunday’s game against the Yankees to replace DeLuca and Ryan Vilade started in right field. Mesa is expected to rotate in right field with Vilade and Richie Palacios.
DeLuca is scheduled for an MRI later Sunday and was hurt in the seventh inning during Friday’s 4-2 win over the Yankees when he felt pain hitting an infield single to shortstop José Caballero. DeLuca stayed in the game, but was lifted after advancing to third on a double by Cedric Mullins.
“I was kind of hoping something would change, but going second to third, yeah, there was just no point to keep on running,” DeLuca said Friday after the Rays won to improve to 34-15.
DeLuca is hitting .269 with two homers and 19 RBIs in 41 games. He batted .217 with six homers and 31 RBIs in 2024 after being acquired from the Dodgers for Tyler Glasnow and was limited to 20 games last season because of hamstring and shoulder injuries.
Mesa joined the Rays in a trade from the Marlins on Feb. 6 and was hitting .329 with two homers and seven RBIs in 18 games for Durham. Last season, he batted .188 in 16 games for the Marlins.
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Tampa Bay Rays' Yandy Díaz celebrates with Jonny DeLuca (21) after scoring on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Vilade off Baltimore Orioles pitcher Trevor Rogers during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, May 18, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Tampa Bay Rays' Jonny DeLuca lines a two-run double off Baltimore Orioles pitcher Trevor Rogers during the second inning of a baseball game Monday, May 18, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Katherine Legge started Sunday by taking in the colorful prerace scene on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's front straightaway as her team monitored the weather forecasts in two cities.
It's become a familiar theme for anyone attempting to complete "The Double,” racing in the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Two-time NASCAR champion Kyle Larson tried it each of the past two years, but a rain-delayed start in Indianapolis caused him to miss the start in Charlotte in 2024, and he crashed out of both races last year after another rain-delayed start in Indy.
Only one person, Tony Stewart, has completed all 1,100 miles, and that was a quarter-century ago. Legge is the first woman to attempt "The Double.”
“She’ll stay here throughout,” her father, Derek Legge, said while texting from a golf cart outside her garage. “We’re keeping an eye on the weather. It might even be delayed here an hour at a time.”
By then, Legge’s car was already on the Brickyard as the sold-out grandstands filled in and hundreds of people surrounded the cars on the track.
The English driver is starting from the No. 26 spot, the middle of the ninth row, at Indy, where she's driving for HMD Motorsports with A.J. Foyt Racing team. Legge will drive for Live Fast Motorsports at the Cup race, where she'll start 37th after qualifying was rained out Saturday.
Rain was in the mix again Sunday in both places, too.
Less than 90 minutes before Indy's scheduled start, radar showed rain all around the iconic 2.5-mile oval, with ominous-looking dark clouds hovering over the track's first turn. But the precipitation held off and the remaining afternoon forecast had a several-hour window before there was a significant chance of rain again.
In North Carolina, meanwhile, the forecast was brighter for the start of the Coca-Cola 600. But the chance of rain increased significantly throughout the race.
Legge is certainly hoping for better luck than she had earlier this week. Her flight from New York to Indianapolis was delayed, causing her to miss Indy's annual media day. Then she had a communications problem in the final practice for the 500 on Friday. And after flying to Charlotte for qualifying, she flew back to Indy on Saturday night after more rain.
"Hopefully, we get all of the travel woes out of the way now before the weekend, and this weekend goes smoothly,” Legge told The Associated Press on Thursday. “My management has been speaking with Kyle’s management about how to get the logistics sorted out, how they did it and we’re trying our best to copy and paste what they had and they’re just keeping me in the loop.”
While the other five drivers who attempted "The Double” had months to prepare, Legge's teams didn't announce her attempt until last week. Since then, those behind the scenes helped Legge line up the helicopter ride she'll take from the speedway to Indianapolis International Airport and the private jet that will take her to Charlotte for the second race of the day.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
FILE - Katherine Legge, of Britain, drives through the third turn during qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
FILE - Katherine Legge (78) is introduced before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race on May 10, 2026, in Watkins Glen, N.Y. (Photo/Adrian Kraus, File)
