Weekday Morning Sports – Wednesday 10/7/15

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Sports Radio 1400 WSJM     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Wednesday, October 07, 2015

MLB – Major League Baseball – Wild Card Round
Last Night
AL: Houston Astros 3, New York Yankees 0

Astros 3, Yankees 0 – Astros beat Yankees
Dallas Keuchel (KY’-kul) combined with three relievers on a three-hitter as the Houston Astros beat the New York Yankees 3-0 to win the AL wild card game and advance to the division series against Kansas City. Keuchel gave up the Yankees’ three hits while striking out seven in six innings before the bullpen accounted for three hitless innings. Colby Rasmus put the Astros ahead with a solo blast in the second before Carlos Gomez added a solo shot in the fourth.

Today
NL: Chicago (Arrieta 22-6) at Pittsburgh (Cole 19-8), 8:08 p.m. (TBS)

MLB – Upstart Cubs face steady Pirates in NL wild card
The Pittsburgh Pirates have been here before. The Chicago Cubs haven’t made it for a while. Whichever team handles the playoff stage the best on Wednesday night when they meet in the NL wild-card game will likely determine who heads to St. Louis to face the Cardinals in the Division Series on Friday. The Cubs will send out Cy Young candidate Jake Arrieta. The right-hander led the majors with 22 wins and posted an 0.75 ERA after the All-Star break. Pittsburgh counters with ace Gerrit Cole, who made his first All-Star team this summer and won 19 games. This is the third straight postseason for the Pirates and the first for the Cubs since 2008. Chicago won 11 of the 19 meetings between the teams in the regular season, including a 6-4 mark at PNC Park.

NHL – National Hockey League – 2015/16 Season Opener
Tonight
New York Rangers at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:00 p.m.

NHL – Blackhawks place D Rozsival on long-term injured reserve
The Chicago Blackhawks have placed defenseman Michal Rozsival on long-term injured reserve. The Blackhawks also recalled defenseman Ville Pokka from Rockford of the American Hockey League and assigned defenseman Viktor Svedberg to the IceHogs. Rozsival broke his left ankle in Game 4 of Chicago’s second-round sweep against Minnesota in the playoffs. He re-signed with the Stanley Cup champions last month. The Blackhawks host the New York Rangers in their season opener on tonight.  The team announced the moves on Tuesday.

NFL – Caldwell says he’s done talking about controversial play
Jim Caldwell doesn’t want to talk any more about the controversial way his Detroit Lions lost Monday night _ and he doesn’t want his players talking about it either. Caldwell says he doesn’t want the Lions to be distracted by more discussion of Calvin Johnson’s fumble on Detroit’s final possession in a loss to Seattle. The ball was knocked out of the back of the end zone by the Seahawks’ K.J. Wright. Rather than flag him for illegally batting the ball, officials ruled the play a touchback. Caldwell said he spoke with NFL VP of Officiating Dean Blandino on Tuesday, but the Detroit coach would not go into detail about that conversation. Caldwell says defensive tackle Tyrunn Walker is out for the season with a dislocated ankle and broken leg.

NFL – Bears place Will Montgomery on injured reserve
Chicago Bears center Will Montgomery will miss the remainder of the season because of a broken left fibula. The team placed Montgomery on injured reserve Tuesday. He broke his leg early in Sunday’s 22-20 win over the Oakland Raiders, forcing the Bears to juggle an already short-handed line. Matt Slauson shifted from left guard and spent most of the game at center. Newly acquired Patrick Omameh came in at Slauson’s regular spot. The Bears already were without starting left tackle Jermon Bushrod because of a concussion and shoulder injury. Montgomery has appeared in 110 games and made 75 starts – 58 at center – for Carolina (2006), the New York Jets (2007-08), Washington (2008-13), Denver (2014) and Chicago (2015).

NBA – National Basketball Association – Preseason
Last Night
Indiana Pacers 115, Detroit Pistons 112
Chicago Bulls 105, Milwaukee Bucks 95

Pacers 115, Pistons 112 – George has 20-point first quarter in Pacers’ preseason win
Paul George scored 20 of his 32 points in the first quarter and the Indiana Pacers overcome rookie Stanley Johnson’s 26 points in a 115-112 preseason victory over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night. George made six straight 3-pointers in the opening quarter. George Hill left the game in the second quarter with a sprained ankle.

Bulls 105, Bucks 95 – Butler, McDermott pace Bulls over Bucks, 105-95
Jimmy Butler and Doug McDermott scored 23 points each to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 105-95 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night. Rashad Vaughn had a team-high 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting. Butler was 7 for 12 from the field in 25 minutes. McDermott scored all his points in the second half on 8-for-14 shooting.

WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association Finals – Best of Five
Last Night
Minnesota Lynx 77, Indiana Fever 71                                          (Series tied 1-1)

Lynx 77, Fever 71 – Fowles, Lynx pull out tense Game 2 to even WNBA Finals 1-1
Sylvia Fowles had 21 points and nine rebounds and the Minnesota Lynx evened the best-of-five WNBA Finals at one game apiece with a 77-71 victory over the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night. Fowles made 10 of 13 shots. Briann January scored 17 points for the Fever. Game 3 is Friday night in Indianapolis.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Soccer
St. Joseph 4, Gull Lake 1
Lakeshore 4, Battle Creek Lakeview 2
Lake Michigan Catholic 5, Watervliet Grace Christian 1
Battle Creek Central 2, Niles 1
Mattawan 2, Portage Central 0
Portage Northern 7, Kalamazoo Central 2

Girls Volleyball
Decatur 3, Bloomingdale 0
Bridgman 3, Berrien Springs 0
Marcellus 3, Eau Claire 0
Watervliet 3, Fennville 0
Mendon 3, New Buffalo 0

Girls Swimming
St. Joseph 96, Battle Creek Central 90

Tonight
Girls Volleyball
St. Joseph at Benton Harbor, 6:30 p.m.
Portage Northern at Lakeshore, 6:30 p.m.
Portage Central at Niles, 6:30 p.m.
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix at Mattawan, 5:30 p.m.
Berrien Springs at Bridgman, 6:15 p.m.
Parchment at Buchanan, 7:00 p.m.
Bronson at Cassopolis, 7:00 p.m.
Mendon at New Buffalo, 7:00 p.m.
Comstock at Brandywine, 7:00 p.m.

Boys Soccer
Michigan Lutheran at Cassopolis, 5:00 p.m.
Sturgis at Dowagiac, 5:00 p.m.
Otsego at Allegan, 6:45 p.m.
Plainwell at Edwardsburg, 5:30 p.m.
Paw Paw at Vicksburg, 6:00 p.m.
Bridgman at Berrien Springs, 5:00 p.m.
Brandywine at Buchanan, 5:00 p.m.
Saugatuck at Bangor, 6:00 p.m