Báez and Vierling power Tigers over Kansas City – Tuesday Morning Sports Update

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MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
Detroit Tigers 8, Kansas City Royals 5 – F/10
Cleveland Guardians 3, Chicago White Sox 0
Cubs were off

Tigers 8, Royals 5 – F/10 – Báez hits 3-run double in 10th to lift Tigers past Royals 8-5 in 10 innings
Javier Báez hit a bases-clearing double in the 10th inning for his third hit of the night to lift the Detroit Tigers to an 8-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals in the opener of a three-game series. Matt Vierling had three hits, including a home run, and four RBIs for the Tigers. Alex Lange (2-0) earned the victory with two hitless innings of relief. Jose Cisnero picked up his first save. Scott Barlow (1-3) allowed Báez’s winning hit and took the loss. Detroit batters walked 10 times, the first time the Tigers had eight or more walks in consecutive games since June 13-14, 2016.

Guardians 3, White Sox 0 – Zunino hits 2-run homer, Guardians beat White Sox 3-0 to end slide
Rookie Hunter Gaddis pitched six strong innings for his first major league win and struggling Cleveland catcher Mike Zunino connected for a two-run homer, sending the Guardians over the Chicago White Sox 3-0. Gaddis was recalled earlier in the day from Triple-A Columbus and gave the Guardians a badly needed quality start after they were swept over the weekend in New York, losing all three to the Mets by one run. Zunino, who has been a target of fan complaints because he’s not been hitting, belted his third homer in the seventh off reliever Gregory Santos. Before he connected, Zunino was in a 1 for 31 slump with 21 strikeouts. The White Sox had their three-game winning streak stopped.

Tonight
Chicago White Sox (Cease 2-3) at Cleveland (Allen 1-1), 6:10 p.m.
N.Y. Mets (Senga 4-2) at Chicago Cubs (Smyly 4-1), 7:40 p.m.
Detroit (Rodriguez 4-3) at Kansas City (TBD), 7:40 p.m.            News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM 7:15

MLB – Guardians rookie Brennan accidentally kills bird on infield during game
Cleveland rookie Will Brennan hit a hard grounder that accidentally killed a bird wandering on the infield grass in the Guardians’ 3-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox. With none out and a runner at first base, Brennan hit a smash that connected with a small bird who had wandered into a dangerous place. The ball sent the bird, well, flying and when Brennan got to first he reacted by putting his hands on his helmet and grimacing. Following the game, Brennan posted an apology on Twitter. It’s the second time in a week that a major league player has unintentionally killed a bird.

MLB – A’s broadcaster Glen Kuiper let go after racial slur on air
Oakland Athletics broadcaster Glen Kuiper was let go by NBC Sports California after using a racial slur during a telecast while describing a trip to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Kuiper was suspended by the network earlier this month following his slur that aired during a pregame segment of an A’s game against the Kansas City Royals on May 5. Kuiper talked about a trip to the museum with colleague Dallas Braden but seemingly mispronounced the word “Negro,” making it sound instead like a slur. NBC Sports California says after an internal review that the network decided to “end its relationship” with Kuiper.

NHL – NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs – Conference Finals (Best of 7)
Yesterday
Eastern Conference Finals
Florida Panthers 1, Carolina Hurricanes 0                              (FLA leads 3-0)

Panthers 1, Hurricanes 0 – Bobrovsky gets shutout, Panthers top Hurricanes 1-0 for 3-0 lead in East final
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 32 shots for his first career playoff shutout, Sam Reinhart scored a power-play goal midway through the second period and the Florida Panthers moved one win away from a most improbable trip to the Stanley Cup Final by blanking the Carolina Hurricanes 1-0. Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett had the assists on Reinhart’s goal for Florida, which now leads the Eastern Conference final 3-0. The Panthers haven’t played for the Stanley Cup since 1996, but can clinch a trip to the title round with a win in Game 4 on Wednesday.

Tonight
Western Conference Finals
Vegas Golden Knights at Dallas Stars, 8:00 p.m.                      (VGK leads 2-0)

NBA – National Basketball Association Playoffs – Conference Finals (Best of 7)
Last Night
Western Conference Finals
Denver Nuggets 113, Los Angeles Lakers 111                           (DEN wins 4-0)

Nuggets 113, Lakers 111 – Jokic leads Denver Nuggets past LeBron’s Lakers 113-111, into their first NBA Finals
The Denver Nuggets are going to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists as the Nuggets swept the Western Conference finals with a 113-111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4. Jamal Murray scored 25 points for the top-seeded Nuggets, who overcame LeBron James’ 31-point first half and a 15-point halftime deficit to earn their first conference title in 47 seasons in the NBA. James finished with 40 points after the highest-scoring postseason half of his matchless career.

Tonight
Eastern Conference Finals
Boston Celtics at Miami Heat, 8:30 p.m.                                  (MIA leads 3-0)

NBA – LeBron posts historic first half, questions future after Lakers eliminated
LeBron James began the final game of his 20th NBA season with the highest-scoring postseason half of his matchless NBA career. He ended it by questioning how much longer he plans to chase history after his Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the Western Conference finals. James set a personal record with 31 points in the first half of Game 4, but the Denver Nuggets ended the Lakers’ season with a 113-111 victory. The 38-year-old James finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and immense frustration after Los Angeles’ remarkable late-season rally ended with four consecutive defeats.

NFL – NFL approves limited flexible scheduling for Thursday night games
NFL owners have approved a flexible scheduling policy for Thursday night games on Amazon Prime Video. The rule covers Weeks 13-17, and teams would have their games moved only with at least 28 days’ notice. The league could push a Thursday night matchup in that range to Sunday afternoon if there is a more desirable game. The mechanism is currently in place for Sunday night and Monday night games. The flexible scheduling for Thursday night games was approved on a trial basis for 2023 only. Owners also approved at their spring meetings a rule allowing teams to play an emergency quarterback from the inactive list if the first two are injured during a game.

NFL – Super Bowl goes back to Bay Area; 49ers to host in 2026 at Levi’s Stadium
The Super Bowl will return to the Bay Area in 2026 at the home of the San Francisco 49ers. NFL owners approved the site at their spring meetings. This will be the third time for the big game in the Bay Area. Levi’s Stadium hosted Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara when Denver beat Carolina. The 49ers won Super Bowl 19 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto when they beat Miami after the 1984 season. The 2026 game will be Super Bowl 60. The next Super Bowl is scheduled for Feb. 11, 2024, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Indy 500 – Wilson fractures vertebrae in crash with Legge in Indy 500 practice session
Stefan Wilson fractured a vertebrae during a heavy crash with Katherine Legge in practice for the Indianapolis 500 on Monday. The British driver will not be allowed back into the car for Sunday’s race. Wilson was immobilized on a stretcher and wearing a neck brace but gave a thumbs-up as he was loaded into an ambulance and taken to the hospital. Legge was able to climb from the cockpit of her crumpled machine on her own. It was the first wreck in the two-week build-up to the race. It was unclear who will step into Wilson’s car for Sunday, but JR Hildebrand has been at the speedway. He’s made 12 consecutive starts, nearly winning as a rookie in 2011 before finishing second, but could not put together a ride this year.

MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Yesterday
No games last night

Tonight
Dayton Dragons at South Bend Cubs, 6:05 p.m.
Lake County Captains at West Michigan Whitecaps, 6:05 p.m.
Lansing Lugnuts at Fort Wayne Tin Caps, 6:35 p.m.
Great Lakes Loons at Peoria Chiefs, 7:35 p.m

MHSAA – High School Sports
Yesterday
Baseball
Lakeshore 4, Battle Creek Lakeview 3 – Game 1
Lakeshore 3, Battle Creek Lakeview 2 – Game 2
St. Joseph 6, Gull Lake 5 – F/8 – Game 1
St. Joseph 5, Gull Lake 2 – Game 2
Michigan Lutheran 9, Kal. Heritage 2 – Game 1
Michigan Lutheran 16, Kal. Heritage 3 – Game 2
River Valley 13, Eau Claire 3 – Game 1
River Valley 18, Eau Claire 3 – Game 2
Portage Northern 13, Loy Norrix 1 – Game 1
Portage Northern 12, Loy Norrix 5 – Game 2
Vicksburg 8, Centreville 2
Otsego 6, Buchanan 3 – Game 1
Otsego 8, Buchanan 5 – Game 2
Plainwell 4, Schoolcraft 3
Galesburg-Augusta 13, Brandywine 5 – Game 1
Brandywine 5, Galesburg-Augusta 1 – Game 2
Saugatuck 16, Fennville 1 – Game 1
Fennville 14, Saugatuck 7 – Game 2
Decatur 16, Hartford 0 – Game 1
Decatur 15, Hartford 1 – Game 2
Lawrence 24, Bloomingdale 0 – Game 1
Lawrence 10, Bloomingdale 0 – Game 2
Mendon 13, Marcellus 3 – Game 1
Mendon 21, Marcellus 6 – Game 2

Softball
Lakeshore 10, Battle Creek Lakeview 0 – Game 1
Lakeshore 14, Battle Creek Lakeview 1- Game 2
St. Joseph 7, Gull Lake 5 – Game 1
St. Joseph 4, Gull Lake 2 – Game 2
Athens 14, Michigan Lutheran 2 – Game 1
Athens 12, Michigan Lutheran 2 – Game 2
South Haven 15, Martin 0 – Game 1
South Haven 13, Martin 3 – Game 2
Dowagiac 9, Constantine 4 – Game 1
Dowagiac 17, Constantine 3 – Game 2
Mattawan 6, Kalamazoo Central 2 – Game 1
Mattawan 7, Kalamazoo Central 5 – Game 2
Portage Northern 16, Loy Norrix 0 – Game 1
Portage Northern 10, Loy Norrix 0 – Game 2
Vicksburg 13, Centreville 1
Buchanan 3, Otsego 1 – Game 1
Buchanan 15, Otsego 0 – Game 2
Saugatuck 10, Fennville 0 – Game 1
Saugatuck 17, Fennville 6 – Game 2
Bangor 10, Comstock 3 – Game 1
Bangor 17, Comstock 0 – Game 2
Decatur 4, Hartford 1 – Game 1
Decatur 7, Hartford 3 – Game 2
Bloomingdale 18, Lawrence 17 – Game 1
Bloomingdale 6, Lawrence 4 – Game 2
Mendon 15, Marcellus 0 – Game 1
Mendon 9, Marcellus 0 – Game 2
Howardsville Chr. 7, White Pigeon 6 – Game 1
White Pigeon 22, Howardsville Chr. 9 – Game 2

Girls Soccer
Kalamazoo Heritage 5, Michigan Lutheran 1
Kalamazoo Hackett 6, South Haven 0
Lawton 4, Bridgman 0
Buchanan 5, Hartford 3
Dowagiac 4, Bangor 0
Parchment 10, Coloma 2
Delton-Kellogg 5, Watervleit 2
Battle Creek Pennfield 9, Sturgis 1
Comstock 8, Vermontville Maple Valley 0

Today
Baseball
Bangor at Benton Harbor, 4;15 p.m.
Sturgis at Edwardsburg, 4:00 p.m.
Niles at Paw Paw, 4:00 p.m.
Otsego at Three Rivers, 4:00 p.m.
Parchment at Mattawan, 4:00 p.m.
Bridgman at Dowagiac, 4:00 p.m.
River Valley at Brandywine, 4:00 p.m.
Martin at South Haven, 4:30 p.m.
Lawton at Marcellus, 4:30 p.m.
Delton-Kellogg at Coloma, 4:30 p.m.
Allegan at Gobles, 4:30 p.m.

Softball
Howardsville Chr. at Our Lady of the Lake, 4:15 p.m.
Sturgis at Edwardsburg, 4:00 p.m.
Niles at Paw Paw, 4:00 p.m.
Otsego at Three Rivers, 4:00 p.m.
Bridgman at Dowagiac, 4:00 p.m.
River Valley at Brandywine, 4:00 p.m.
Decatur at Centreville, 4:30 p.m.
Bangor at Mendon, 4:30 p.m.
Delton-Kellogg at Coloma, 4:30 p.m.
Allegan at Gobles, 4:30 p.m.
Watervliet at Kalamazoo Christian, 4:30 p.m.

Girls Soccer – Districts
Division 1 at Kalamazoo Central (Round 1 at individual sites)
Portage Northern at Mattawan, 6:00 p.m.

Division 3 at Three Rivers (Round 1 at individual sites)
Parchment at Three Rivers, 6:00 p.m.

Girls Soccer – Regular Season
Michigan Lutheran at Brandywine, 5:00 p.m.
Kalamazoo Christian at Fennville, 6:00 p.m.