MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Detroit Tigers 3, Kansas City Royals 2
New York Mets 5, Chicago White Sox 1
Chicago Cubs 8, Washington Nationals 3
Tigers 3, Royals 2 – Eduardo Rodriguez pitches Detroit Tigers to 3-2 win over Kansas City Royals
Eduardo Rodriguez allowed two runs and four hits over seven dominant innings, and Miguel Cabrera drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single, as the Detroit Tigers held on for a 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night. Jason Foley worked the eighth before Alex Lange finished up the ninth for his 16th save. He left runners on the corners by striking out Kyle Isbel. Ryan Yarbrough took the loss for Kansas City. He pitched well before leaving with two outs in the sixth inning with a cramp in his hamstring. Yarbrough allowed three runs on six hits and a walk.
Mets 5, White Sox 1 – Verlander goes 8 innings and Baty homers to lead the Mets to a 5-1 victory over White Sox
Justin Verlander pitched eight vintage innings and rookie Brett Baty homered during an impressive all-around game as the New York Mets beat the Chicago White Sox 5-1. Baty contributed an RBI groundout during a four-run fourth and turned in a couple of fine defensive plays at third base. Running on a full-count pitch, he also scored from first base on Brandon Nimmo’s two-out double. Fellow rookie Francisco Álvarez grounded an RBI single in the fourth, and Luis Guillorme added a sacrifice fly. New York has won three straight following a four-game skid, and nine of 13 overall. The 40-year-old Verlander gave up three hits on 100 pitches for his 248th win. He struck out seven and walked one.
Cubs 8, Nationals 3 – Nico Hoerner hits grand slam as Chicago Cubs beat Washington Nationals 8-3
Nico Hoerner capped Chicago’s five-run eighth inning with his first career grand slam, helping the Cubs beat the lowly Washington Nationals 8-3. Mike Tauchman also homered and drove in three runs as Chicago earned its second straight win after dropping the opener of the three-game series on Monday night. Kyle Hendricks pitched six innings of one-run ball. Jeimer Candelario, who could be on the move ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline, hit his 15th homer for Washington.
Tonight
Chicago White Sox (Kopech 3-8) at N.Y. Mets (Quintana 0-0), 1:10 p.m.
Detroit (Lorenzen 4-6) at Kansas City (Greinke 1-9), 2:10 p.m News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM 1:45
St. Louis (Matz 0-7) at Chicago Cubs (Stroman 10-6), 8:05 p.m.
WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association
Yesterday
Indiana Fever 82, Washington Mystics 76
Fever 82, Mystics 76 – Fever beat Mystics 82-76 to snap an 8-game losing streak
Kelsey Mitchell had 18 points, five assists and four steals, Emma Cannon added 13 points and the Indiana Fever beat the Washington Mystics 82-76 to snap an eight-game losing streak. Indiana used a 15-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Amanda Zahui B., to go ahead 63-53 with 7:42 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Fever also scored seven unanswered points to make it 70-59 with 4:10 left. Washington made back-to-back 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds to get within 78-74, but Erica Wheeler sealed it by making two free throws with 7.5 seconds left. Aliyah Boston had 11 points and eight rebounds and Victoria Vivians also scored 11 points for Indiana (6-15). Wheeler finished with 10 points, going 6 of 6 from the free-throw line.
Tonight
Chicago Sky at Phoenix Mercury, 10:00 p.m.
IndyCar – IndyCar makes stronger retaining nut to keep wheels attached during wrecks
IndyCar will implement a new, stronger piece of hardware designed to keep rear wheels attached to the car during a wreck. The change comes after a tire flew off Kyle Kirkwood’s car and narrowly missed a packed grandstand during the Indianapolis 500. The series said Wednesday that chassis manufacturer Dallara had designed a retaining nut more than 60% stronger than the previous design. The updated retaining nut will be mandatory beginning with this weekend’s races at Iowa Speedway. Roger Penske, who owns both the series and the speedway, promised afterward a thorough review of the wreck.
NCAA – New state law allows alcohol to be sold at MI public university sports venues
A new state law allows alcoholic drinks to be sold at college sporting events in Michigan. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation on Tuesday allowing liquor licenses to be issued to sporting venues at public universities, including Michigan State in East Lansing and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Whitmer says authorizing the legal sale of alcohol at sporting events brings Michigan universities on equal footing with those in other states, helps reduce the likelihood of binge drinking before games, and brings more revenue that can be used “to improve the student experience.”
NCAA – Attorneys; Northwestern hazing scandal included multiple sports, men & women
Allegations of hazing in Northwestern’s athletic programs have broadened. Attorneys say male and female athletes reported misconduct within two other sports and suggested sexual abuse and racial discrimination within the football program was so rampant coaches knew about it. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump says he and other attorneys have received disturbing details from former baseball and softball players, in addition to growing complaints of abuse in the football program. Black football players appear to have faced an additional layer of abuse. A lawsuit filed Tuesday accuses fired football coach Pat Fitzgerald of enabling a culture of racism, including forcing players of color to cut their hair and behave differently to be more in line with the “Wildcat Way.”
NASCAR – Shane van Gisbergen to get another NASCAR Cup start after Chicago triumph
Shane van Gisbergen will put his perfect NASCAR Cup Series mark on the line on the road course at Indianapolis. The three-time Supercars champion, who triumphed earlier this month in the inaugural Chicago street race in his first career start, will be back in the No. 91 car for Trackhouse Racing when the series heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Aug. 13. Van Gisbergen will be joined in the field by Supercars star Brodie Kostecki, who will make his Cup Series debut with Richard Childress Racing, and sports car standout Kamui Kobayashi, who will make his debut with 23XI Racing.
Golf – LPGA – Castren, Tan shoot 64 in alternate-shot play to lead LPGA Tour team event
Matilda Castren and Kelly Tan shot a 6-under 64 in alternate-shot play Wednesday to take the first-round lead in the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, the LPGA Tour’s lone team event. Castren, from Finland, and Tan, from Malaysia, birdied the final two holes and four of the last six at Midland Country Club. They had a bogey-free round. Celine Boutier and Yuka Saso were a stroke back with the teams of Celine Borge-Polly Mack and Paula Reto-Amelia Lewis. Swedes Linnea Strom and Linnea Johansson were at 66 with the Chinese duo of Yu Liu and Ruixin Liu.
Golf – The British Open is not ruling out Saudi funding
R&A chief Martin Slumbers won’t rule out taking money from Saudi Arabia’s national wealth fund. Slumbers is concerned about the big increases in prize money in professional golf. He spoke of finding a balance in growing the game and boosting the purse at the British Open. Slumbers was asked if the R&A would be open to having the Public Investment Fund as a potential partner. He says the world is changing. He noted investments in golf and F1 and cricket. He says it’s not feasible for the R&A to ignore societal changes and it would consider all options.
FIFA – FIFA can’t guarantee federations will pay promised $30k per player at World Cup
FIFA President Gianni Infantino says he is engaging with member federations to make sure that the $30,000 payments designated for every player at the Women’s World Cup reach the athletes. The payments will go to the national federations, which are in turn expected to pay the players. But there is no mechanism to directly pay the players the sum. FIFA had previously confirmed that the 732 players participating in the World Cup will be paid at least $30,000 each. The paycheck rises if teams do well, with each player for the winning team earning $270,000.
MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Yesterday
South Bend 5, West Michigan 0
Great Lakes 9, Lansing 7
Tonight
West Michigan Whitecaps at South Bend Cubs, 7:05 p.m.
Great Lakes Loons at Lansing Lugnuts, 7:05 p.m.
