Lorenzen strikes out 7 in Tigers 4-0 win over Pirates – Wednesday Morning Sports Update

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MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Detroit Tigers 4, Pittsburg Pirates 0
Chicago White Sox 8, Cleveland Guardians 3
Houston Astros 7, Chicago Cubs 3

Tigers 4, Pirates 0 – Michael Lorenzen has season-high 7 strikeouts, Tigers beat Pirates 4-0
Michael Lorenzen had a season-high seven strikeouts in six innings, Spencer Torkelson doubled twice and the Detroit Tigers beat the slumping Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 on Tuesday night. Lorenzen (2-2) gave up five hits and two walks and has allowed just two runs in his last three starts. Will Vest worked two scoreless innings, with three strikeouts, and Jose Cisnero pitched the ninth. Torkelson scored and knocked in another run. Riley Greene had three hits. Shut out for the second time in three games, Pittsburgh has lost 12 of 14 games while scoring just 22 runs. Luis Ortiz (0-2) allowed four runs, three earned, and seven hits in three-plus innings.

White Sox 8, Guardians 3 – Robert homers for 4th straight game, White Sox beat Guardians 8-3
Luis Robert Jr. homered for the fourth straight game, Gavin Sheets and Jake Burger went deep off Shane Bieber in Chicago’s six-run fifth inning, and the White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 8-3. Lance Lynn allowed three runs — one earned — on seven hits in seven innings. Robert’s solo shot to deep left in the eighth was his AL-leading 12th homer of the season. He became the first White Sox player to homer in four straight games since Matt Davidson in 2017. Sheets’ three-run shot and Burger’s two-run drive were among six straight hits by the White Sox with two outs in the fifth as Chicago jumped ahead 6-0.

Astros 7, Cubs 3 – Alvarez, McCormick each have 2 hits, Astros beat Cubs 7-3
Yordan Alvarez had two hits and drove in two runs and Chas McCormick added two hits and made a nifty grab in the Houston Astros’ 7-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night. Justin Steele (6-1) hadn’t given up more than three runs in a game this season before the Astros jumped on him for four runs in the fourth inning for a 5-1 lead. The Astros had four of their season-high six doubles in that inning en route to their third consecutive victory. Steele allowed five hits and five runs with eight strikeouts in six innings. Cristian Javier (4-1) allowed two hits and one run in six innings for his second straight win.

Tonight
Pittsburgh (Hill 3-3) at Detroit (Rodriguez 4-2), 1:10 p.m.        News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM 12:45
Chicago Cubs (Smyly 4-1) at Houston (France 1-0), 8:10 p.m.
Cleveland (Battenfield 0-4) at Chicago White Sox (Clevinger 2-3), 8:10 p.m.

NBA – National Basketball Association Playoffs – Conference Finals (Best of 7)
Last Night
Western Conference Finals
Denver Nuggets 132, Los Angles Lakers 126                            (DEN leads 1-0)

Nuggets 132, Lakers 126 – Nikola Jokic leads Nuggets past Lakers 132-126 in West opener
Nikola Jokic’s powerful display at both ends of the court propelled the Denver Nuggets past the Los Angeles Lakers 132-126 in the opener of the Western Conference Finals. The Nuggets led by as many as 21 points before the Lakers made a late push before falling short of winning an opener on the road for the third time in these playoffs. Anthony Davis scored 40 points for the Lakers and LeBron James came up one assist shy of a triple double to go with his 26 points and 12 rebounds.

Last Night
Eastern Conference Finals
Miami Heat at Boston Celtics, 8:30 p.m.                                  (Game 1)

NBA – The Wembanyama sweepstakes and draft lottery has a winner: It’s the Spurs
Victor Wembanyama is now set to begin his NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs, after they won the NBA draft lottery and the No. 1 overall pick on Tuesday night. The Spurs were one of three teams with the best odds — 14% — to land the No. 1 pick, which they’ll almost certainly use on Wembanyama. The 7-foot-3 French 19-year-old is one of the most highly touted prospects in NBA history and will be expected to make an immediate impact on the league.  Detroit had the worst record in the NBA and was one of the three teams with the best odds of winning. The Pistons wound up falling all the way to fifth, the worst of their possible outcomes.   Indiana has the 7th pick and the Bulls pick at 11 was traded to Orlando in the deal for Nikola Vucevic.

WNBA – WNBA suspends Hammon 2 games for player’s allegation she was bullied
The WNBA has suspended Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon, one of the league’s marquee figures, for two games after former Aces player Dearica Hamby said she had been bullied and manipulated for being pregnant. Hammon, who in her first season last year led the Aces to the WNBA championship, was suspended without pay Tuesday after a monthslong investigation. The league also rescinded the Aces’ first-round pick in the 2025 draft for a different issue — a violation of league rules regarding impermissible player benefits involving Hamby. Hammon and the Aces have not responded to requests for comment.

NHL – Arizona Coyotes’ bid for new arena appears to be rejected by voters
The Arizona Coyotes’ bid for a new arena appears to be dead. In the first release of results from Tuesday’s referendum, voters in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe were strongly against three propositions to build a $2.3 billion entertainment district that would include a new arena for the Coyotes. Opposition to the three propositions had a double-digit lead over those in favor, with only ballots dropped off Tuesday left to count. The Coyotes had hoped a new arena in Tempe would finally allow the franchise to settle down after playing in three different venues since moving to Arizona. Now it appears the franchise has to search for a new home again.

NFL – ESPN announces ‘Pat McAfee Show’ will join afternoon lineup
Pat McAfee’s show is moving to ESPN as part of a new multiyear deal. McAfee first joined ESPN as a college football analyst for its Thursday night games in 2019. He returned to the network last year and became part of the “College GameDay” crew as well as hosting some alternate presentations of ESPN games, including the CFP National Championship. That will continue, but it is McAfee’s show that has created the most buzz. ESPN also announced a documentary series on Serena Williams and four major matchups for the upcoming college football season.

NFL – Peacock will exclusively carry NFL playoff game in a first for streaming service
The NFL is taking another big step into streaming by putting one of its playoff games exclusively on a digital platform for the first time. The league and NBCUniversal announced that the Saturday night game on Wild Card weekend will be on Peacock. It will be preceded by a late afternoon playoff game on NBC and Peacock that will kick off at 4:30 p.m. EST. The Peacock game will also be broadcast on NBC stations in the markets of the two teams. Subscription rates for Peacock start at $4.99 per month.

Soccer – CTE cases in soccer players raise fresh questions about safety of heading the ball
Four more former professional soccer players have been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The Concussion Legacy Foundation says the North American Soccer League veterans were found to have the degenerative brain disease that has been linked to concussions in athletes, combat veterans and others who have sustained repeated head trauma. English star Jimmy Fryatt was one of them. He was considered one of the best at heading the ball. Researchers say the practice is dangerous and should be phased out, especially for children. The new diagnoses come as soccer officials gather in Chicago for a Head Injury Summit. Some of the ex-players’ families say hearing from those who suffered from the disease is a key to preventing and treating it.

MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
West Michigan 11, Great Lakes 10
Lake County 6, Lansing 5
South Bend 9, Beloit 4

Today
Lake County Captains at Lansing Lugnuts, 11:05 a.m. (DH)
South Bend Cubs at Beloit Sky Carp, 12:05 p.m.
West Michigan Whitecaps at Great Lakes Loons, 6:05 p.m.

MHSAA – 1-and-1 free throws to be eliminated at the high school level next season
One-and-ones are done in high school basketball. High school basketball teams now will shoot two free throws for common fouls when in the “bonus” instead of having to make the first free throw to get a second after seven fouls. Rules changes for next school year were approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations’ basketball rules committee, then by its board of directors. In addition to awarding two foul shots for all common fouls, teams will reach the bonus when their opponent commits five fouls in each quarter and team fouls will reset at the end of each quarter.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Yesterday
Baseball
Lakeshore 10, Portage Central 9
Michigan Lutheran 12, New Buffalo 1- Game 1
Michigan Lutheran 18, New Buffalo 3 – Game 2
Brandywine 3, Watervliet 2 – Game 1
Watervliet 4, Brandywine 1 – Game 2
Kalamazoo Christian 5, Buchanan 1 – Game 1
Kalamazoo Christian 4, Buchanan 0 – Game 2
Bridgman 11, Coloma 0 – Game 1
Bridgman 17, Coloma 0 – Game 2
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 10, South Haven 0 – Game 1
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 7, South Haven 3 – Game 2
River Valley 1, Eau Claire 0 – Game 1
River Valley 8, Eau Claire 4 – Game 2
Niles 7, Plainwell 6 – Game 1
Plainwell 1, Niles 0 – Game 2
Otsego 12, Paw Paw 2 – Game 1
Otsego 5, Paw Paw 0 – Game 2
Sturgis 11, Three Rivers 0 – Game 1
Three Rivers 3, Sturgis 1 – Game 2
Vicksburg 12, Edwardsburg 8 – Game 1
Edwardsburg 8, Vickburg 5 – Game 2
Vicksburg 14, Edwardsburg 3 – Game 2
Forest Hills Eastern 10, Mattawan 0 – Game 1
Mattawan 3, Forest Hills Eastern 0 – Game 2
Gobles 21, Holland Black River 1 – Game 1
Gobles 12, Holland Black River 2 – Game 2
Parchment 8, Kalamazoo Hackett 2 – Game 1
Parchment 13, Kalamazoo Hackett 3 – Game 2
Centreville 2, Colon 1
Comstock 19, Marcellus 7 – Game 1
Comstock 16, Marcellus 1 – Game 2

Softball
St. Joseph 13, Dowagiac 3 – Game 1
St. Joseph 11, Dowagiac 6 – Game 2
Mattawan 16, South Haven 3 – Game 1
South Haven 15, Mattawan 6 – Game 2
Buchanan 2, Kalamazoo Christian 0 – Game 1
Buchanan 9, Kalamazoo Christian 3 – Game 2
Coloma 10, Bridgman 0 – Game 1
Coloma 12, Bridgman 3 – Game 2
Niles 11, Plainwell 3 – Game 1
Niles 16, Plainwell 1 – Game 2
Otsego 4, Paw Paw 3 – Game 1
Otsego 8, Paw Paw 0 – Game 1
Three Rivers 17, Sturgis 2 – Game 1
Three River 28, Sturgis 0 – Game 2
Edwardsburg 11, Vicksburg 10 – Game 1
Vicksburg 14, Edwardsburg 3 – Game 2
Portage Central 15, Battle Creek Cent. 0 – Game 1
Portage Central 15, Battle Creek Cent. 0 – Game 2
Parchment 16, Kalamazoo Hackett 1 – Game 1
Parchment 13, Kalamazoo Hackett 3 – Game 2
Centreville 5, Colon 0 – Game 1
Centreville 15, Colon 6 – Game 2

Girls Soccer
Michigan Lutheran 1, Berrien Springs 0
Watervliet 6, Coloma 1
Bangor 1, Hartford 1 – Tie
Fennville 3, Lawton 1
Kalamazoo Hackett 7, Parchment 0
GR Covenant Christian 2, Holland Black River 1

Today
Girls Soccer
SMAC Tournament
Portage Central at Mattawan, 6:30 p.m.              Championship game
Lakeshore at Gull Lake, 6:30 p.m.                       3rd place game
Battle Creek Lakeview at St. Joseph, 6:30 p.m.      5th place game
Portage Northern at Kal. Loy Norrix, 6:30 p.m.     7th place game
Kalamazoo Central 9th place
Battle Creek Central 10th place

Wolverine
Paw Paw at Niles, 6:30 p.m.
Three Rivers at Otsego, 6:30 p.m.
Edwardsburg at Sturgis, 6:00 p.m.
Plainwell at Vicksburg, 6:30 p.m.

BCS
Our Lady of the Lake at Covert, 5:00 p.m.

SAC
Delton-Kellogg at South Haven, 6:30 p.m.
Saugatuck at Allegan, 6:30 p.m.
Coloma at Constantine, 5:00 p.m.

Non-Conference
Buchanan at Comstock, 5:00 p.m.
Marcellus at New Buffalo, 6:00 p.m.
Bridgman at Brandywine, 5:00 p.m.
Battle Creek Central at Calhoun Christian, 5:00 p.m.

Baseball
Our Lady of the Lake at Benton Harbor, 4:00 p.m.
Battle Creek Lakeview at Mattawan, 4:00 p.m.
Martin at Galesburg-Augusta, 4:30 p.m.
Mendon at Cassopolis, 4:30 p.m.
Zion Christian at Saugatuck, 4:30 p.m.

Softball
Battle Creek Lakeview at Mattawan, 4:00 p.m.
Martin at Saugatuck, 4:30 p.m.
Mendon at Cassopolis, 4:30 p.m.
Comstock at Grant, 4:00 p.m.