Tigers fall in Cleveland to start four game series – Thursday Morning Sports Update

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MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
Cleveland Guardians 4, Detroit Tigers 0
Chicago White Sox 12, Minnesota Twins 2
New York Mets 8, Chicago Cubs 0

Guardians 4, Tigers 0 – McKenzie whiffs 12 in 8 scoreless, Guardians trip Tigers 4-0
Triston McKenzie struck out a career-high 12 and extended his scoreless streak to 21 innings, leading the Cleveland Guardians to a 4-0 win over the Detroit Tigers. McKenzie pitched eight dominant innings, giving up five singles, walking none and working out of his only trouble in the sixth. With runners at first and third, McKenzie struck out Eric Haase for the third out. Josh Naylor homered in the first off rookie Elvin Rodríguez, who made his first start for the Tigers since June 10. All-Star Andrés Giménez added a solo shot in the eighth inning for Cleveland.

White Sox 12, Twins 2 – White Sox rout Twins 12-2, extend win streak to three games
Luis Robert hit his first grand slam, Johnny Cueto pitched six strong innings and the Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 12-2 to extend their winning streak to three games. Robert’s 452-foot blast to the second deck in left field gave the White Sox a 6-1 lead in the fourth inning. He added a run-scoring single in the sixth inning and a double in the eighth for his third consecutive three-hit game. Andrew Vaughn also homered and drove in two runs for Chicago, and Tim Anderson added two hits and scored three runs. Sebby Zavala hit a three-run homer in the ninth off Twins infielder Nick Gordon. Cueto (4-4) gave up one run and seven hits over six innings while throwing a season-high 118 pitches. He pitched out of trouble in the first three innings.

Mets 8, Cubs 0 – Carrasco, Mets hand Cubs 7th straight loss, 8-0
Carlos Carrasco pitched six sharp innings, Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso homered, and the New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs 8-0. The Cubs have lost seven straight. The Mets won for the third time in four games, maintained their 2 1/2-game lead over Atlanta in the NL East and improved their road record to 28-19. The Cubs have totaled three runs over their last three games. Thanks to Carrasco, Mets starters improved to 7-3 with a 2.55 ERA in 14 July games. Carrasco allowed only one runner to advance past first base.

Today
N.Y. Mets (Walker 7-2) at Chicago Cubs (Stroman 2-5), 2:20 p.m.
Detroit (Hutchison 1-4) at Cleveland (Plesac 2-7), 7:10 p.m.                WSJM/WCSY 6:50
Chicago White Sox (Kopech 2-6) at Minnesota (Smeltzer 4-2), 8:10 p.m.

MLB – Feds sue Cubs, allege changes to Wrigley not ADA-compliant
The federal government is accusing the Chicago Cubs of failing to make Wrigley Field accessible to those with disabilities during a half-billion dollar renovation. The project that started in 2014 added luxury seating, bathrooms and restaurants. The lawsuit filed by U.S. Attorney John Lausch Jr. says the team’s 1060 Project “has had a significant adverse impact on individuals with disabilities and their ability to access Wrigley Field.” It asks for compensatory damages and civil penalties and demands that the team fix the problems to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The team says the renovation “greatly increased” the accessibility for those with disabilities.

NHL – NHL free agency: Devils sign Palat, Capitals add Strome
The New Jersey Devils have agreed to terms with left winger Ondrej Palat on a $30 million, five-year contract. Palat had 52 points in 71 games during Tampa Bay’s three consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Cup Final. The Devils turned to Palat after losing the Johnny Gaudreau sweepstakes to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Washington Capitals continued their busy offseason by signing former Chicago Blackhawks forward Dylan Strome. Ottawa followed up on landing former Flyers captain Claude Giroux in free agency by locking up third-year player Josh Norris through the 2029-30 season.

WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association
Yesterday
Chicago Sky 80, Los Angeles Sparks 68

Sky 80, Sparks 68 – Gardner powers Sky to 80-68 victory over Sparks
Rookie Rebekah Gardner came off the bench to score 18 points and grab 10 rebounds to lift the Chicago Sky to an 80-68 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks. Gardner hit 8 of 11 shots, had four offensive boards and four assists to help Chicago improve to a WNBA-best 18-6. Fellow reserve Azura Stevens scored 14, hitting 6 of 7 shots with two 3-pointers. Candace Parker had 11 rebounds but missed all 11 of her shots and didn’t score. Nneka Ogwumike had 16 points and eight rebounds for Los Angeles (10-14), while younger sister Chiney Ogwumike added 14 points and 13 boards.

Tonight
Minnesota Lynx at Indiana Fever, 7:00 p.m.

WNBA – WNBA’s Griner gets support at trial from character witnesses
The drug possession trial of WNBA star Brittney Griner has resumed, with the head of the Russian club she plays for in the offseason and a teammate from that squad testifying in support of her character and what she has meant for women’s basketball in the country. Griner, who pleaded guilty last week, did not testify as expected at the third day of the trial. She has been detained in Russia since February, and the U.S. government is under pressure at home to do more to secure her freedom. Her guilty plea could be an effort to expedite the court proceedings so any negotiations about a prisoner exchange could move forward.

NBASL – NBA Summer League
Yesterday
Cleveland Cavaliers 82, Detroit Pistons 79
Chicago Bulls 89, Charlotte Hornets 73

NBA – Suns match Pacers’ offer for Ayton, keeping nucleus intact
Deandre Ayton finally has his new deal from the Phoenix Suns, who simply weren’t willing to let him get away for nothing. A person with knowledge of the situation said the Suns quickly decided to match a $133 million, four-year offer sheet that Ayton agreed to earlier Thursday with the Indiana Pacers. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Suns had not publicly announced the decision. The move means the Suns keep their nucleus of Ayton and the All-Star backcourt of Devin Booker and Chris Paul. The trio pushed Phoenix to the NBA Finals in 2021.

Golf – LPGA – Roussin-Weber have ace, take lead in LPGA Tour’s team event
Pauline Roussin made a hole-in-one and teamed with fellow rookie Dewi Weber to take a three-stroke lead Thursday in the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, leaving Annika Sorenstam and Madelene Sagstrom five shots behind. Tied with the 51-year-old Sorenstam and Sagstrom after an opening 5-under 65 in alternate-shot play Wednesday, Roussin and Weber had a 61 at Midland Country Club in the better-ball round to reach 14-under 126. Roussin, the Frenchwoman playing on Bastille Day, aced the par-3 seventh with a 46-degree wedge. The teams will play alternate shot Friday and finish Saturday with better ball. Sorenstam and Sagstrom had a 66. Sorenstam is making her second LPGA Tour start of the year and only her third since retiring after the 2008 season.

Golf – British Open – A rookie rises and Tiger crashes in slow-moving British Open
The Old Course at St. Andrews was fast as ever. The same couldn’t be said for the pace of play at the British Open. The heralded start of the 150th Open featured Cameron Young making his debut with a 64. He had a two-shot lead over Rory McIlroy. And the long day could make for a short week for Tiger Woods. The two-time winner at St. Andrews had two double bogeys on his way to a 78. That’s his second-highest score ever in the Open and leaves him six shots out of the cut line.

MILB – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
West Michigan 8, Wisconsin 7 – F/10
Fort Wayne 5, Lansing 4
Great Lakes 2, Quad Cities 1
South Bend 5, Peoria 1

Tonight
Wisconsin at West Michigan, 6:35 p.m.
Lansing at Fort Wayne, 7:05 p.m.
Great Lakes at Quad Cities, 7:30 p.m.
South Bend at Peoria, 7:35 p.m.