MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Detroit Tigers 8, Pittsburgh Pirates 0 – Game 1
Pittsburgh Pirates 10, Detroit Tigers 2 – Game 2
Toronto Blue Jays 3, Chicago White Sox 1
Milwaukee Brewers 10, Chicago Cubs 6
Tigers 8-0/Pirates 10-2 – Paul Skenes dominant as Pirates salvage doubleheader split by routing Tigers 10-2
Paul Skenes struck out nine and earned his second career victory and the Pittsburgh Pirates salvaged a doubleheader split with a 10-2 win over the Detroit Tigers. Skenes, making his fourth major league start, gave up two runs and three hits in six innings. Andrew McCutchen had a three-run homer in the third inning for his 1,600th career hit. McCutchen had three hits and a walk while driving in four runs. Nick Gonzales also had three hits, including a solo homer. In the opening game, Matt Vierling hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs for a second straight game and the Detroit Tigers pounded the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-0.His homer highlighted a four-run fifth as the Tigers won their fourth straight. Vierling had three hits, while Riley Greene added two hits and scored two runs. Tarik Skubal bounced back from his only loss this season by holding the Pirates to three singles and a walk in seven innings.
Blue Jays 3, White Sox 1 – Toronto’s bullpen delivers as the Blue Jays beat the White Sox 3-1
Trevor Richards and Toronto’s bullpen delivered after Alek Manoah departed because of elbow discomfort, and the Blue Jays beat the slumping Chicago White Sox 3-1. With two out and a runner on third in the second inning, Manoah was checked on by manager John Schneider and a trainer after throwing a 91.4 mph sinker to Dominic Fletcher for a ball. The big right-hander then departed after a short discussion on the mound. Richards came in and pitched 3 1/3 innings of one-hit ball. Tim Mayza, Zach Pop and Yimi García each got three outs before Jordan Romano earned his eighth save in nine chances, finishing a four-hitter.
Brewers 10, Cubs 6 – Yelich, Perkins and Adames homer as Brewers come to life against Cubs, Imanaga in 10-6 win
Christian Yelich, Blake Perkins and Willy Adames hit home runs and the Brewers erupted for five runs in the third against Shota Imanaga as Milwaukee downed the Chicago Cubs 10-6. Imanaga entered the game with major league-leading 0.84 ERA. He had allowed five earned runs in his first nine starts before being charged with seven on Wednesday as his ERA jumped to 1.86. Imanaga gave up a season-high eight hits in 4 1/3 innings, his second-shortest outing of the season. He had one walk and one strikeout. Jared Koenig (5-1) pitched two innings of scoreless relief to get the win.
Today
Chicago Cubs (Taillon 3-2) at Milwaukee (Rea 4-2), 1:10 p.m.
Detroit (Flaherty 1-4) at Boston (Pivetta 2-3), 7:10 p.m. News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM 6:55
White Sox are off
MLB – Josh Gibson becomes MLB batting leader as Negro Leagues statistics incorporated
Josh Gibson became Major League Baseball’s career leader with a .372 batting average, surpassing Ty Cobb’s .367, when records of the Negro Leagues for more than 2,300 players were incorporated after a three-year research project. Gibson’s .466 average for the 1943 Homestead Grays became the season standard, followed by Charlie “Chino” Smith’s .451 for the 1929 New York Lincoln Giants. They overtook the .440 by Hugh Duffy for the National League’s Boston team in 1894. Gibson also became the career leader in slugging percentage at .718 and OPS at 1.177, moving ahead of Babe Ruth in each statistic.
MLB – MLB players praise inclusion of Negro Leagues statistics into major league records
Baseball players and fans alike are learning more about the Negro Leagues after the statistics for more than 2,300 players — historic figures like Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Satchel Paige and Mule Suttles — were incorporated into the major league record book following a three-year research project. A 17-person committee chaired by John Thorn, Major League Baseball’s official historian, met six times as part of the meticulous process of examining statistics from seven Negro Leagues from 1920-1948. Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene calls the move “long overdue.” Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen says he is doing some “deep diving” into some Negro Leagues players that he hadn’t heard of before.
NHL – 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs – Round 3 – Conference Finals (Best of 7)
Last Night
Edmonton Oilers 5, Dallas Stars 2 (Series tied 2-2)
Oilers 5, Stars 2 – Oilers beat Stars 5-2 in Game 4 to tie Western Conference final
Mattias Janmark and Leon Draisaitl scored in a 51-second span in the second period and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Dallas Stars 5-2 on Wednesday night in Game 4 to even the Western Conference final. Janmark tied it on a short-handed, 2-on-1 break with Connor Brown with 5:29 left in the period, and Draisaitl followed with his 10th of the postseason with 4:38 to go. Game 5 is Friday night in Dallas. Ryan McLeod, Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm, into a empty net with 1:53 remaining, also scored for Edmonton. Stuart Skinner made 20 saves. Wyatt Johnson and Esa Lindell scored as Dallas raced to a 2-0 lead in the first 5 1/2 minutes. McLeod and Bouchard countered for Edmonton late in the period.
Tonight
Florida Panthers at New York Rangers, 8:00 p.m. (Series tied 2-2)
NBA – 2024 NBA Playoffs – Round 3 – Conference Finals (Best of 7)
Tonight
Dallas Mavericks at Minnesota Timberwolves, 8:30 p.m. (DAL leads 3-1)
WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association – Regular Season Openers
Tonight
Seattle Storm at Indiana Fever, 7:00 p.m.
Los Angeles Sparks at Chicago Sky, 8:00 p.m.
Golf – Charges against Scottie Scheffler dropped after arrest outside PGA Championship
Criminal charges against Scottie Scheffler have been dismissed, ending a legal saga that began with images of the world’s top golfer being arrested and handcuffed in Louisville during the PGA Championship. Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell, a local prosecutor, asked a judge Wednesday afternoon to drop the four charges against Scheffler. Scheffler was not required to be in the courtroom Wednesday. Scheffler was charged with a felony for assaulting a police officer with his vehicle, along with three misdemeanors. Scheffler has said he simply misunderstood the commands coming from traffic officers.
Golf – Nelly Korda faces her toughest test at US Women’s Open
Nelly Korda is playing so well she makes it look easy. But no one can expect an easy time at the U.S. Women’s Open. It’s billed as the toughest test in golf, and Lancaster Country Club figures to be every bit of that. Korda calls it a beast of a course. The 25-year-old American has won six of her last seven tournaments coming into the second major of the year. Only two players at No. 1 in the world have won the Women’s Open since the world ranking began in 2006. Korda has only two top 10s in the Open.
PWHL – Minnesota beats Boston 3-0, wins Professional Women’s Hockey League title
Minnesota won the inaugural championship of the Professional Women’s Hockey League on Wednesday night, getting 17 saves from Nicole Hensley to beat Boston 3-0 in a winner-take-all Game 5 and claim the Walter Cup. Liz Schepers scored to break a scoreless, second-period tie, Michela Cava made it 2-0 midway through the third period and Kendall Coyne Schofield added an empty-netter with two minutes left. Hensley, a two-time Olympian from Colorado, earned her second shutout of the playoffs after posting one in 14 regular-season games. Boston goalie Aerin Frankel made 41 saves for the runners-up.
Tennis – Iga Swiatek saves a match point and comes back to beat Naomi Osaka at the
Iga Swiatek has saved a match point and come back to beat Naomi Osaka 7-6 (1), 1-6, 7-5 in the second round of the French Open. Both players own four Grand Slam titles. Swiatek is currently ranked No. 1 and Osaka is a former No. 1. But Osaka has taken a lot of time off in recent years for mental health breaks and to have a baby. She is ranked only 134th now. But she did not play like that on Wednesday night. It took every bit of Swiatek’s guile and experience to allow her to extend her winning streak at Roland Garros to 16 matches.
NCAA – College athletic departments gearing up for ‘economic earthquake
Iowa State has already scrapped plans for a new wrestling facility. Texas A&M laid off a dozen or so athletic staffers. That could be the tip of the iceberg when millions in college revenue starts going directly to the athletes instead of coaching salaries, facilities or athletic department staffs. A revenue-sharing model proposed in a court settlement would mean a school could pay up to about $21 million annually to its athletes. One economist called it “an economic earthquake” that will have impacts still being determined.
MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
Lansing 4, Peoria 0
West Michigan 2, Great Lakes 0
South Bend 15, Quad Cities 0
Tonight
Great Lakes Loons at West Michigan Whitecaps, 6:35 p.m.
Peoria Chiefs at Lansing Lugnuts, 7:05 p.m.
South Bend Cubs at Quad Cities River Bandits, 7:30 p.m.
MHSAA – Michigan High School Athletic Association
Last Night
Girls Soccer – District Semifinals
Division 3 at Hopkins
GR South Christian 8, Delton-Kellogg 0
Allegan 6, Hopkins 5 – Shootout
Division 4 at Bridgman
Michigan Lutheran 3, Brandywine 0
Tonight
Girls Soccer – District Finals
Division 2 at Vicksburg
Lakeshore vs. Vicksburg, 7:00 p.m.
Division 2 at Wayland
Gull Lake vs. Otsego, 6:00 p.m.
Division 4 at Fennville
Fennville vs. Grandville Calvin Christian, 6:00 p.m.
