Weekday Morning Sports – Monday 6/6/16

sportsreport

95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Monday, June 06, 2016

MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Detroit Tigers 5, Chicago White Sox 2
Arizona Diamondbacks 3, Chicago Cubs 2

Tigers 5, White Sox 2 – Verlander’s seven innings lead Tigers to sweep of White Sox
Justin Verlander pitched seven strong innings and Justin Upton drove in a pair of runs as the Detroit Tigers swept the Chicago White Sox with a 5-2 victory Sunday. Detroit came into the series having lost eight of its last 10 games against left-handed starters, but beat a trio of Chicago lefties: Carlos Rodon, Chris Sale and Carlos Quintana. Verlander (5-5) allowed homers to Jose Abreu and Todd Frazier, but got himself out of two major jams in order to win for the third time in four starts. He gave up five hits and a walk while striking out eight. Shane Greene and Francisco Rodriguez finished, with Rodriguez picking up his 15th save. Quintana (5-6) took the loss, allowing a season-high five runs on nine hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings.

Diamondbacks 3, Cubs 2 – Arrieta’s win streak ends at 20, Diamondbacks beat Cubs 3-2
Jake Arrieta’s winning streak ended at 20 games when Patrick Corbin and the struggling Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2 Sunday. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner had gone 24 regular-season starts without a loss since Cole Hamels pitched a no-hitter for Philadelphia at Wrigley Field on July 25. Arrieta did lose to the New York Mets in the NL Championship Series last season and was 2-1 in the playoffs. Arrieta (9-1) lasted five innings this time, allowing three runs and nine hits. He threw 108 pitches and struck out a season-high 12 while walking one. The Cubs lost for only the second time in 12 games and finished 8-2 on their homestand. Both losses came in starts by Arrieta after they won 23 in a row with him on the mound.

Tonight
Chicago Cubs (Lester 6-3) at Philadelphia (Morgan 1-4), 7:05 p.m.
Toronto (Happ 6-2) at Detroit (Fulmer 5-1), 7:10 p.m.      WSJM Sports/Cosy-FM 6:45

MLB –  Cubs manager Maddon ejected against Diamondbacks
Cubs manager Joe Maddon has been ejected from Sunday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.  With Chicago trailing 3-2 in the seventh, Maddon got tossed by first base umpire Tripp Gibson after reliever Trevor Cahill walked Paul Goldschmidt on a full-count pitch. The Cubs thought he swung and appealed to Gibson. Once Goldschmidt was awarded first, Cahill threw his arms up in disgust and Maddon ran out to argue with the umpire. The ejection was Maddon’s first this season.

NBA – 2016 NBA Finals (Best of 7)
Last Night
Golden State Warriors 110, Cleveland Cavaliers 77                   (GSW leads 2-0)

Warriors 110, Cavaliers 77 – Warriors hammer Cavs
Draymond Green poured in 28 points and had seven rebounds and five assists as the Golden State Warriors crushed the Cleveland Cavaliers 110-77 to take a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals. Green scored 18 points in the first half and helped the Warriors close the second quarter on a 30-9 run that put them ahead 52-44 by intermission. Stephen Curry scored 18 points on 7 of 11 shooting, including a 4-for-8 mark from 3-point range.  After an extra travel day, the series resumes on Wednesday in Cleveland.

NHL – 2016 Stanley Cup Finals (Best of 7)
Tonight
Pittsburgh Penguins at San Jose Sharks, 8:00 p.m.                      (PIT leads 2-1)

Tennis – French Open – Djokovic completes slam
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic has completed a career Grand Slam by downing second seed Andy Murray 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in the French Open final. Djokovic has won 28 straight Grand Slam matches since last year’s Wimbledon to become the reigning champ at the four majors. The last man to hold all four major titles simultaneously was Rod Laver in 1969.

NFL – Broncos corner shot
The Denver Broncos say star cornerback Aqib Talib is OK and recovering after being shot in the lower right leg at a Dallas nightclub early Sunday morning.  The team issued a statement saying Talib is expected to be released from the hospital soon and make a full recovery. Police told The Dallas Morning News that Talib was one of two people shot in an altercation at the club and that both victims were hospitalized with non-life-threatening wounds. Talib’s 30 interceptions and eight pick-6s are tops in the league since 2008, his rookie year in Tampa Bay.

Boxing – Ali transformed Parkinson’s awareness, inspired patients
An enduring image of Muhammad Ali is when he lit the torch with a shaking arm at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. It was a sign of his Parkinson’s disease, and he didn’t try to hide it. Advocates say Ali transformed understanding of Parkinson’s and showed that patients can live productive lives. Other celebrities with Parkinson’s include actor Michael J. Fox, former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, and singer Linda Ronstadt. But perhaps because the “fighter” analogy is so often linked to patients facing difficult illnesses, Ali meant something special to the Parkinson’s community. A patient involved in a Parkinson’s boxing group in Texas calls Ali an inspiration. He says throwing punches makes them feel like they’re “punching out” Parkinson’s.

NCAA Softball –  Burroughs’ three-hitter leads Florida St. past Michigan 1-0
Jessica Burroughs threw a three-hitter to help Florida State defeat Michigan 1-0 in a Women’s College World Series elimination game Sunday. Michigan hung tough, despite playing just 12 hours after losing to Oklahoma. Megan Betsa allowed one hit in the loss for the Wolverines, last year’s national runner-up.

IndyCar – Power wins at Belle Isle for first victory of season
Will Power raced to his first IndyCar victory of the season, overcoming a costly penalty in qualifying Sunday and holding off points leader Simon Pagenaud by 0.92 seconds at Belle Isle. Power would have set a track record in qualifying earlier in the day, but the Australian was penalized for interference and had his top two laps taken away. Pagenaud won the pole while Power started eighth, but Power prevailed in the end for his 26th career victory and first since the Grand Prix of Indianapolis in May 2015. With about 18 laps remaining, Power passed Pagenaud to take over fifth place _ and the top four drivers still had to pit again. Power took over the lead on the 61st of 70 laps on the 2.35-mile street course.

IndyCar – Event chairman says Detroit will host IndyCar again in 2017
The chairman of Detroit’s IndyCar event says it will be back next year. Bud Denker, chairman of the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, says the 2017 event will take place June 2-4 and will again include two IndyCar races. Denker spoke Sunday after the conclusion of the weekend’s racing schedule at Belle Isle’s street course. The Detroit event has become a mainstay on the IndyCar schedule in recent years, taking place the weekend after the Indianapolis 500. There was one IndyCar race at Belle Isle in 2012, followed by doubleheaders each year since.

NASCAR – Rain postpones NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono to Monday
Rain has postponed the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway until Monday. Brad Keselowski sits on the pole for the race which has a noon start in Pocono’s first Monday race since 2009. The 2012 rain-shortened race at Pocono was marred by lightning strikes that killed one fan and injured nine others. This was the first postponed Cup race of the season and ninth since 2011.

WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association
Last Night
Indiana Fever 88, Connecticut Sun 77

Fever 88, Sun 77 – Mitchell carries the Fever late in 88-77 win over Sun
Rookie Tiffany Mitchell scored 13 of her career-high 21 points in the final 5:39 to help the Indiana Fever hold off the Connecticut Sun 88-77 on Sunday. The Fever (4-4), ranked No. 6 in in the AP WNBA power poll, led by 20 with 3:51 left in the third quarter. Connecticut rallied back within 73-67 as Rachel Banham scored nine of the Sun’s next 20 points.

Golf – PGA – McGirt gets first PGA victory
William McGirt has finally claimed his first PGA victory by rolling in a 6-foot par putt on the second extra hole to beat Jon Curran and capture the Memorial at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. McGirt played the final 22 holes without a bogey before securing his first win in 165 PGA starts. He closed with a 1-under 71 that left him 15-under for the tournament. The win vaults him to 43rd in the world ranking, putting him into the U.S. Open at Oakmont in two weeks. Curran’s final-round 70 allowed him to finish one stroke ahead of Dustin Johnson. Rory McIlroy was among those two shots behind.

Golf – Champions – McCarron wins
Scott McCarron birdied his final three holes for a 7-under 65 and a one-shot win over Miguel Angel Jimenez and Billy Andrade at the Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines. McCarron won for the first time since taking the 2001 Bellsouth Classic, the last of his three PGA Tour titles. Andrade had a 68 after shooting a course-record 63 on Saturday.
 
Golf – LPGA – Nordqvist captures ShopRite Classic
Anna Nordqvist successfully defended her ShopRite LPGA Classic title by finishing 17 under par. She closed out the tournament with a final-round 7-under 64 in breezy conditions for a one-stroke victory over Hana Numura, who shot a 66.

MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Yesterday
Lansing 6, Bowling Green 2
Great Lakes 8, Lake County 4
South Bend 2, West Michigan 1

Tonight
No games today

MHSAA – High School Sports
Today
Baseball Districts
Division 2 at Sturgis (Rained out on Saturday)
Sturgis vs. Plainwell, 4:00 p.m.
Vicksburg vs. Sturgis/Plainwell winner, 5:30 p.m.   (Championship Game)
-Winner to advance to Regional semifinals at Lakeshore this Saturday vs. South Haven at 12:30 p.m.

Softball Districts
Division 2 at Sturgis (Rained out on Saturday)
Sturgis vs. Vicksburg, 4:30 p.m. (Championship Game)
-Winner to advance to Regional semifinals at Lakeshore this Saturday vs. St. Joseph at 10:00 a.m.