Weekday Morning Sports – Monday, 9/29/14

sportsreport

Sports Radio 1400 WSJM     @wsjmsports      wsjmsports.com     Monday, September 29, 2014

MLB – Major League Baseball

Last Night

Detroit Tigers 3, Minnesota Twins 0

Kansas City 6, Chicago White Sox 4

Chicago Cubs 5, Milwaukee Brewers 2

Tigers 3, Twins 0 – Tigers win AL Central with 3-0 victory over Twins

David Price pitched Detroit to its fourth straight AL Central title with the type of performance the Tigers acquired him for, taking a shutout into the eighth inning of a 3-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday that wrapped up the division on the regular season’s final day. Ian Kinsler hit a solo homer in the third, and the Tigers added two more runs in the eighth off Kyle Gibson (13-12). Detroit entered the game with a postseason berth already wrapped up, but the Tigers led the division by only one game over Kansas City. The victory gave Detroit the division championship, regardless of what the Royals were doing in Chicago against the White Sox. The Tigers face the Baltimore Orioles in the AL Division Series.

Royals 6, White Sox 4 – Royals rally for 6-4 victory over White Sox

Kansas City’s chance for the AL Central title was erased by Detroit’s victory on Sunday, and the Royals went on to a 6-4 comeback win over Chicago in the final game for retiring White Sox captain Paul Konerko. Coming into the final day of the regular season, Kansas City was hoping for a one-game playoff on Monday in Detroit for the division crown. But the Tigers clinched the Central with a 3-0 victory over the Twins, sending the Royals to a home wild-card game against Oakland on Tuesday night in their first playoff appearance since 1985. Right after Detroit secured its fourth straight division title, Kansas City manager Ned Yost started pulling some of his regulars from the lineup. Rookie right-hander Yordano Ventura was lifted after four innings and 73 pitches. Kansas City (89-73) likely will have James Shields on the mound when the Royals take on the Athletics.

Cubs 5, Brewers 2 – Rizzo homers, Cubs finish by beating Brewers 5-2

Anthony Rizzo had a two-run homer among his three hits, and the young Chicago Cubs finished 2014 on a high note with a 5-2 victory Sunday over the Milwaukee Brewers. Rizzo went deep to center off Mike Fiers in the first. He jogged home to score from third in a two-run sixth on Arismendy Alcantara’s double just inside the first base line. Rizzo became the first Cubs left-handed hitter with 32 homers since Rick Monday in 1976. Jacob Turner allowed four hits and two runs in five-plus innings. He beat Milwaukee for the second time since being traded from Miami in August. The Cubs are building for the future with Rizzo and rookie right-handed hitters Javier Baez and Jorge Soler. Chicago was 31-28 since July 28.

END REGULAR SEASON

AL Central

W

L

GB

  NL Central

W

L

GB

x-Tigers

90

72

x-Cardinals

90

72

y-Royals

89

73

1

y-Pirates

88

74

2

Indians

85

77

5

Brewers

82

80

8

White Sox

73

89

17

Reds

76

86

14

Twins

70

92

20

Cubs

73

89

17

AL Wild Card

Oakland at Kansas City – Tuesday, 8:07

NL Wild Card

San Francisco at Pittsburgh, Wednesday, 8:07

AL Division Series

KC/OAK vs. LA Angels – Game 1, Thu, TBA at LAA

Detroit vs. Baltimore – Game 1, Thu, TBA at BAL

NL Division Series

SF/PIT vs. Washington – Game 1, Fri, TBA at WAS

St. Louis vs. LA  Dodgers – Game 1, Fri, TBA at LAD

MLB – Jeter exits

And then there was the final game of Derek Jeter’s career. He ended his 20-year run in the same way he completed his final at-bat in Yankee Stadium, with an RBI single.  Jeter went 1-for-2 with a run-scoring hit in the third inning before coming out for a pinch-hitter. He received a standing ovation from Red Sox fans at Fenway Park as he left the field. Jeter also embraced Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz before receiving hugs from his teammates on the warning track near the Yankee dugout. The RBI hit was part of the Yankees’ 9-5 win at Boston. Jeter was congratulated by former captains of local pro teams in a classy pregame ceremony orchestrated by the Red Sox. Carl Yastrzemski and Jason Varitek of the Red Sox, Bobby Orr of the Bruins, Troy Brown of the New England Patriots and Paul Pierce of the Celtics came out of the Boston dugout and headed toward the grass just behind the dirt at shortstop.

NFL – National Football League – Week 4

Yesterday

Detroit Lions 24, New York Jets 17

Green Bay Packers 38, Chicago Bears 17

Other Scores

Houston 23, Buffalo 17

Indianapolis 41, Tennessee 17

Baltimore 38, Carolina 10

Tampa Bay 27, Pittsburgh 24

Miami 38, Oakland 14

San Diego 33, Jacksonville 14

San Francisco 26, Philadelphia 21

Minnesota 41, Atlanta 28

Dallas 38, New Orleans 17

NFC North

W

L

Lions

3

1

Vikings

2

2

Packers

2

2

Bears

2

2

Lions 27, Jets 17 – Stafford’s 3 TDs lead Lions over Jets 24-17

Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score and the Detroit Lions overcame Calvin Johnson being limited by an ankle injury to beat the New York Jets 24-17 on Sunday. Jeremy Ross and Eric Ebron caught scoring passes for the Lions, who are off to a 3-1 start for the second straight season. Stafford finished 24 of 34 for 293 yards. Johnson, who was in and out of the game, was clearly impeded by his injured ankle. He had just two catches for 12 yards. Golden Tate had a big game, catching eight passes for 116 yards. A struggling Geno Smith had two more turnovers as chants of “We Want Vick!” echoed throughout MetLife Stadium at times. The Jets, who made it close on Chris Johnson’s 35-yard run with 6:58 left, fell to 1-3 for the first time in Rex Ryan’s six seasons as coach.  Benton Harbor’s Joique Bell had 32 yards on 8 carries.

Packers 38, Bears 17 – Rodgers throws for 4 TDs, Packers beat Bears 38-17

Aaron Rodgers threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns, and the Green Packers shook off one of their worst offensive performances in years with a 38-17 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon. The Packers scored on their first six possessions to build a 38-17 lead. They racked up 358 yards after being held to 223, their lowest total since 2008, a week earlier in a 19-7 loss at Detroit. They intercepted Jay Cutler twice in the third quarter to pull away from the Bears (2-2). That gave Green Bay five straight wins at Soldier Field, including the NFC title game four years ago and a playoffs-or-bust finale for both teams last season.

Tonight

New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs, 8:30 p.m.

NHL – National Hockey League Preseason

Last Night

Chicago Blackhawks 5, Edmonton Oilers 0

Blackhawks 5, Oilers 0 – Darling makes 26 saves, Blackhawks blank Oilers

Scott Darling made 26 saves, and Garrett Ross and Teuvo Teravainen scored 54 seconds apart in the second period to lift the Chicago Blackhawks to a 5-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in a preseason game on Sunday in Saskatoon.  Ross and Teravainen’s quick strikes gave Chicago a 3-0 lead. Bryan Bickell scored in the first period, and Andrew Shaw and Kris Versteeg added goals in the third. Versteeg scored after he was sent in on a breakaway against Oilers goalie Richard Bachman by a setup feed from Bickell.  Bachman made 17 saves for the Oilers. The game was played in front of a crowd of 10,303 spectators at Saskatoon’s Credit Union Centre.

Tonight

Toronto Maple Leafs at Detroit Red Wings, 7:30 p.m.

NASCAR – Gordon wins at Dover in Chase elimination race

Jeff Gordon has won the third race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship and is part of a 2-driver field that advanced to the next round. Gordon was in control in the closing laps Sunday at Dover International Speedway and joined Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano as the three drivers who were guaranteed a berth in the next Chase round with victories. Kurt Busch, AJ Allmendinger, Greg Biffle and Aric Almirola were eliminated from championship contention. Four more drivers will be eliminated in the next three-race segment that starts next week at Kansas Speedway. Kasey Kahne was the last driver to make the Chase cut. Kevin Harvick also advanced along with Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Ryan Newman.

NCAA Football – `Noles top tight poll

Florida State remains the No. 1 team in the latest Associated Press college football poll after last night’s comeback win at North Carolina State. But the Seminoles claimed just 27 of 60 first-place votes following their second consecutive close call. FSU trailed 24-7 and 38-28 before beating the Wolfpack 56-41, the Seminoles’ school-record 20th consecutive victory. That game followed an overtime win against Clemson. Second-ranked Oregon and No. 3 Alabama each claimed 13 first-place votes, while

Oklahoma took seven. The Seminoles and fourth-ranked Sooners are separated by just 59 points. Auburn is fifth, followed by Texas A&M, Baylor, UCLA, Notre Dame and Michigan State.

Golf – Ryder Cup – Europe dominates U.S.

The United States Ryder Cup team is coming home empty-handed. Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Justin Rose have led Europe to a relatively easy 16 ½ to 11/ ½ victory over the Americans in Scotland. McIlroy trounced Rickie Fowler 5 and 4, McDowell rallied from a 3-down deficit to beat Jordan Spieth (speeth) 2 and 1, and Rose completed an unbeaten week at Gleneagles when he came back from 4 down to earn a half-point against Hunter Mahan (MAY’-han). Europe was assured of a tie and retention of the Cup when Jamie Donaldson hit an approach to the 15th that stopped 2 feet from the cup. Keegan Bradley conceded the putt, and the celebration was on.  Europe already was assured of at least 16 points with one match still on the course. It was the fourth time in the last seven Ryder Cup matches that Europe won by at least three points. Europe has won the last three Ryder Cup tournaments since 2008, six of the last seven and eight of the last 10. The Americans have not won on European soil since 1993.

Golf – Champions – Cook wins at Pebble Beach

John Cook picked up another Champions Tour title by taking the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach. Cook fired a 3-under 69 for an 11-under total in his 10th circuit victory, one shot ahead of Tom Byrum. Roger Chapman and Skip Kendall were two shots back.

MCCAA – Junior College Sports

Last Night

Men’s Soccer

Lake Michigan College 2, Lakeland CC 0

MHSAA – High School Sports

Tonight

Girls Volleyball

Berrien Springs at St. Joseph

Michigan Lutheran at Bridgman

Allegan at South Haven

Boys Soccer

South Haven at New Buffalo

Boys Tennis – Wolverine Conference Crossovers

Plainwell at South Haven

Three Rivers at Coloma

Otsego at Berrien Springs

Allegan at Edwardsburg

Sturgis at Paw Paw

Vicksburg at Dowagiac

Girls Golf

Lake Michigan Catholic at Niles

Michigan Lutheran at Buchanan