95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports @wsjmsports wsjmsports.com Tuesday, April 18, 2017
MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
New York Yankees 7, Chicago White Sox 4
Milwaukee Brewers 6, Chicago Cubs 3
Tigers were off
Yankees 7, White Sox 4 – Montgomery gets 1st win, Yanks beat White Sox for 8th in row
Jordan Montgomery took a shutout into the seventh inning for his first major league win, Matt Holliday hit a three-run homer in his return to the lineup and the Yankees romped to their eighth consecutive victory by beating the Chicago White Sox 7-4 on Monday night. The veteran slugger triggered a five-run third with a titanic shot into the raised bleachers beyond the left-center bullpen, his first home run at Yankee Stadium. Aaron Judge added a two-run drive to chase Derek Holland (1-2) with the score 7-0 in the fifth.
Brewers 6, Cubs 3 – Thames, Braun power Brewers past struggling Cubs
Eric Thames homered in his club record-tying fifth straight game and the streaking Milwaukee Brewers turned back the Chicago Cubs 6-3 on Monday night. Milwaukee never trailed after Thames hit an opposite-field homer to snap a 3-3 tie in the third inning. Jeromy Burnitz became the first and last Brewers player to homer in five straight games in August, 1997. Ryan Braun and Jeff Bandy also went deep for Milwaukee, the only team to hit as many as three homers in a game off Chicago starter John Lackey (1-2) last season. The victory was the Brewers’ sixth in the last seven games. The Cubs lost for a fourth straight time, their worst stretch since a five-game skid from July 5-9 last season. Brewers starter Chase Anderson (2-0) pitched five innings of three-run, seven-hit ball to pick up the victory. He walked two batters and struck out five.
Tonight
Chicago White Sox (Gonzalez 1-0) at N.Y. Yankees (Severino 1-0), 7:05 p.m.
Detroit (Fulmer 1-0) at Tampa Bay (Andriese 0-0), 7:10 p.m. WSJM Sports/Cosy-FM 6:45
Milwaukee (Nelson 1-0) at Chicago Cubs (Anderson 1-0), 8:05 p.m.
MLB – White Sox LF Melky Cabrera reinstated from paternity list
Chicago White Sox outfielder Melky Cabrera has been reinstated from the paternity list before the opener of a three-game series against the New York Yankees. Cabrera missed three games in Minnesota to return to Chicago for the birth of his fourth child, daughter Mianna. The left fielder was back in the lineup Monday night, batting third against his original team. To clear a roster spot, the White Sox optioned outfielder Willy Garcia to Triple-A Charlotte after Sunday’s win over the Twins. Cabrera began the night batting .258 with four doubles and two RBIs in eight games.
MLB – Average time of 9-inning game up 5 minutes to 3:05
The average time of a nine-inning game in the major leagues increased 5 minutes to 3:05 during the first two weeks of the season. The figure, calculated by Major League Baseball on Monday, included 171 nine-inning games and was matched to a comparable period at the start of last year. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred proposed speedup initiatives, such as a pitch clock and limits on trips to the pitcher’s mound, but the players’ association did not agree to them. Management kept its proposals alive and can unilaterally change those rules for the 2018 season. Last year’s average for nine-inning games ended at exactly 3 hours, a 4-minute increase over 2015.
MLB – Damage to park after Cubs rally displaces softball teams
Many of Chicago’s recreational softball teams have been displaced from lakefront fields because of damage from a World Series celebration last year. The Chicago Tribune reports massive crowds of Cubs fans that gathered in Grant Park for the November rally left parts of the park along Lake Michigan unusable. The head of Chicago Sport and Social Club says adult recreational softball league games have been moved to other city parks in the meantime. The team has to pay nearly $400,000 for restoration of the park. Repairs include laying sod where grass was missing, aeration and the addition of topsoil and sand. Chicago hosted the parade and rally to celebrate the team’s first World Series championship since 1908.
NHL – 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Divisional Semifinals
Last Night
Nashville Predators 3, Chicago Blackhawks 2 – OT (NSH leads 3-0)
Ottawa Senators 4, Boston Bruins 3 – OT (OTT leads 2-1)
Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Washington Capitals 3 – OT (TOR leads 2-1)
Anaheim Ducks 5, Calgary Flames 4 – OT (ANA leads 3-0)
Predators 3, Blackhawks 2 – OT – Preds beat Chicago 3-2, push Hawks to brink of elimination
Kevin Fiala scored on a backhander 16:44 into overtime, and the Nashville Predators rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the third period to push the Blackhawks to the brink of elimination with a 3-2 victory early Tuesday morning in Game 3 of the first-round series. Filip Forsberg scored twice in the third period to force overtime. Pekka Rinne made 34 saves, even with his franchise playoff scoreless streak ending early in the second period at 141 minutes, 5 seconds. Game 4 is Thursday night in Nashville. Dennis Rasmussen and Patrick Kane each scored the first goals this series for the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed. But the Blackhawks, winners of three Stanley Cup titles in the past seven years, now trail 0-3 for the first time since the 2011 quarterfinals. They lost that series in seven games to Vancouver.
Tonight
Montreal Canadiens at New York Rangers, 7:00 p.m. (MON leads 2-1)
Pittsburgh Penguins at Columbus Blue Jackets, 7:30 p.m. (PIT leads 3-0)
Edmonton Oilers at San Jose Sharks, 10:00 p.m. (EDM leads 2-1)
NBA – 2017 NBA Playoffs – Round 1
Last Night
Cleveland Cavaliers 117, Indiana Pacers 111 (CLE leads 2-0)
San Antonio Spurs 96, Memphis Grizzlies 82 (SAN leads 2-0)
Cavaliers 117, Pacers 111 – Irving scores 37, Cavs hold on to beat Pacers 117-111
Kyrie Irving scored 37 points, Kevin Love added 27 and the Cleveland Cavaliers avoided another fourth-quarter collapse in Game 2, beating the Indiana Pacers 117-111 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in the series. After squeaking out the opener by a point, LeBron James and Co. showed more intensity on defense, more swagger in general and won their 10th straight first-round game over the past three seasons. However, they nearly blew an 18-point lead in the fourth as the Pacers got within four before Cleveland closed it out at the line. James added 10 rebounds and seven assists, but had eight of Cleveland’s 19 turnovers. Game 3 is Thursday night. Paul George scored 32 and Jeff Teague 23 for Indiana, which showed more fight, but now has a steep hill to climb to get back in the series. Cleveland is 12-0 when starting 2-0 in the postseason.
Tonight
Milwaukee Bucks at Toronto Raptors, 7:00 p.m. (MIL leads 1-0)
Chicago Bulls at Boston Celtics, 8 p.m. (CHI leads 1-0)
Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Clippers, 10:30 p.m. (UTA leads 1-0)
NCAAMBB – Kansas freshman Josh Jackson says he is entering NBA draft
Kansas freshman Josh Jackson has announced he will enter the NBA draft. Jackson, who released a statement yesterday, was the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year after averaging 16.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Jackson arrived at Kansas after a stellar prep career in Detroit and Napa, California.
MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Yesterday
Lansing 13, Dayton 9
Great Lakes 5, South Bend 4
West Michigan 3, Fort Wayne 2 – 13 Innings
Tonight
Lansing at Dayton, 7 p.m.
Great Lakes at South Bend, 7:05 p.m.
West Michigan at Fort Wayne, 7:05 p.m.
MHSAA – High School Sports
Yesterday
Baseball
Edwardsburg 4, St. Joseph 3 – Game 1
St. Joseph 7, Edwardsburg 4 – Game 2
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 11, Paw Paw 8
Coloma 11, Gobles 2 – Game 1
Coloma 9, Gobles 1 – Game 2
Saugatuck 8, Hartford 3 – Game 1
Saugatuck 4, Hartford 1 – Game 2
Watervliet 7, Fennville 3 – Game 1
Watervliet 7, Fennville 0 – Game 2
Softball
Martin 8, Decatur 6
Coloma 16, Gobles 0 – Game 1
Coloma 15, Gobles 0 – Game 2
Hartford 15, Saugatuck 3 – Game 1
Hartford 17, Saugatuck 0 – Game 2
Marcellus 15, Eau Claire 0 – Game 1
Marcellus 20, Eau Claire 0 – Game 2
Watervliet 15, Fennville 0 – Game 1
Watervliet 12, Fennville 2 – Game 2
Cassopolis 15, New Buffalo 1 – Game 1
Cassopolis 12, New Buffalo 2 – Game 2
South Haven 12, Three Rivers 2 – Game 1
Three Rivers 7, South Haven 3 – Game 2
Girls Soccer
Battle Creek Lakeview 2, St. Joseph 1
Lakeshore 7, Kalamazoo Central 0
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 4, Niles 0
Portage Central 2, Mattawan 0
Portage Northern 10, Battle Creek Central 0
Edwardsburg 2, Coldwater 1
Bridgman 8, New Buffalo 0
Buchanan 2, Cassopolis 0
Hartford 5, Comstock 1
Kalamazoo Christian 9, Watervliet 0
Harper Creek 3, Three Rivers 0
Today
Baseball
St. Joseph at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Niles at Mattawan, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Kalamazoo Central at Lakeshore, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Gull Lake at Portage Northern, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Portage Central at Battle Creek Central, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Benton Harbor at Paw Paw, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Berrien Springs at Comstock, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Parchment at Bridgman, 4;15 p.m.
Buchanan at Brandywine, 4:15 p.m.
Bangor at Lake Michigan Catholic, 4:15 p.m.
West Michigan Aviation at River Valley, 4:15 p.m.
Softball
St. Joseph at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Niles at Mattawan, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Kalamazoo Central at Lakeshore, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Gull Lake at Portage Northern, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Portage Central at Battle Creek Central, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Berrien Springs at Comstock, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Buchanan at Brandywine, 4:15 p.m.
Saugatuck at G.R. Covenant Christian, 4:15 p.m. (DH)
