Weekday Morning Sports – Wednesday 4/6/16

sportsreport

95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Wednesday, April 06, 2016

MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
Detroit Tigers 8, Miami Marlins 7 (11 Innings)
Chicago White Sox 5, Oakland A’s 4
Chicago Cubs 6, Los Angeles Angels 1

Tigers 8, Marlins 7 (11 Inn.) – Kinsler’s 4 RBIs help Tigers beat Marlins 8-7 in 11 innings
Ian Kinsler had four RBIs, including a run-scoring single in the 11th inning, and the Detroit Tigers overcame a ninth-inning meltdown Tuesday night to beat the Miami Marlins 8-7 on a wild opening day. The Tigers led 5-0 and Justin Verlander didn’t allow a hit until the sixth inning, but new closer Francisco Rodriguez gave up three runs in the ninth, including two-out RBI doubles to pinch-hitter Derek Dietrich and Dee Gordon. The Tigers hit three homers but went 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position before Kinsler put them ahead in the 11th. Detroit also had two runners picked off first base in the final three innings.

White Sox 5, A’s 4 –  Rollins homers in 9th to lift White Sox past Athletics 5-4
Jimmy Rollins hit a tiebreaking homer off closer Sean Doolittle with two outs in the ninth inning and the Chicago White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 5-4 on Tuesday night. A native of the Bay Area who was signed to a minor league deal by the White Sox in February, Rollins connected on a 2-2 pitch after Chicago’s bullpen blew a two-run lead in the eighth. Todd Frazier also homered for Chicago, a three-run shot in the fifth. Austin Jackson added an RBI infield single and Adam Eaton had three hits. The White Sox are 2-0 on the road for the first time since 2011. Nate Jones (1-0) pitched one inning for the win and David Robertson worked a scoreless ninth for his second save. Yonder Alonso and Jed Lowrie drove in two runs apiece for the A’s. Oakland has lost 13 of its last 18 against Chicago.

Cubs 6, Angels 1 – Cubs hit 3 homers for Lester in 6-1 win over Angels
Jon Lester pitched seven strong innings in his season debut and the Chicago Cubs got home runs from Anthony Rizzo, Dexter Fowler and Matt Szczur in a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night. Lester (1-0) threw 93 pitches, allowing a run and four hits. The three-time All-Star, who broke Ken Holtzman’s 1970 franchise record for strikeouts by a left-hander with 207 last season, fanned four and walked none in his 12th career start against the Angels. Lester, who won two World Series rings with Boston, is in the second season of a $155 million, six-year contract. Last year, his first in the National League, he was 11-12 with a 3.34 ERA in 32 starts. Angels starter Andrew Heaney (0-1) gave up four runs and seven hits over six innings with seven strikeouts and no walks.

Tonight
Detroit (Sanchez 0-0) at Miami (Fernandez 0-0), 4:55 p.m.           WSJM Sports/WCSY-FM 4:30
Chicago White Sox (Rodon 0-0) at Oakland (Gray 0-0), 10:05 p.m.
Cubs are off

MLB – Restored marquee set to return to Chicago’s Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field’s iconic marquee is ready to return home to the Friendly Confines. The Cubs say it is scheduled to be installed Wednesday after an offseason restoration that included structural repairs and cosmetic work. Restored statues of Ron Santo, Billy Williams and Harry Caray were installed Monday outside the ballpark in Chicago. The Ernie Banks statue is scheduled to be reinstalled on Friday. The Cubs also replaced slabs of concrete and chain-link fencing with ornamental fencing and terra cotta on the facade. The work is part of an ongoing multiyear transformation of the ballpark and surroundings that includes a new home clubhouse this season.    Chicago hosts Cincinnati in Monday’s home opener.

NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Miami Heat 107, Detroit Pistons 89
Memphis Grizzlies 108, Chicago Bulls 92

Heat 107, Pistons 89 – Dragic scores 22, Heat roll past Pistons, 107-89
Goran Dragic scored 22 points to lead six Miami players in double figures, Dwyane Wade added 16 and the Heat beat the Detroit Pistons 107-89 on Tuesday night.  Josh Richardson also had 16 for Miami (45-32), which remained in fifth place in the airtight Eastern Conference playoff race. No. 3 Atlanta (46-32) beat Phoenix on Tuesday, No. 4 Boston (45-32) was idle but holds the tiebreaker over the Heat and No. 6 Charlotte (44-33) lost in Toronto to fall a game behind Miami. The Heat got 14 points and 12 rebounds from Hassan Whiteside, 12 points from Luol Deng and 11 from Joe Johnson. The Heat held Detroit to 40 percent shooting, 24 percent from 3-point range.  Reggie Jackson and Tobias Harris each scored 21 for the Pistons, who remained two games ahead of Chicago for the No. 8 spot in the East. The Bulls lost in Memphis on Tuesday.

Grizzlies 108, Bulls 92 – Randolph’s double-double leads Grizzlies past Bulls, 108-92
Zach Randolph had 27 points and 10 rebounds, Vince Carter added 17 points and the Memphis Grizzlies snapped a six-game losing streak with a 108-92 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night. Memphis used a strong defense missing in recent games to turn back the Bulls, who had won three of four. Chicago never got the deficit under double digits in the fourth quarter of a loss that damaged its playoff hopes. Matt Barnes scored 16 points for Memphis, and Jordan Farmar had 15. Nikola Mirotic led Chicago with 20 points, going 6 of 9 from 3-point range. Pau Gasol had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Derrick Rose had 12 points and eight assists, while Bobby Portis also finished with 12 points. Chicago remained two games behind the Detroit Pistons for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Tonight
Detroit Pistons at Orlando Magic, 7:00 p.m.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Indiana Pacers, 7:00 p.m.

NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
Chicago Blackhawks 6, Arizona Coyotes 2

Blackhawks 6, Coyotes 2 – Streaking Blackhawks pound Coyotes 6-2
Andrew Ladd scored two power-play goals after Artem Anisimov was knocked out of the game by a questionable hit from Antoine Vermette, and the surging Chicago Blackhawks beat the Arizona Coyotes 6-2 on Tuesday night. Anisimov was driven into the boards near Chicago’s bench midway through the second, leading to a boarding penalty and game misconduct call on Vermette. Anisimov, a key part of the Blackhawks’ high-scoring second line, looked woozy as he left the ice and headed to the locker room. After Vermette and Anisimov left for the night, Ladd redirected Trevor van Riemsdyk’s slap shot by Louis Domingue to make it 4-0 at 12:17. Then Ladd got a pass from Patrick Kane and stuffed it home from the front of the net for the Blackhawks’ third power-play goal of the period.

Tonight
Philadelphia Flyers at Detroit Red Wings, 8:00 p.m.

NCAA Basketball – Women’s
Today – Women’s NCAA Tournament Finals, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
(1) Connecticut vs. (4) Syracuse, 8:30 p.m.

UConn 82, Syracuse 51 – UConn wins fourth straight women’s championship
Breanna Stewart scored 24 points to lead the undefeated Huskies to their 11th national championship and fourth straight with an 82-51 win over Syracuse on Tuesday night. Morgan Tuck added 19 points for the Huskies. UConn has now won 75 consecutive games and 122 of its last 123.

NFL – Detroit Lions sign RB Stevan Ridley
The Detroit Lions have signed running back Stevan Ridley. The team announced the move Tuesday. Ridley played eight games for the New York Jets last season, starting one. He had 90 yards on 36 carries and caught four passes. Before playing for the Jets last season, Ridley spent his first four years in the NFL with the New England Patriots. He rushed for 1,263 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2012.

NCAA Men’s Basketball – Oakland’s Felder declares for draft, has not hired agent
Oakland University star Kay Felder has declared for the NBA draft. Felder said in a statement Tuesday that he has not hired an agent and will keep his options open. He led the nation with 9.2 assists per game this season as a junior, and the 5-foot-9 Felder was fourth in scoring at 24.2 points per game. Felder is the second Oakland player to declare for the draft early. Keith Benson did it in 2010, but ended up returning for his senior year. If he does not hire an agent, Felder has until May 25 to decide whether he wants to return to Oakland. The draft is June 23.

NCAA Men’s Basketball – National Championship  party goes on
Villanova canceled classes yesterday after the men’s basketball team captured the national championship. And the party will go on with a victory parade in Philadelphia. Students and fans welcomed home the national champions at the campus football stadium.  Friday’s parade in Philadelphia will cover five blocks of Market Street and end outside City Hall. The Phillies were the last championship team to have a parade, in 2008.  The television rating for Monday’s night’s thriller was a record low.  The game averaged a 10.6 rating across TBS, TNT and truTV in the first title game to air on cable. The 17.8 million viewers are down 37 percent from the 28.3 million for last season’s Duke-Wisconsin matchup on CBS.

Golf – Jack says don’t count Tiger out yet
Jack Nicklaus says he thinks Tiger Woods will win again. After seeing him a few weeks ago, Nicklaus is surprised Woods isn’t playing the Masters this week. Woods is missing the Masters for the second time in three years as he recovers from two surgeries on his back last year. He has not played since a tie for 10th in the Wyndham Championship in August, and he has not won since Firestone in August 2013. “I don’t think he’s done,” Nicklaus said before going to the Champions Dinner. “I think Tiger is going to win more tournaments.”  Nicklaus leads Woods 18-14 in the race for most majors.

ECHL – East Coast Hockey League
Tonight
Kalamazoo Wings at Brampton Beast, 7:15 p.m.

MCCAA – Junior College Sports
Yesterday
Baseball
Lake Michigan College 4, Kalamazoo Valley 1 – Game 1
Kalamazoo Valley 12, Lake Michigan College 10 – Game 2

Softball
Jackson College 9, Lake Michigan College 1 – Game 1 (5 Innings)
Jackson College 10, Lake Michigan College 2 – Game 2 (6 Innings)