Weekday Morning Sports – Monday 8/1/16

sportsreport-86
sportsreport-86

95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Monday, August 01, 2016

MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Detroit Tigers 11, Houston Astros 0
Minnesota Twins 6, Chicago White Sox 4
Chicago Cubs 7, Seattle Mariners 6 (12 Innings)

Tigers 11, Astros 0 – McCann’s grand slam leads Tigers to sweep of Astros
James McCann capped a six-run first inning with his first career grand slam as the Detroit Tigers completed a three-game sweep of the Houston Astros with an 11-0 rout Sunday.  Miguel Cabrera homered twice for the Tigers. The Tigers, who began the day one game behind Boston for the second American League wild-card spot, have now won six straight _ including a sweep at Fenway Park. The win extended Detroit’s lead over Houston to 1 1/2 games. Mike Pelfrey (4-9) got the win, pitching five shutout innings and allowed four hits and a walk, striking out four. He has now allowed one or fewer runs in five of his last eight starts. Dallas Keuchel (6-11) took the loss, allowing seven runs and seven hits in five innings, walking three and striking out four.

Twins 6, White Sox 4 – Dozier homers twice, Twins beat White Sox 6-4
Brian Dozier homered twice and Ervin Santana posted another strong start one day before the trade deadline as the Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 6-4 on Sunday. Kennys Vargas hit a two-run homer as part of a three-run first inning for Minnesota, which has won three of four games. Vargas’ towering blast in the first was hit an estimated 428 feet to straightaway center field and highlighted the quick start against Chicago’s Carlos Rodon (2-8), who made his first start since July 5 after recovering from a sprained left wrist. Santana (4-9) allowed three runs _ one earned _ in six innings with five strikeouts. Ryan Pressly gave up a double to Melky Cabrera but recorded his first save in three chances.

Cubs 7, Mariners 6 (12 Innings) – Lester squeezes in deciding run, Cubs beat Mariners in 12
Pitcher Jon Lester drove in Jason Heyward with a two-strike squeeze bunt in the 12th inning, and the Chicago Cubs overcame a six-run deficit to beat the Seattle Mariners 7-6 on Sunday night. Heyward sparked the winning rally with a leadoff double off the wall in right-center. He advanced on Willson Contreras’ fly ball to center against Cody Martin (1-1) before Lester managed to get a bunt down right in front of the plate. Heyward made it home with a headfirst slide, sparking a frenzied celebration at Wrigley Field. Hector Rondon (2-2) pitched two innings for the win.  The Cubs trailed 6-3 before they pushed across three runs in the ninth against Steve Cishek, handing the sidewinding right-hander his sixth blown save in 31 opportunities. Addison Russell hit an RBI single and Contreras drove in another run when he hustled down the line to beat out a potential double-play grounder.

Tonight
Miami (Adam Conley 7-5) at Chicago Cubs (Kyle Hendricks 9-7), 8:05 p.m.
Tigers & White Sox are off (Chicago is at Detroit for a three game series starting Tuesday night)

MLB – Duke traded by White Sox to Cardinals for minor league OF
The St. Louis Cardinals added depth to the back half of their bullpen by acquiring veteran left-hander Zach Duke from the White Sox for minor league outfielder Charlie Tilson. Duke is 2-0 with a 2.63 ERA this season and was leading the AL with 53 appearances before heading to the NL.

NCAA Football – Michigan State’s Mike Sadler remembered as bright `light’
Hundreds of people have turned out at Michigan State’s Spartan Stadium to celebrate the life of former football player Mike Sadler, who died in a car crash in Wisconsin. Michigan State admissions director Jim Cotter offered opening remarks Sunday, describing Sadler as witty and competitive, a “light that brightened the world.” Sadler and Nebraska punter Sam Foltz died in a July 23 crash after attending a kicking camp in Wisconsin. Sadler was a four-time academic All-American at Michigan State. He finished his college career after the 2014 season. The school has created a scholarship fund in Sadler’s name, which will enable a football player to receive a scholarship each year in his honor. In lieu of flowers, his family says contributions may be made to the fund.

Golf – PGA – Walker beats Day
Jimmy Walker closed with a 3-under 67 to earn a one-stroke victory over defending champion Jason Day in the PGA Championship. Walker produced three big birdies on the back nine and sealed the win with a 3-foot putt for par on 18 after Day eagled the hole. Walker is the fourth first-time winner in as many grand slams this year.

Golf – LPGA – Three-shot win for Jutanugarn
Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn has won the Women’s British Open with an even-par 72 that left her 16 under, three shots in front of Mirim Lee and American Mo Martin. It was the fourth LPGA Tour win of the year for Jutanugarn, and her first major.  She’s the first Thai woman to win a major.

NFL – New deal for Chicago linebacker
Outside linebacker Willie Young has signed a two-year contract extension with the Chicago Bears. The 30-year-old signed with the Bears two years ago after spending his first four seasons with division-rival Detroit. He had a career-high 10 sacks in his first year with Chicago and bounced back from tearing his Achilles tendon to play in 15 games last season and record 6 ½ sacks.

NASCAR – Pocono NASCAR race rained out Sunday
The NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway has been postponed until Monday because of rain.  The race will run at 11 a.m. Martin Truex Jr. is on the pole and Kurt Busch tries to sweep Pocono in the track’s second Monday race of the season. Rain also delayed the June Pocono race a day. NASCAR said this was the first time a track had two rain-postponed races in the same season. This was NASCAR’s 10th postponed race since 2011. The 2012 rain-shortened race at Pocono was marred by lightning strikes that killed one fan and injured nine others.

Olympics – Taurasi helps US women’s hoops team beats Australia 104-89
Diana Taurasi scored 15 of her 20 points during a 5-minute span in the third quarter to help the U.S. women’s Olympic team beat Australia 104-89 on Sunday in an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden. Elena Delle Donne added 19 points for the Americans in the final tuneup for both teams before they head to Rio for the Olympics that begin next weekend. The U.S. and Australia are the top two teams in the world and are expected to face off for the gold medal in Rio at the Olympics. The Americans have won the last five Olympic gold medals while Australia has won either the bronze at every one since 1996. The American women won every game on their exhibition tour, starting with a four-point victory over a U.S. select team. They also cruised to wins over Canada and France. The U.S. will make a brief stop in Houston to meet up with the men’s team before flying to Rio on Tuesday.

Olympics – For a child’s dreams, are parents going for gold, or broke?
The Olympics spark hope in many a child of going for the gold. But in financially supporting those dreams, some parents are going for broke.  Competitive youth sports in the U.S. are rising in popularity and they come with much higher expenses than a school or community team. A survey released Monday by TD Ameritrade of 1,000 parents whose children are involved in such elite endeavors finds most pay between $100 and $499 a month. For one in five, it’s more than $1,000.  Some parents can absorb the cost, but others are working second jobs, depleting their savings or otherwise compromising their own financial well-being to fund the activities. In the survey, 60 percent say the expense has them concerned about their ability to save for the future.

Canoeing – Canadian-US team wins 120-mile Michigan canoe marathon
A two-man team from Michigan and Canada has won the Au Sable River canoe marathon, a 120-mile race in northern Michigan. Results posted online show Christophe Proulx of Shawinigan, Quebec, and Ryan Halstead of Grayling, Michigan, finished first Sunday in just under 14 hours, 30 minutes.

MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
West Michigan 3, Lake County 1
Fort Wayne 3, Lansing 2
South Bend 2, Great Lakes 1

Tonight
Lake County at West Michigan, 7:00 p.m.
South Bend at Great Lakes, 7:05 p.m.
Lansing at Fort Wayne, 7:05 p.m.