Weekday Morning Sports – Wednesday 4/26/17

sportsreport-198
sportsreport-198

95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports     @wsjmsports     wsjmsports.com     Wednesday, April 26, 2017

MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Detroit Tigers 19, Seattle Mariners 9
Chicago White Sox 12, Kansas City Royals 1
Chicago Cubs 1, Pittsburgh Pirates 0

Tigers 19, Mariners 9 – Tigers score 9 in 5th, rout Mariners 19-9
James McCann, Justin Upton and Alex Avila homered for Detroit, and that was before the Tigers added nine runs in the fifth inning en route to a 19-9 rout of the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.  Felix Hernandez (2-2) allowed four runs in two innings in his shortest outing since 2015, and Seattle’s next two pitchers fared even worse. Detroit finished with 24 hits, 19 of which came in the first five innings. That was despite injuries that kept Miguel Cabrera, J.D. Martinez and Jose Iglesias out of the lineup. Jordan Zimmermann (2-1) allowed five runs in six innings. Jean Segura, Danny Valencia and Nelson Cruz hit solo homers for Seattle, but that wasn’t nearly enough to keep up with Detroit’s offensive onslaught. Mikie Mahtook added another home run for the Tigers in the eighth. Ian Kinsler had four hits and four runs before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh.

White Sox 10, Royals 6 – White Sox win 10-5 over Royals, who drop to 0-6 on trip
Todd Frazier drove in three runs, Leury Garcia had three hits and the Chicago White Sox beat Kansas City 10-5 Tuesday night in their second straight one-sided win over the Royals. A night after beating the Royals 12-1 and outhitting them 15-2, the White Sox outhit Kansas City 14-8. Chicago scored 10 or more runs in consecutive games for the first time since May 26-27, 2012. Kansas City is 0-6 on a seven-game trip, its longest skid since losing eight consecutive games last June. Last in the AL Central at 7-13, the Royals are off to their worst 20-game start since opening 6-14 in 2012, when they finished 72-90. Frazier’s sacrifice fly tied the score in the third inning, and Chicago took a 4-2 lead in the fourth against Danny Duffy (2-1) when Omar Narvaez and Garcia hit consecutive doubles, and Tim Anderson followed with an RBI single.

Cubs 1, Pirates 0 – Hendricks outduels Cole, Cubs top Pirates 1-0
Kyle Hendricks rediscovered his 2016 form, limiting the Pittsburgh Pirates to four hits over six innings to outduel Gerrit Cole and lead the Chicago Cubs to a 1-0 win on Tuesday night. Hendricks (2-1) struck out two and walked three in easily his best start this year. The struggling Pirates managed just four singles off Hendricks and didn’t reach third base until he was out of the game. Wade Davis worked a perfect ninth for his fifth save as the Cubs won for the sixth time in seven games. Addison Russell doubled in the second off Cole (1-3) and scored when second baseman Alen Hanson airmailed first base on a Jason Heyward grounder, the Pirates’ major league-high 20th error this season. They’ve also allowed 15 unearned runs, the most in the big leagues. The miscue spoiled a terrific outing by Cole. He struck out eight without issuing a walk and retired 14 of his final 15 batters. It wasn’t enough for Pittsburgh, which has lost six of eight.

Tonight
Kansas City (Karns 0-1) at Chicago White Sox (Quintana 0-4), 2:10 p.m.
Chicago Cubs (Lester 0-0) at Pittsburgh (Glasnow 0-1), 7:05 p.m.
Seattle (Paxton 2-0) at Detroit (Norris 1-1), 7:10 p.m.               WSJM Sports/Cosy-FM 6:45

NCAAFB – Michigan paints Italy blue in team-building, paintball event
Jim Harbaugh got paint on his designer khakis. And, it looked like he loved it. Michigan’s football coach and his players participated in a paintball competition Tuesday in Italy. The team had lunch later in the day near Lake Albano, hung out on the beach and went kayaking. The Wolverines visited landmarks in Rome on Monday and are expected to go to the Vatican later this week. They will close the unique trip with three practices. After the scheduled part of the trip ends, the players will be free to study and travel overseas or simply to return home to work out and take classes.

NHL – 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs – Round 2 (Best of 7)
Tonight
Nashville Predators at St. Louis Blues, 8:00 p.m.                                  (Game 1)
Edmonton Oilers at Anaheim Ducks, 10:30 p.m.                                       (Game 1)

NBA – 2017 NBA Playoffs – Round 1
Last Night
Houston Rockets 105, Oklahoma City Thunder 99                         (HOU wins 4-1)
San Antonio Spurs 116, Memphis Grizzlies 103                             (SAS leads 3-2)
Utah Jazz 96, Los Angeles Clippers 92                                          (UTA leads 3-2)

Tonight
Atlanta Hawks at Washington Wizards, 6:00 p.m.                        (Series tied 2-2)
Chicago Bulls at Boston Celtics, 8:30 p.m.                                  (Series tied 2-2)

NCAAMBB – Michigan schools to inaugurate basketball at Detroit arena
Little Caesars Arena is set for its college basketball debut, with Michigan facing Detroit and Michigan State playing Oakland. Olympia Entertainment President Tom Wilson said Tuesday the four schools will play Dec. 16. The Wolverines and Titans will play first, just as they did in Joe Louis Arena’s first event in 1979, and the Spartans and Golden Grizzlies will follow. Detroit and Oakland will also play in the same arena next March in the Horizon League Tournament, with all four teams trying to return for the NCAA Tournament. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo hopes the Big Ten chooses to play a men’s basketball tournament in the Motor City, which is midway between the conference’s most distant schools _ Nebraska and Rutgers.

NASCAR – Junior to retire at end of season
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has shaken up the racing world today by announcing that he’ll retire after the current NASCAR season. He said he wants to be able to go out on his “own terms.”  Earnhardt missed much of last season with concussion-like symptoms, and he acknowledged today that the time off played a role in his decision. He’s become an advocate for research of sports-related brain injuries.

NFL – Peterson now a Saint
The Minnesota Vikings finally said their official goodbyes to longtime franchise pillar Adrian Peterson today, but it won’t be long until they see him again. Peterson signed a with the New Orleans Saints, a move that sets up a Week 1 reunion on Sept. 11 when the Vikings host the Saints on Monday Night Football. Peterson spent the first 10 seasons of his career with the Vikings, rushing for 11,747 yards and 97 touchdowns.

NFL – Lawyers want Aaron Hernandez’s murder conviction dismissed
Lawyers for former NFL star Aaron Hernandez are formally asking that his first-degree murder conviction be dismissed in Massachusetts now that he has died. A spokesman for the Bristol district attorney’s office says the motion was filed by defense attorneys today. He says prosecutors will oppose the motion. Hernandez hanged himself at a maximum-security state prison last week, just days after he was acquitted of fatally shooting two Boston men in 2012. He was serving life without parole in another killing.

AHL – 2017 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs – Round 1 (Best of 5)
Las t Night
Chicago Wolves 5, Charlotte Checkers 1                                     (Series tied 2-2)

Tonight
Grand Rapids Griffins at Milwaukee Admirals, 8:00 p.m.              (GRG leads 2-0)
Charlotte Checkers at Chicago Wolves, 8:00 p.m.                        (Series tied 2-2)

ECHL – 2017 ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs – Round 1 (Best of 7)
Last Night
Toledo Walleye 3, Kalamazoo Wings 1                                          (TOL wins 4-3)
*Toledo will face Fort Wayne in round 2

MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
West Michigan 12, Fort Wayne 3
Great Lakes 9, Lake County 0
South Bend 11, Lansing 6

Tonight
Fort Wayne at West Michigan, 12 p.m.
South Bend at Lansing, 12:05 p.m.
Lake County at Great Lakes, 2:05 p.m.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Yesterday
Baseball
Portage Northern 6, St. Joseph 3 – Game 1
Portage Northern 3, St. Joseph 1 – Game 2
Lakeshore 4, Portage Central 2 – Game 1
Lakeshore 11, Portage Central 2 – Game 2
Howardsville Chr. 1, Michigan Lutheran 0 – Game 1
Howardsville Chr. 3, Michigan Lutheran 0 – Game 2
Benton Harbor 7, Watervliet 5 – Game 1
Benton Harbor 6, Watervliet 5 – Game 2
Mattawan 13, Gull Lake 1 – Game 1
Gull Lake 6, Mattawan 5 – Game 2
Vicksburg 12, Allegan 0 – Game 1
Vicksburg 15, Allegan 5 – Game 2
Paw Paw 2, South Haven 1 – Game 1
South Haven 8, Paw Paw 2 – Game 2
Edwardsburg 6, Dowagiac 4 – Game 1
Edwardsburg 20, Dowagiac 1 – Game 2
Sturgis 4, Three Rivers 2 – Game 1
Three Rivers 7, Sturgis 2 – Game 2
Comstock 3, Buchanan 2 – Game 1
Buchanan 7, Comstock 1 – Game 2
Berrien Springs 4, Parchment 2 – Game 1
Berrien Springs 5, Parchment 3 – Game 2
Coloma 8, Lawton 0

Softball
St. Joseph 7, Portage Northern 5 – Game 1
St. Joseph 5, Portage Northern 1 – Game 2
Lakeshore 3, Portage Central 1 – Game 2
Portage Central 6, Lakeshore 2 – Game 2
Michigan Lutheran 19, Howardsville Chr. 0 – Game 1
Michigan Lutheran 18, Howardsville Chr. 3 – Game 2
River Valley 19, Lake Michigan Catholic 7 – Game 1
River Valley 19, Lake Michigan Catholic 9 – Game 2
Mattawan 9, Gull Lake 5 – Game 1
Mattawan 7, Gull Lake 6 – Game 2
Vicksburg 17, Allegan 0 – Game 1
Vicksburg 22, Allegan 5 – Game 2
South Haven 13, Paw Paw 0 – Game 1
South Haven 3, Paw Paw 2 – Game 2
Edwardsburg 11, Dowagiac 0 – Game 1
Edwardsburg 7, Dowagiac 2 – Game 2
Plainwell 3, Otsego 2 – Game 1
Otsego 7, Plainwell 6 – Game 2
Three Rivers 10, Sturgis 1 – Game 1
Three Rivers 6, Sturgis 0 – Game 2
Buchanan 11, Comstock 1 – Game 1
Buchanan 14, Comstock 4 – Game 2
Brandywine 6, Bridgman 2 – Game 1
Brandywine 9, Bridgman 8 – Game 2
Centreville 15, Cassopolis 0 – Game 1
Centreville 8, Cassopolis 3 – Game 2
Watervliet 13, Lawrence 1 – Game 1
Watervliet 17, Lawrence 0 – Game 2

Girls Tennis
Buchanan 6, New Buffalo 2
Lakeshore 8, Battle Creek Central 0
St. Joseph 6, Battle Creek Lakeview 2
St. Joseph 8, Battle Creek Central 0
Allegan 8, South Haven 0
Kalamazoo Christian 8, Coloma 0
Brandywine 6, Lake Michigan Catholic 2

Today
Girls Soccer
St. Joseph at Portage Central, 6:45 p.m.
Lakeshore at Portage Northern, 6:45 p.m.
Gull Lake at Battle Creek Central, 6:00 p.m.
Battle Creek Lakeview at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix, 6:45 p.m.
Kalamazoo Central at Mattawan, 6:45 p.m.
Three Rivers at Allegan, 6:45 p.m.
South Haven at Dowagiac, 5:00 p.m.
Plainwell at Paw Paw, 6:45 p.m.
Edwardsburg at Vicksburg, 6:45 p.m.
Berrien Springs at Buchanan, 5:00 p.m.
Cassopolis at New Buffalo, 5:00 p.m.
Brandywine at Parchment, 5:00 p.m.
Bridgman at Lake Michigan Catholic, 5:00 p.m.
Watervliet at Coloma, 6:00 p.m.
Saugatuck at Hartford, 5:30 p.m.
Fennville at Kalamazoo Christian, 5:00 p.m.
Lawton at Schoolcraft, 5:00 p.m.

Baseball
Buchanan at Lakeshore, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Kalamazoo Hackett at Paw Paw, 4:00 p.m.
Bronson at New Buffalo, 4:15 p.m.

Softball
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix at Niles, 4:00 p.m.
Mendon at Kalamazoo Central, 4:00 p.m.
Kalamazoo Hackett at Paw Paw, 4:00 p.m.
Bronson at New Buffalo, 4:15 p.m.
Hartford at Gobles, 4:30 p.m.