95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports @wsjmsports wsjmsports.com Thursday, July 06, 2017
MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
San Francisco Giants 5, Detroit Tigers 4
Oakland A’s 7, Chicago White Sox 4
Chicago Cubs 7, Tampa Bay Rays 3
Giants 5, Tigers 4 – Giants hold off late rally, beat Tigers 5-4 behind Blach
Ty Blach took a shutout into the seventh inning, and the Giants held off a late Detroit rally in beating the Tigers 5-4 on Wednesday night. Blach allowed only three hits in the first six innings. The Giants led 5-0 before Detroit scored four times in the seventh. Blach (6-5) was pulled after allowing a two-run single to Victor Martinez, and San Francisco needed three relievers to get through the inning. The Giants used five relievers in all, with Hunter Strickland pitching the eighth and Sam Dyson finishing for his third save. The last-place Giants have won seven of their last eight games — after losing 12 of 13 before that. Daniel Norris (4-7) permitted five runs and seven hits in four innings.
A’s 7, White Sox 4 – A’s beat White Sox 7-4 to move Melvin closer to miletone
Sonny Gray pitched six mostly sharp innings to beat Chicago for the second time in two weeks and Oakland defeated the White Sox 7-4 on Wednesday. Jed Lowrie added three hits and two RBI, Bruce Maxwell doubled in two runs and Jaycob Brugman homered to help the A’s to their second straight home win following eight consecutive losses at the Coliseum. The win was manager Bob Melvin’s 499th with the A’s and the 992nd of his career. Gray (4-4) surrendered a two-run home run to Matt Davidson in the fifth, the only blemish during an otherwise strong outing. Gray gave up two runs on three hits with five strikeouts, and has allowed four runs over his last 21 innings — a 1.71 ERA. Todd Frazier also homered for the White Sox, a two-run blast off reliever Sean Doolittle in the ninth.
Cubs 7, Rays 3 – Cubs rally for 7-3 win over Rays
Jon Jay connected for his third career pinch-hit homer and Ian Happ hit a tiebreaking two-run single an inning later, helping the Chicago Cubs rally for a 7-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday. The Cubs appeared to be headed for their sixth loss in eight games before Jay drove a 1-2 pitch from Erasmo Ramirez (4-3) over the wall in left-center for a tying three-run shot with two out in the sixth inning. Happ got his big hit in the seventh, driving in Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo with a bouncer up the middle against Tampa Bay’s drawn-in infield. Happ had two hits and is batting .357 (10 for 28) in his last seven games. Tampa Bay (44-42) wasted a chance for a two-game sweep in its reunion with Joe Maddon, who managed the Rays for nine years before leaving after the 2014 season and taking over the Cubs.
Today
San Francisco (Cueto 6-7) at Detroit (Sanchez 0-0), 1:10 p.m. WSJM Sports/Cosy-FM 12:45
Milwaukee (Davies 9-4) at Chicago Cubs (Montgomery 1-5), 2:20 p.m.
White Sox are off
MLB – Verlander’s future in Detroit now uncertain.
Justin Verlander’s once-secure future in Detroit has become increasingly uncertain. With the Tigers languishing below .500, the next few weeks could be a tumultuous stretch. If the Tigers don’t show some signs of contending soon, the pressure will be on general manager Al Avila to trade some of his biggest stars and get something in return. Verlander suspects he may get moved if that happens, saying “obviously, where there’s smoke, there’s fire” and “it’s just the way sports are now.”
MLB – Francona still undergoing tests
Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona will miss at least a few more games as doctors try to pinpoint his medical issues. The 58-year-old Francona remains at the Cleveland Clinic undergoing tests to determine what has made him light-headed and increased his heart rate over the past month. At this point, it’s unclear when he’ll be discharged or if he’ll be able to manage the American League All-Star team next week.
Tennis – Kvitova is out at Wimbledon
American Madison Brengle pulled off the most stunning victory of the Day 3 schedule at Wimbledon. The 95th-ranked Brengle has advanced to the third round by beating two-time champion Petra Kvitova, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. The Delaware native had lost in the opening round at Wimbledon each of her previous two appearances, including a 6-0, 6-0 setback against Venus Williams two years ago. Kvitova was playing in only her third tournament since being cut by a knife-wielding intruder at her home in the Czech Republic last December. She was her own worst enemy on Wednesday with 38 unforced errors and nine double-faults. Second-seed Simona Halep moved on to the third round, as did fourth seed Elinva Svitolina, No. 6 Johanna Konta and No. 8 Dominika Cibulkova. Men’s top seed Andy Murray and No. 4 Rafael Nadal advanced in straight sets to join seventh seed Marin Cilic and No. 9 Kei Nishikori in the third round.
Cycling – Tour de France – Aru beats Froome in first mountain stage of Tour
After losing two of its biggest stars in one horific crash, the Tour de France needed a pick-me-up. Italy’s Fabio Aru answered the call. On the first mountain climb of this 104th Tour, after the lower altitudes where Mark Cavendish and Peter Sagan were forced out of the race _ the first with a broken shoulder, the second disqualified _ Aru showed Wednesday he could be the man to beat by leaving three-time champion Chris Froome in his wake. Making up for the bitterness in May of missing his home grand tour, the Giro d’Italia, Aru zoomed away from Froome and other top riders yearning to ride into Paris in the yellow jersey on July 23.
NBA – Bulls sign No. 7 pick Lauri Markkanen
The Chicago Bulls have signed No. 7 overall draft pick Lauri Markkanen. The team did not disclose the terms of the deal Wednesday. The Bulls acquired the rights to the 7-foot Finn from Minnesota along with Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn for All-Star Jimmy Butler and No. 16 pick Justin Patton on draft night. Markkanen averaged 15.6 points and 7.2 rebounds and shot 49.2 percent from the field and 42.3 from 3-point range in his lone season at Arizona.
NHL – Tatar files for salary arbitration
Red Wings forward Tomas Tatar has filed for arbitration in trying to negotiate his new contract with the Detroit Red Wings. The 27 year old from Slovakia was the Red Wings leading goal scorer last year with 25 goals and was third on the team in total points. Tatar is a restricted free agent and is seeking a long term contract worth around $5 million a season. The Wings and Tatar can still negotiate a new contract without the arbitration hearing. The deadline to file for salary arbitration was Wednesday.
NHL – Oilers sign McDavid to eight-year deal
The NHL’s reigning scoring champ has signed a long-term contract after just two years in the league. Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid has inked an eight-year, $100 million package that makes him the league’s highest-paid player in terms of annual salary. The first player taken in the 2015 draft won the Art Ross Trophy last season with 100 points and helped the Oilers earn their first postseason berth in 11 years. The 20-year-old McDavid has scored 46 goals and 148 points in 127 games over his first two NHL seasons, missing much of his rookie campaign with a broken collarbone.
NCAA Football – Penn State suing former assistant for breach of contract
Penn State University is suing former assistant football coach Bob Shoop for breach of contract, alleging he owes the university nearly $900,000. According to the lawsuit filed in June, Shoop was required by contract to pay the university half his base salary for any remaining term if he decided to leave early. He was contracted through February 2018, but Shoop resigned in January 2016 to become defensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee.
MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
Great Lakes 5, South Bend 2
West Michigan 6, Lansing 5
Tonight
Great Lakes at South Bend, 7:05 p.m.
West Michigan at Lansing, 7:05 p.m.
