95.7 & 1400 WSJM Sports @wsjmsports wsjmsports.com Thursday, July 20, 2017
MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
Kansas City Royals 4, Detroit Tigers 3
Los Angeles Dodgers 9, Chicago White Sox 1 – Final in 8 Innings, Rain
Chicago Cubs 8, Atlanta Braves 2
Royals 4, Tigers 3 – Gordon’s sac fly in 9th gives Royals 4-3 win over Tigers
Brandon Moss homered in the third off Justin Verlander before coming through against Tigers closer Justin Wilson (3-4) in the ninth to give the Kansas City Royals a 4-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers had gone ahead on Mikie Mahtook’s two-run shot off Kelvin Herrera in the top of the ninth. Then in the Royals at bat, Moss doubled off the wall in center to drive in the tying run. Moss went to third on the throw to the plate, and Alex Gordon sent a fly ball to center that was just deep enough to give him his sixth career walk-off RBI and the Royals a much-needed win. They had lost the first two games of the series and seven of eight overall.
Dodgers 9, White Sox 1 – 8 Innings – Dodgers win 11th straight, spoil Moncada’s White Sox debut
Kike Hernandez homered in his first two at-bats, breaking out of a 1-for-23 slump and helping the Dodgers to their 31st victory in 35 games with a 9-1 rain shortened win over the Chicago White Sox. The game was called in the top of the eighth inning after a 37-minute delay. Hernandez had solo home runs in the second and fourth innings, his second career multi-homer game. His approach to breaking out was simple. Chicago starter Carlos Rodon (1-3) allowed home runs to his first batter, as Chris Taylor led the game off with one, and his last, as Corey Seager’s two-run homer in the fourth chased him.
Cubs 8, Braves 2 – Montgomery homers as Cubs beat Braves 8-2 for 6th straight
Mike Montgomery hit his first home run and allowed two hits and one run in six innings to lead the streaking Chicago Cubs to an 8-2 win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday. Javier Baez hit a three-run homer in the eighth for Chicago, which stretched its season-best winning streak to six games since the All-Star break. The Cubs completed a three-game sweep of the Braves. Kris Bryant, the Cubs’ 2016 NL MVP, left the game with a sprained left little finger in the first inning. The team said X-rays were negative and his status is day to day. Tommy La Stella, who replaced Bryant, also homered and Addison Russell drove in two runs with four hits, including two doubles.
Today
Detroit (Fulmer 10-6) at Kansas City (Duffy 5-6), 8:15 p.m. WSJM Sports/Cosy-FM 7:50
Cubs and White Sox are off
MLB – Martinez hurts hand, Diamondbacks fall to Reds 4-3 in 11
J.D. Martinez bruised his left hand while striking out Wednesday night, forcing him out of his debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The right fielder was hit on the side of the left hand while swinging at a two-strike pitch from the Reds’ Tim Adleman in the fourth inning. Martinez’s hand was shaking as it was examined. Since the ball hit only his hand during the swing, the at-bat ended in a strikeout. Martinez left for a defensive replacement in the bottom of the inning. He is expected to miss the final game of the series on Thursday, but X-rays were negative and revealed no fracture that would have sidelined Martinez for a long time. The Diamondbacks sent three prospects to the Detroit Tigers for Martinez on Tuesday, hoping to add some power to the middle of their lineup. Lovullo said before the game on Wednesday that "it was an exciting moment" to write his name on the lineup card. Martinez also struck out in his first at-bat, going after a pitch in the dirt. The Reds won the game, 4-3 in 11 innings.
NFL – Chicago Bears sign QB and top pick Mitchell Trubisky
The Chicago Bears have signed quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, their first-round draft pick and the No. 2 overall selection in April. Trubisky started all 13 games for North Carolina last season, setting single-season school records for passing yards (3,748), passing touchdowns (30) and total offense (4,056) while completing 68 percent of his passes. He is not expected to start this season. Veteran Mike Glennon was signed in the offseason to take over for the departed Jay Cutler, and he gives the Bears time to develop Trubisky.
O.J. – OJ Simpson draws world attention in plea for freedom
Instead of a blurry No. 32, 70-year-old O.J. Simpson will be wearing an inmate uniform with No. 1027820 when the former NFL star turned actor appears before a Nevada parole board on Thursday. Simpson’s spent more than eight years behind bars for armed robbery and assault with a weapon after trying to take back sports memorabilia in a budget hotel room in Las Vegas. Simpson was acquitted of murder in the 1995 “trial of the century” in Los Angeles. Parole is a likely possibility with his clean prison record. Sports fans, newshounds and the curious will get to see what happens first hand. ABC, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, HLN and ESPN will show Simpson’s parole hearing. Interest in Simpson was revived last year with ESPN’s documentary “O.J.: Made in America,” and the FX miniseries, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”
Soccer – US survives biting incident, beats El Salvador 2-0, advances
Omar Gonzalez and Eric Lichaj scored late in the first half and the United States beat El Salvador 2-0 on Wednesday night in an ugly CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal in which defender Henry Romero appeared to bite Jozy Altidore on the back of a shoulder and pull the American forward’s nipple. Canadian referee Drew Fischer, a Major League Soccer regular, did not penalize the incident, which occurred during a skirmish on the goal line in the 57th minute ahead of a U.S. corner kick. A furious Altidore fell to the ground but remained in the game. The Americans, who started five veterans added for the tournament’s knockout phase, overcame shaky defensive play and poor passing, advancing to a semifinal against Costa Rica on Saturday at Arlington, Texas.
Golf – British Open – Tourney officials ban ninth hole short cut
British Open officials have bagged an idea by Jason Day’s caddie. Colin Swatton thought it made sense to play the par-4 ninth hole at Royal Birkdale by hitting a tee shot into the adjacent 10th fairway for a shorter, clearer shot into the green. Ordinarily, such tactics are within the rules for professionals. Amateurs often wind up in adjacent fairways with errant banana-shaped shots. But the shot Swatton envisioned would have Day, and the competition, hitting over a grandstand. Citing safety, tourney officials are drawing an invisible white line that bars the shortcut
AHL – AHL allowing players on minor league deals to go to Olympics
Players on American Hockey League contracts will be eligible to play in the 2018 Winter Olympics. President and CEO David Andrews confirmed through a league spokesman Wednesday that teams were informed they could loan players on AHL contracts to national teams for the purposes of participating in the Pyeongchang Olympics. The AHL sent a memo to its 30 clubs saying players could only be loaned for Olympic participation from Feb. 5-26. The Olympic men’s hockey tournament runs from Feb. 9-25. Like the NHL, which is not having its players participate for the first time since 1994, the AHL does not have an Olympic break in its schedule. The AHL’s decision does not affect players assigned to that league on NHL contracts. No final decision has been made about those players.
WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association
Yesterday
Indiana Fever 84, Phoenix Mercury 77
Fever 84, Mercury 77 – Fever end 5 game skid
Erica Wheeler had 20 points and seven assists, Candice Dupree scored 17 points, and the Indiana Fever snapped a five-game losing streak with an 84-77 victory over the Phoenix Mercury. Diana Taurasi made six 3-pointers and scored 34 points for Phoenix.
MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
Great Lakes 8, Cedar Rapids 3
Quad Cities 20, Lansing 3
South Bend 4, Wisconsin 3
West Michigan at Beloit, Suspended 4th –
Game was suspended in the 4th inning when lightning hit a light pole and scoreboard, game will resume at 5:30 with the second 7 inning game to follow.
Today
West Michigan at Beloit, 5:30 p.m. (DH)
Great Lakes at Cedar Rapids, 7:35 p.m.
Lansing at Quad Cities, 7:35 p.m.
South Bend at Wisconsin, 8:05 p.m.
