MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Texas Rangers 5, Detroit Tigers 4 – 10 Innings
Pittsburgh Pirates 6, Chicago White Sox 5
Chicago Cubs 13, Miami Marlins 4
Rangers 5, Tigers 4 – 10 Innings – Mazara’s 2nd homer gives Rangers 5-4 win in 10 over Detroit
Nomar Mazara led off the 10th inning with his second homer of the game, giving the Texas Rangers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on Wednesday and their first winning home series this season. Mazara pulled a 1-0 pitch into the right field seats off Warwick Saupold (1-1), the sixth Tigers pitcher. It was his first career game-ending homer. Mazara has 10 home runs this season, seven in May. His drive estimated at 447 feet in the seventh inning had tied the game at 4. Rangers closer Keone Kela (3-2) struck out three in two innings, allowing only Niko Goodrum’s leadoff double in the 10th. The Rangers took two of three, but are still 7-16 overall at home. They had lost their first six home series, their most ever to start a season.
Pirates 6, White Sox 5 – Pirates win 6-5 with 4-run 9th, White Sox fall to 9-25
Colin Moran hit a two-run homer that capped a four-run rally against Nate Jones in the ninth inning, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates over Chicago 6-5 on Wednesday and sending the last-place White Sox to their ninth loss in 10 games. Chicago took a 5-2 lead into the ninth behind Reynaldo Lopez, who allowed two runs and three hits in a career-high 7 1/3 innings. Jace Fry struck out the final two batters of the eighth, but Jones (2-1) blew a save for the second time in three chances as the White Sox lost their fifth in a row and fell to 9-25. Chicago is off to its second-worst 34-game start behind an 8-26 opening in 1948. The White Sox have the poorest home record in the major leagues at 3-15.
Cubs 13, Marlins 4 – Bryant, Rizzo, Russell go deep, Cubs pound Marlins 13-4
Kris Bryant hit his 100th career homer, Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell connected in an eight-run third inning, and the Chicago Cubs pounded the Miami Marlins 13-4 on Wednesday. Rizzo also had a pair of doubles and finished with five RBIs as the Cubs outscored the Marlins 31-9 in a three-game sweep after dropping a season-high five in a row. It was quite a turnaround for a team that finished with three runs or less in 10 of 11 games prior to this series. Bryant hit a drive about halfway up the bleachers in left-center in the first inning for his third homer in four games, and he added an RBI double to deep center in the third. Chicago poured it on from there, scoring seven more runs in the inning against Wei-Yin Chen to go up 9-0 while sending 11 batters to the plate. Rizzo, Russell, Albert Almora and Willson Contreras each had three of Chicago’s 17 hits.
Today
Tigers, White Sox, and Cubs are all off
MLB – ChiSox prospect Burger re-tears Achilles, out another year
Chicago White Sox third base prospect Jake Burger has torn his left Achilles tendon again and will be sidelined for an additional year. Burger first tore the tendon Feb. 26 while running out a ground ball during an exhibition game against Oakland. White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said Wednesday that the 22-year-old re-injured the tendon last week while walking in his backyard and had surgery Tuesday. Chicago selected Burger with the 11th overall pick in last year’s amateur draft from Missouri State and signed him for a $3.7 million bonus.
NBA – 2018 NBA Playoffs – Round 2 – (Best of 7)
Last Night
Boston Celtics 114, Philadelphia 76ers 112 BOS wins 4-1
Celtics 114, Sixers 112 – Boston takes 76ers, advancing to Cleveland rematch
Jayson Tatum caught a pass underneath the basket, shook off a hit and went up for the go-ahead layup with 23 seconds left and the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 114-112 on Wednesday night to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. Tatum scored 25 points, Jaylen Brown had 24 and Terry Rozier 17. Joel Embiid had 27 points and 12 rebounds for the 76ers. Boston will host Cleveland with game 1 Sunday in Boston.
NHL – 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Round 2 – (Best of 7)
Tonight
Winnipeg Jets at Nashville Predators, 8:00 p.m. Game 7
NFL – Lions coach Matt Patricia denies 1996 assault allegation
Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia is maintaining his innocence after a 1996 sexual assault allegation against him resurfaced Wednesday night. The Detroit News reported that Patricia and a friend of his were indicted 22 years ago by a Texas grand jury, on one count each of aggravated sexual assault for an alleged incident involving a woman on South Padre Island. The accuser did not testify and the case was dismissed 10 months later. In a statement issued by the Lions, Patricia said he was “falsely accused” and he found it “incredibly unfair, disappointing, and frustrating that this story would resurface now.” The Lions hired Patricia after last season to replace Jim Caldwell as coach. They said a pre-employment background check didn’t disclose the incident, but they believe Patricia’s explanation and support him.
NFL – Some items stolen from top Bears draft pick’s car recovered
Police say several items have been returned after they were stolen from Chicago Bears first-round draft pick Roquan Smith’s car in Georgia, but not his Bears-issued iPad. Athens-Clarke County Police public information officer Epifanio Rodriguez tells the Chicago Tribune a fingerprint found in the linebacker’s car identified the suspect and detectives recovered some of the property, but not the iPad. The Bears said Monday that they remotely wiped the password-protected tablet. Rodriguez says Smith was “ecstatic” when detectives notified him. Rodriguez says authorities expect to obtain arrest warrants soon and charges will be filed in the case. Smith called police Saturday to report the thefts, including his Georgia helmet and Georgia Bulldogs jerseys.
NASCAR – NASCAR hits Dillon, Bowyer, Suarez teams with penalties
The teams for drivers Austin Dillon, Clint Bowyer and Daniel Suarez have been penalized by NASCAR after the race at Dover. Bowyer and Suarez were each hit with $50,000 fines for their crew chiefs and both teams lost their car chiefs for the next two races for rear window violations. Each team lost 20 drivers and owner points. Bowyer was second and Suarez third
on Sunday at Dover.
NCAA – Audits warned of lax Michigan State athletic money oversight
Audits show Michigan State University’s former athletic director Mark Hollis and former President Lou Anna Simon were repeatedly warned that sports staff members weren’t adequately following the school’s financial procedures. The Lansing State Journal obtained the university’s internal audits through a public records request. Hollis and Simon left the university this year in the wake of the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal. Auditors reported that athletic officials didn’t regularly review department finances and misused university-issued credit cards. Auditors also warned the athletic department six times that complimentary game tickets were being handled improperly. The audits say officials offered explanations and improvements for each finding, but the same issues reappeared in subsequent audits. A university spokeswoman says the audits show no evidence of fraud or missing funds.
NCAAMBB – Sister Jean, Loyola Ramblers feted at Illinois state Capitol
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt and her Loyola-Chicago Ramblers brought their Final Four fame to the state Capitol. The 98-year-old Catholic nun is a chaplain of the team that made it to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament’s semi-final game before losing to Michigan 69-57. She, Ramblers Coach Porter Moser and several cagers from the 32-6 team were lauded Wednesday in separate ceremonies in the House and Senate. Sister Jean opened legislative sessions with prayers. She gained national acclaim for her fandom and for praying before each Loyola game for her Ramblers
, and for their opponents. Moser bragged that Loyola and Harvard have the highest graduation rates of any Division I schools nationally. The Naperville native says the Ramblers’ roster has seven Illinoisans. There was one when he arrived in 2011.
Tennis – Serena Williams won’t compete at Italian Open
Serena Williams has withdrawn from next week’s Italian Open, saying she needs more time to be “100 percent ready to compete.” The tournament made the announcement via Twitter. Williams returned to the tour briefly this year after a 14-month absence to give birth to her daughter. The 23-time Grand Slam champion also withdrew from this week’s Madrid Open and sitting out Rome puts her status in doubt for the French Open, which starts May 27.
AHL – Lehigh Valley tops Charlotte in 5 OTs in AHL’s longest game ever
This one kept going. And going. And going. And going. And going , straight into the American Hockey League record books. Alex Krushelnyski scored 6:48 into the fifth overtime period and Alex Lyon made 94 saves to lead the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to a 2-1 win over the Charlotte Checkers early Thursday morning in the longest game in the AHL’s 82-year history. The Phantoms, the top affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, took a 3-1 series lead in the Atlantic Division finals by outlasting the Carolina Hurricanes’ farm team in a game that began shortly after 7 p.m. EDT Wednesday night and ended at 1:09 a.m. after more than seven periods and 146 minutes and 48 seconds of play. The seemingly endless game surpassed the Philadelphia Phantoms’ 3-2 win over the Albany River Rats that took 142:58 to decide in 2008. Lehigh Valley won’t be able to celebrate , or sleep , much, though. The teams will be right back on the ice Saturday night in Charlotte. Lehigh Valley outshot Charlotte 95-53, including 54-29 in the overtime periods.
MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
Great Lakes 6, Beloit 5
West Michigan 8, Clinton 5
South Bend 4, Burlington 2
Lansing 9, Wisconsin 4
Tonight
Burlington at West Michigan, 7:05 p.m.
Clinton at South Bend, 7:05 p.m.
Lansing at Beloit, 7:30 p.m.
Great Lakes at Wisconsin, 7:35 p.m.
MHSAA – High School Sports
Yesterday
Girls Soccer
St. Joseph 2, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 0
Lakeshore 8, Battle Creek Central 0
Niles 1, Battle Creek Lakeview 0
Gull Lake 3, Portage Central 0
Plainwell 8, Dowagiac 0
Paw Paw 4, Three Rivers 2
Allegan 4, Sturgis 0
Kalamazoo Hackett 4, Coloma 0
Watervliet 6, Schoolcraft 2
Bangor 5, Brandywine 1
Bridgman 5, Berrien Springs 0
Baseball
Benton Harbor 20, New Buffalo 4
Softball
Watervliet 12, St. Joseph 8
Today
Baseball
St. Joseph at Paw Paw, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Lake Mich. Catholic at Michigan Lutheran, 4:15 p.m.
Lakeshore at Mattawan, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Bangor at Bloomingdale, 4:30 p.m.
River Valley at Brandywine, 4:00 p.m.
Eau Claire at Marcellus, 4:30 p.m.
Softball
St. Joseph at Paw Paw, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Lake Mich. Catholic at Michigan Lutheran, 4:15 p.m.
Brandywine at Dowagiac, 4:15 p.m.
Bangor at Bloomingdale, 4:30 p.m.
Boys Golf
St. Joseph, Lakeshore, at Benton Harbor, 3:30 p.m. (Harbor Shores)
Girls Soccer
Lake Michigan Catholic at Brandywine, 4:15 p.m.
Buchanan at Edwardsburg, 5:30 p.m.
Girls Tennis
BCS Championship at Berrien Springs, 9:30 p.m.
Edwardsburg at Niles, 4:00 p.m.
