Weekday Morning Sports Report – Wednesday 9/5/18

MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Detroit Tigers 8, Chicago White Sox 3
Milwaukee Brewers 11, Chicago Cubs 1

Tigers 8, White Sox 3 – Tigers’ 8-3 win over White Sox
Mikie Mahtook hit a two-run homer and rookie Grayson Greiner drove in three runs as Francisco Liriano won for the first time in over four months as the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 8-3. Greiner had a two-run double during a five-run second inning. Dawel Lugo also had a two-run double during the burst. After being staked to an early lead, Liriano (4-9) allowed two earned runs in five innings to earn his first victory since April 28. The 34-year-old left-hander ended his 0-8 drought that covered 16 starts and one relief appearance. During his slide, Liriano had a 5.56 ERA. Sandy Baez, Joe Jimenez and Alex Wilson followed Liriano with four scoreless innings of relief. Yoan Moncada and Ryan Cordell drove in runs for the White Sox.

Brewers 11, Cubs 1 – Brewers rout Cubs 11-1, trim NL Central deficit to 3 games
Lorenzo Cain reached base five times, Wade Miley pitched six stingy innings and the Milwaukee Brewers romped past the Chicago Cubs 11-1 on Tuesday night to climb within three games of the NL Central leaders. Miley (3-2) allowed one run and three hits, struck out five and walked none as Milwaukee won for the fifth time in its last six meetings with its division rival. The second-place Brewers maintained a 11/2-game lead over St. Louis for the top NL wild card. Mike Montgomery (4-5) struggled with his control in just four innings, and the Brewers had little trouble with a succession of Cubs relievers.   Cain had four walks and a double from the leadoff spot, setting the tone for Milwaukee’s offense. Christian Yelich walked and added a two-run double in the seventh, reaching base for the 21st straight game _ the longest active streak in the National League. The first-place Cubs were hurt by poor defense and committed three errors.

Tonight
Detroit (Zimmermann 6-6) at Chicago White Sox (Kopech 1-0), 8:10 p.m.WSJM Sports/Cosy-FM 7:45
Chicago Cubs (Quintana 11-9) at Milwaukee (Chacin 14-5), 8:10 p.m.

MLB – Fan injury delays Tigers/White Sox
A fan was hit in the face by a foul ball and bled profusely before walking to the first aid station Tuesday night, briefly delaying the Detroit Tigers’ 8-3 win over the Chicago White Sox. The middle-aged male fan was sitting in the first row on the first base side of Guaranteed Rate Field _ well beyond where the netting extends to end of the dugout _ when he was struck by Jeimer Candelario’s foul leading off the Tigers ninth. The game was held up for a couple minutes while he was treated, and the man eventually walked away under his own power, escorted by stadium personnel.

MLB – White Sox slugger Abreu recovering from testicle surgery
Chicago White Sox All-Star first baseman Jose Abreu says doctors performed emergency surgery last month to correct a groin condition. Abreu said Tuesday that he had testicle torsion. He had surgery on Aug. 21 at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. “It was one of my testicles turned sideways and was strangled,” Abreu said through a translator before a game against Detroit. “The doctor had to perform emergency surgery to save it. I never thought about it, but it was serious.”  “I’m thankful for all the people who helped me, all the doctors and all the people in the hospital, who helped me to get better.  I’m feeling good,” he said. White Sox general manager Rick Hahn says he expects the 31-year-old slugger back in the lineup by mid-September.  Abreu already has started light cardio activity and should resume on-field baseball activities in the next week. He leads the White Sox with 22 homers and 78 RBIs in 122 games.

MLB – Cubs star Rizzo leaves game with injured right foot
Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo left Tuesday night’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers with a bruised right foot. The injury occurred when Rizzo fouled a ball off his foot in the third inning while batting against Milwaukee starter Wade Miley. Rizzo stayed in the game until being replaced on a double-switch in the sixth. Victor Caratini took over at first. The NL Central-leading Cubs said X-rays on Rizzo’s foot were negative.  Rizzo entered the game hitting .284 with 24 home runs and 90 RBIs.

Tennis – US Open – Williams advances, Stephens, Isner out at US Open
Serena Williams has reached the U.S. Open women’s semifinals as she seeks her 24th Grand Slam title. Williams fell behind a break before posting a 6-4, 6-3 win over eighth seed Karolina Pliskova. Next up for Williams is Anastasia Sevastova, who upset defending champion Sloane Stephens, 6-2, 6-3.  John Isner ended his bid to become the first American since Andy Roddick in 2006 to reach the U.S. Open men’s semifinals. The 11th seed was eliminated with a 6-7, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2 loss to Juan Martin del Potro, who made just 14 unforced errors compared to Isner’s 52.

NCAAFB Poll – Alabama retains top spot
There’s been some movement within The Associated Press college football poll, but the top three teams remain the same. Alabama remains No. 1 as the Crimson Tide picked up 48 of 61 first-place votes following their 51-14 blowout of Louisville. Second-ranked Clemson claimed 12 first-place votes, while Georgia held at No. 3. Ohio State moved up a notch to fourth, just ahead of Big Ten rival Wisconsin. Oklahoma, Auburn, Notre Dame, Washington and Stanford round out the top 10.  The Fighting Irish went up four spots following its convincing win over Michigan. LSU climbed from 25th to 11th with its 33-17 win over Miami, which plummeted from eighth to 22nd. Texas and Florida State fell out of the poll, replaced by No. 24 South Carolina and No. 25 Florida.

AP Top 25

1

Alabama (48)

1-0

2

Clemson (12)

1-0

3

Georgia

1-0

4

Ohio State

1-0

5

Wisconsin (1)

1-0

6

Oklahoma

1-0

7

Auburn

1-0

8

Notre Dame

1-0

9

Washington

0-1

10

Stanford

1-0

11

LSU

1-0

12

Virginia Tech

1-0

13

Penn State

1-0

14

West Virginia

1-0

15

Michigan State

1-0

16

TCU

1-0

17

USC

1-0

18

Mississippi State

1-0

19

UCF

1-0

20

Boise State

1-0

21

Michigan

0-1

22

Miami

0-1

23

Oregon

1-0

24

South Carolina

1-0

25

Florida

1-0

Golf – Tiger, Lefty, DeChambeau added to US Ryder Cup squad
Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau have been selected as three of Jim Furyk’s four captain’s picks for the Ryder Cup later this month.  Woods returns to the Cup as a player for the first time in six years, while Mickelson will make a record 12th straight appearance in the event. DeChambeau has won the first two FedEx Cup playoff events to rise to No. 7 in the world.  Furyk’s final captain’s pick will be announced Monday after the BMW Championship.

NBA – Pacers’ McMillan gets multiyear deal
The Indiana Pacers have signed coach Nate McMillan to a multi-year contract extension.  McMillan is 90-74 in two years as head coach after serving as the associate head coach for three seasons under Frank Vogel. He finished sixth in Coach of the Year balloting after the Pacers surprised nearly everyone in earning the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 48-34 record last season. Indiana took the Cavaliers to a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals before falling.

Gymnastics – Kerry Perry resigns as USA Gymnastics president
Kerry Perry has resigned as president of USA Gymnastics, days after the United States Olympic Committee questioned the direction of the organization under her leadership. Perry has struggled to outline a clear path forward during her nine months on the job. She repeatedly came under scrutiny by athletes who felt she was mishandling the fallout from the abuse scandal surrounding disgraced former team doctor Larry Nassar.

WNBA – WNBA Playoffs – League Semifinals (best of 5)
Last Night – Semifinals
Washington Mystics 86, Atlanta Dream 81                                   (WAS wins 3-2)
Seattle Storms 94, Phoenix Mercury 84                                        (SEA wins 3-2)

Friday – WNBA Finals (best of 5)
Washington Mystics at Seattle Storm, 9:00 p.m.                          (Game 1)

MWL – Midwest League Baseball Playoffs – Round 1 (best of 3)
Tonight
Great Lakes Loons at West Michigan Whitecaps, 7:05 p.m.           (Game 1)
Bowling Green Hot Rods at Lansing Lugnuts, 7:05 p.m.                (Game 1)
Quad Cities River Bandits at Peoria Chiefs, 7:30 p.m.                   (Game 1)
Cedar Rapids Kernels at Beloit Snappers, 8:00 p.m.                      (Game 1)

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Soccer
Lakeshore 4, Battle Creek Lakeview 0
Mattawan 3, St. Joseph 2
Gull Lake 8, Niles 1
Howardsville Christian 6, Michigan Lutheran 1
Dowagiac 1, Brandywine 0
Portage Central 5, Kalamazoo Central 1
Portage Northern 1, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 0
Allegan 8, Saugatuck 0

Boys Tennis
St. Joseph 4, Mattawan 4 – TIE            
Portage Northern 7, Lakeshore 1
Brandywine 6, South Haven 2

Girls Swimming/Diving
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 107, St. Joseph 78

Girls Volleyball
West Mich. Academy of Environmental Science 3, Michigan Lutheran 2
Hartford 3, Lawrence 1

Tonight
Boys Soccer
Lake Michigan Catholic at Lawrence, 5:00 p.m.
South Haven at Fennville, 6:45 p.m.
Vicksburg at Dowagiac, 5:30 p.m.
Paw Paw at Otsego, 6:00 p.m.
Three Rivers at Plainwell, 6:30 p.m.
Allegan at Edwardsburg, 5:30 p.m.
Parchment at Bridgman, 5:00 p.m.
Berrien Springs at Brandywine, 5:00 p.m.
Bloomingdale at Hartford, 5:00 p.m.

Boys Tennis
Kalamazoo Central at St. Joseph, 4:00 p.m.
Niles at Gull Lake, 4:00 p.m.
Loy Norrix at Mattawan, 4:00 p.m.

Girls Volleyball
St. Joseph at Niles, 6:30 p.m.
Portage Northern at Lakeshore, 6:30 p.m.
Lake Michigan Catholic at New Buffalo, 6:00 p.m.
Brandywine at Berrien Springs, 6:00 p.m.
Portage Central at Mattawan, 6:30 p.m.
Buchanan at Comstock, 6:00 p.m.