Weekday Morning Sports Report – Monday 8/12/19

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sportsreport-300x207-80

MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Kansas City Royals 10, Detroit Tigers 2
Oakland A’s 2, Chicago White Sox 0
Chicago Cubs 6, Cincinnati Reds 3

Royals 10, Tigers 2 – Dozier, Soler each homer twice as Royals beat Tigers 10-2
Hunter Dozier and Jorge Soler each homered twice, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers 10-2 on Sunday for a split of the four-game series between the worst teams in the AL Central.  It was Dozier’s third career multihomer game, all of which have come on the current road trip. He hit two against the Twins on Aug. 2, and then duplicated the feat Thursday in the series opener in Detroit.  Soler went deep four times in the final three games of the series, and Whit Merrifield led off the game with a home run for the second time in three days. The trio combined for 10 homers in the series.  The Royals won their second in a row after losing six of seven. Last-place Detroit fell to 7-23 since the All-Star break.  Daniel Norris (3-10) allowed three homers in three innings, leaving the Tigers down 4-2.

A’s 2, White Sox 0 – Bassitt throws 7 innings as Athletics beat White Sox 2-0
Chris Bassitt threw seven sharp innings, Matt Olson homered and the Oakland Athletics beat Lucas Giolito and the Chicago White Sox 2-0 on Sunday.  Bassitt (8-5) permitted four hits, struck out seven and walked two. Olson, Robbie Grossman and Chad Pinder had two hits apiece for the Athletics, who are fighting for position in the AL wild-card race.  Giolito (12-6) struck out a career-high 13 in six innings. The All-Star right-hander allowed two runs and five hits.  The White Sox had won five of seven.  Olson connected for his 23rd homer after Matt Chapman just missed his own drive in the fourth. Right fielder Jon Jay leaped to try to catch Chapman’s deep fly ball at the fence, but it bounced out of his glove for a double.

Cubs 6, Reds 3 – Bryant homers, Cubs rally for 6-3 win over Reds
Kris Bryant capped Chicago’s four-run seventh with a three-run homer, and the Cubs rallied to beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-3 on Sunday for a split of their four-game series.  Ian Happ added a solo drive in the eighth as the NL Central leaders recovered after falling behind 3-0 in the fifth. David Phelps (1-0) pitched a perfect sixth for the win, and Pedro Strop got three outs for his 10th save.  Bryant, Happ, Jason Heyward and Nicholas Castellanos each had two hits for the Cubs, who lost 10-1 on Saturday.  Cincinnati had won five of six to stay on the fringe of the NL wild-card race. Eugenio Suaréz homered for the third straight game and rookie sensation Aristides Aquino had a run-scoring single, but the Reds bullpen faltered after All-Star Luis Castillo was pulled in the seventh.

Tonight
Houston (Greinke 11-4) at Chicago White Sox (Cease 2-4), 8:10 p.m.
Cubs and Tigers are off

NASCAR – Kevin Harvick wins NASCAR Cup race at Michigan
Kevin Harvick has won a NASCAR Cup race at Michigan International Speedway for the second straight year, giving him two victories this year and 47 in his career. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver pulled away from the competition in his Ford and finished more than a second ahead of Denny Hamlin. Kyle Larson was third, more than 16 seconds behind Harvick, and was followed by Martin Truex Jr., Daniel Suarez and Kyle Busch on Sunday in the Consumers Energy 400. There are three races left before the playoffs, including one under the lights Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson will have to close the regular season strong to extend his streak of earning a spot in every postseason since the format was created 15 years ago. He started the race tied for the 16th and final spot in the playoffs and had an early setback, making contact with a wall on Lap 15 that damaged his right rear quarter panel and tire, and finished 4th.  Johnson was several laps back for much of the race, but got a break potentially for the final spot when Clint Bowyer was knocked out of the race after Paul Menard appeared to bump him. Bowyer began the day 15th in the playoff standings and was 37th at MIS. Newman, who started the day tied with Johnson in the playoff standings, was 12th in the 38-car field.

WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association
Last Night
Los Angeles Sparks 84, Chicago Sky 81

Sparks 84, Sky 81 – Gray, Ogwumike lead Sparks past Sky, 84-81
Chelsea Gray scored seven of her 26 points in the final 1:25 and the Los Angeles Sparks overcame a 16-point deficit to beat the Chicago Sky 84-81 on Sunday.  Nneka Ogwumike had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Maria Vadeeva added 12 points for the Sparks (15-8). Los Angeles has won five in a row overall and eight straight at home. Allie Quigley led the Sky (14-10) with 20 points. Cheyanne Parker added 19, and Diamond DeShields had 16. All-Star point guard Courtney Vandersloot did not play for Chicago because of an illness.

NFL – Lions put Kearse on IR; Sign QB Johnson
The Detroit Lions have placed wide receiver Jermaine Kearse on injured reserve and signed quarterback Josh Johnson. Kearse hurt his left leg during Detroit’s first possession of its preseason opener against New England, a 31-3 loss. Johnson was brought in after Lions quarterback Tom Savage was removed from the game. His head hit the turf on a sack. Johnson played for Washington last season, starting three games.

Golf – PGA – Reed delivers clutch putts to win FedEx Cup opener
Patrick Reed rallied from a two-shot deficit with three straight putts on the back nine at Liberty National that allowed him to win The Northern Trust and end 16 months without winning since his Masters title. Reed closed with a 2-under 69 for a one-shot victory over Abraham Ancer. The victory moves him to No. 2 in the FedEx Cup, assuring he will be at the Tour Championship in two weeks for a shot at the $15 million prize. Reed was two back when he hit pitching wedge perfectly off a ridge on the back on the par-3 14th green to set up a birdie. Jon Rahm began to fall back with bogeys, and Reed made two more big putts to seize control. Ancer closed with a 69.

Golf – LPGA – Hur wins Ladies Scottish Open
Mi Jung Hur won her third LPGA Tour title with a brilliant final round at the Ladies Scottish Open on Sunday. The South Korean carded a closing 5-under 66 in wet conditions at The Renaissance Club to finish 20-under 264, four shots ahead of compatriot Jeongeun Lee6 and Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn. Lee6, a newcomer to links golf, won the U.S. Women’s Open in June in South Carolina.

MHSAA – Practice officially underway for most fall sports
The fall sports season for high school sports officially gets underway this morning for most student athletes today.   Football, Cross Country, Girls Golf, Boys Soccer, Boys LP Tennis, and Girls UP Tennis are able to begin practice today.   Volleyball and girls swimming won’t begin until Wednesday.  While football teams can begin practice today, they are not permitted to use full pads until Thursday, Helmets only The first football games are on Thursday, August 29th.  One change football teams will be facing this year is the MHSAA has adopted a :40 second play clock system to be used instead of a universal :25 play clock.

Gymnastics – Biles wins 6th US Title
Simone Biles soared to her sixth U.S. women’s gymnastics title, rebounding from a sloppy performance on opening night to put on a show in the finals. Biles began the finals by drilling a triple-twisting, double-flip on floor exercise, the first time a female gymnast has completed the skill in competition. Biles won three events in all to extend an unbeaten streak that began in 2013.

MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
Lansing 10, Dayton 6
South Bend 8, Fort Wayne 3
Great Lakes 7, Bowling Green 4
West Michigan 6, Lake County 5

Today
Bowling Green at Great Lakes, 12:05 p.m.
West Michigan at Lake County, 7 p.m.
Lansing at Dayton, 7 p.m.
Fort Wayne at South Bend, 7:05 p.m.