Sports Radio 1400 WSJM @wsjmsports wsjmsports.com Friday, June 05, 2015
MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Oakland A’s 7, Detroit Tigers 5
Texas Rangers 2, Chicago White Sox 1 – 11 innings
Chicago Cubs 2, Washington Nationals 1
A’s 7, Tigers 5 – Hahn, A’s finish off sweep, send Tigers to 7th straight loss
Jesse Hahn allowed one run in seven innings, and the Oakland Athletics completed a three-game sweep of Detroit on Thursday, winning 7-5 and handing the Tigers their seventh straight loss. Josh Phegley hit a two-run triple in the second inning, and the A’s won for the sixth time in seven games, although they still have the worst record in the American League. Hahn (3-5) allowed five hits. Detroit scored four runs in the ninth, including a three-run homer by Tyler Collins. Tyler Clippard got the final two outs for his ninth save. Shane Greene (4-5) allowed six runs and eight hits in 4 1-3 innings. The Tigers have lost seven in a row for the first time since April 26 to May 2, 2011, according to STATS. That was the year they began their current streak of four consecutive AL Central titles. Detroit has not lost more than seven straight since an eight-game skid in 2005.
Rangers 2, White Sox 1 – 11 Inn. – Choo’s hit in 11th lifts Rangers to 2-1 win over White Sox
Shin-soo Choo’s single beat the Chicago White Sox and their defensive shift, sending the Texas Rangers to a 2-1 win in 11 innings on Thursday night. Leonys Martin led off the inning with his third single and moved to second on Hanser Alberto’s sacrifice. Choo grounded the ball to the right of Chicago shortstop Alexei Ramirez, who was shifted toward second base. Dan Jennings (1-2) was the losing pitcher. White Sox rookie left-hander Carlos Rodon struck out a career-high 10 batters in six innings. He allowed one run, five hits and three walks. Texas starter Yovani Gallardo gave up three hits, two walks and an unearned run in his six innings. Rangers rookie Joey Gallo didn’t hit a home run after blasting one in each of his first two major league games.
Cubs 2, Nationals 1 – Arrieta solid as Cubs score early and defeat Nationals 2-1
Jake Arrieta pitched six strong innings, and the Chicago Cubs made a pair of first-inning runs hold up as they defeated the Washington Nationals 2-1 on Thursday night. Arrieta (5-4) rebounded from a pair of subpar outings, pitching six innings and giving up a run and six hits. Hector Rondon pitched the ninth for his 10th save. Washington’s Anthony Rendon, who missed 53 games due to injuries, had two hits in his season debut. He was up with runners on first and second and two outs in the ninth when Cubs catcher David Ross picked off Clint Robinson at first to end it. Bryce Harper drove in a run with a sixth-inning groundout, snapping an 18-inning scoreless streak for Washington, which has lost six of seven. Gio Gonzalez (4-3) allowed two runs on four hits over six innings. The start of the game was delayed nearly two hours by rain.
Tonight
Chicago Cubs (Wada 0-0) at Washington (Roark 1-2), 7:05 p.m.
Detroit (Ryan 1-0) at Chicago White Sox (Quintana 2-6), 8:10 p.m. WSJM-AM/WCSY-FM 7:45
MLB – Tigers send Daniel Fields back to minors after debut
The Tigers have optioned outfielder Daniel Fields to Triple-A Toledo after an eventful major league debut. Fields entered in the third inning Thursday when left fielder Yoenis Cespedes left with flu-like symptoms. Fields struck out twice and made an error, but he also doubled in the ninth for his first hit and scored. Detroit lost 7-5 to the Oakland Athletics. The Tigers expect outfielder Rajai Davis to be back from the paternity list in time for Friday night’s game in Chicago against the White Sox.
MLB – Cespedes leaves game with flu-like symptoms
Yoenis Cespedes has left Detroit’s game against Oakland with flu-like symptoms. Cespedes struck out in the second inning Thursday in his only at-bat, then was replaced in left field by Daniel Fields, who made his major league debut. Cespedes is hitting .285 with seven homers and 28 RBIs this season.
NBA – 2015 NBA Finals (Best of 7)
Last Night
Golden State Warriors 108, Cleveland Cavaliers 100 – OT (GS Leads 1-0)
Game 1: Warriors 108, Cavaliers 100 – OT – Cavs held to 2 points in OT as Warriors take game 1
The Golden State Warriors scored the first 10 points of overtime to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-100 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Steph Curry led the Warriors with 26 points and eight assists. Cavaliers star LeBron James led all scorers with 44 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Game 2 is Sunday in Oakland.
NBA – Arena deal for Bucks
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says taxpayers would pick up half the cost of a $500 million arena for the Milwaukee Bucks under a financial deal that would rely on current and former team owners for the rest. Walker has argued for months that it will cost the state more in lost income-tax revenue if the NBA team leaves Milwaukee than it will to pay for a new downtown arena.
NHL – 2015 Stanley Cup Finals (Best of 7)
Saturday
Chicago Blackhawks at Tampa Bay Lightning, 8:15 p.m. (CHI Leads 1-0)
NHL – With belief and depth, Chicago gets early jump on Lightning
When the Chicago Blackhawks were seven minutes away from losing the Stanley Cup Final opener, it wasn’t Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane or Duncan Keith who stepped up and underscored this team’s reputation for big-game grit. Teuvo Teravainen, a 20-year-old Finn who debuted with the Blackhawks in January, scored the tying goal and then set up the winner by Antoine Vermette, who didn’t pull on a Blackhawks sweater until March. Corey Crawford, the goalie who briefly lost his job six weeks ago, quietly shut out Tampa Bay for the final 55 minutes of a one-goal win. The Hawks are going for third title in six seasons because they’re much more than a cluster of stars.
NHL – Blackhawks plead ignorance about Shaw possibly biting Hedman
The Chicago Blackhawks are pleading ignorance about the possibility that right wing Andrew Shaw bit Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. Shaw and Hedman got tangled up after Hedman pushed Blackhawks star Patrick Kane into the boards just after play had been stopped. After the scrum was broken up, Hedman was seen on the bench lifting his jersey to show a spot on his side to a team trainer. Hedman said after the game that it felt like he was bit, but couldn’t say for sure that it did happen. Chicago coach Joel Quenneville says he didn’t know anything about it Thursday, and Shaw and Hedman were not made available by their teams. Game 2 is Saturday night in Tampa.
NHL – Game 1 of Stanley Cup averaged 5,547,000 viewers on NBC
Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final averaged 5,547,000 viewers and drew a 3.34 rating Wednesday night on NBC. Chicago’s 2-1 victory over Tampa Bay was most-watched Game 1 that did not require overtime in 18 years and NBC’s second-most-watched Game 1 ever, the network said Thursday. The audience peaked at 6,433,000 viewers from 10:30-10:45 p.m. EDT. Chicago had a 28.0 metered market rating, its third-highest ever for a Blackhawks game on NBC, trailing only the Stanley Cup Final-ending Game 6 matchups in 2013 and 2010. Tampa drew a 17.9 rating.
NHL – NHL step closer to a coaches’ challenge system
The NHL is a step closer to a coaches’ challenge system. The joint NHL/NHL Players’ Association competition committee said Thursday that it recommended coaches’ challenges for goals involving goalie interference and offside plays. If approved by the NHLPA executive committee and board of governors, goalie interference challenges would be handled by referees at ice level and offside plays by the situation room in Toronto. The competition committee reached no consensus on overtime changes for next season and will continue discussions. General managers voted in March to consider three-on-three overtime either for a full five minutes or the format used by the American Hockey League _ three minutes of four-on-four and then four minutes of three-on-three. Also recommended is a change to faceoff rules in the defensive zone that makes the defensive player put his stick down first, rather than the visiting player. For faceoffs at center ice, the rule will remain the same, requiring that the visiting player put his stick down first.
Golf – PGA – Two tied for the top
Bo Van Pelt and Hideki Matsuyama posted 8-under 64s to share the clubhouse lead late in the first round of the Memorial tournament. Van Pelt got off to a fast start with birdies on six holes on the front side and finished with 10 for the round. Matsuyama’s round was bogey-free. Jason Dufner finished with a 66. Masters champ Jordan Speith shot a 4-under-68 while Tiger Woods had a 73.
Golf – LPGA – Woods’ niece in the lead
Rookie Cheyenne Woods tied a course record with a 9-under-63 in the opening round of the LPGA Classic in Ontario. Woods birdied eight holes, including five of the last nine, and had an eagle in the round. She’s the niece of Tiger Woods. Sandra Gal and Laeticia Beck are tied for second, one shot back.
NCAA – North Carolina charged with NCAA violations
The NCAA has charged North Carolina with five violations connected to the school’s long-running academic fraud scandal, including a lack of institutional control for poor oversight of an academic department popular with athletes. The charges include providing improper benefits in the form of counselors making “special arrangements” with staffers in the formerly named African and Afro-American Studies department to offer courses or obtain assignments for athletes, as well as a counselor working with the women’s basketball program providing improper help on research papers. All five charges are considered Level I violations, described by the NCAA as a “severe breach of conduct.”
Tennis – French Open – Women’s final set
The women’s final at the French Open in Paris is set. Top-seed Serena Williams fought through the flu to beat Timea Bacsinszky 4-6, 6-3, 6-love and will play Lucie Safarova on Saturday for her 20th Grand Slam title.
MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
West Michigan 3, Quad Cities 2
Great Lakes 7, Peoria 3
Lansing 5, Burlington 1
South Bend 6, Cedar Rapids 4
Today
Quad Cities at West Michigan, 7 p.m.
Peoria at Great Lakes, 7:05 p.m.
Burlington at Lansing, 7:05 p.m.
Cedar Rapids at South Bend, 7:35 p.m.
MHSAA – High School Sports – Baseball/Softball Regionals
Saturday
Baseball
Division 2 at Edwardsburg
Lakeshore vs. Coldwater, 10:00 a.m.
Edwardsburg vs. Vicksburg, 12:00 p.m.
Championship 2:30 p.m.
Division 3 at Bloomingdale
Schoolcraft vs. GR West Catholic, 10:00 a.m.
Saugatuck vs. Buchanan, 12:00 p.m.
Championship, 2:00 p.m.
Division 4 at New Buffalo
Centreville vs. Decatur, 10:00 a.m.
Lake Michi Catholic vs. Cassopolis, 12:00 p.m.
Championship, 3:00 p.m.
Division 1 at Grand Ledge
A.A. Pioneer vs. Portage Central, 10:00 a.m.
Holt vs. Howell, 12:00 p.m.
Championship, 2:00 p.m.
Softball
Division 2 at Edwardsburg
Edwardsburg vs. Vicksburg, 10:00 a.m.
St. Joseph vs. Coldwater, 12:00 p.m.
Championship 2:00 p.m.
Division 3 at Bloomingdale
Gobles vs. GR West Catholic, 10:00 a.m.
Fennville vs. Buchanan, 12:00 p.m.
Championship, 2:00 p.m.
Division 4 at New Buffalo
River Valley vs. Kalamazoo Christian, 10:00 a.m.
Mendon vs. Decatur, 12:30 p.m.
Championship, 3:00 p.m.
Division 1 at Grand Ledge
Holt vs. Howell, 10:00 a.m.
Mattawan vs. Dexter, 12:00 p.m.
Championship, 2:00 p.m.