Sports: Miggy hits two home runs; Tigers win 5-4

The Tigers beat the Phillies 5-4. Miguel Cabrera hit two of Detroit's four solo homers.

J.D. Martinez and Nick Castellanos also homered for Detroit. Cabrera, who is 6 for 6 over his last two games, doubled with one out in the seventh.  He scored the tiebreaking run on Victor Martinez's seventh-inning single.  Detroit has won seven of eight, and the Tigers pulled this game out after wasting some early opportunities with men on base.

Justin Wilson (1-1) got the win in relief for Detroit, and Francisco Rodriguez struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 13th save in 14 chances.  Mike Pelfrey, who started and went 6 innings,  is still looking for his first win for the Tigers.  Justin Verlander starts for the Tigers tonight.  Broadcast time is 6:45 on WBCK.

Players of the Week

Tigers Miguel Cabrera and Cameron Maybin are the American League Co-Players of the Week.   Cabrera batted .500  in getting the award for the  14th time, tying him with Hall of Famer Frank Thomas for third-most all-time.  Only Manny Ramirez (16) and Barry Bonds (15) have accrued more weekly honors.  Maybin batted .600, after finally joining the Tigers after an injury rehab assignment.  The speedy outfielder was traded away in the deal that brought Cabrera to Detroit from Miami.  The Tigers signed him this past winter.

Zimmerman Injury

Jordan Zimmermann is expected to miss at least one start for Detroit, but Tigers manager Brad Ausmus says he's more optimistic now than he was Sunday, when the right-hander left his start in the sixth inning with a right groin strain. Detroit has an off day Thursday, so the Tigers can skip Zimmermann's next turn without needing to add anybody to the rotation.

NHL

The San Jose Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues 6-3 in the Western Conference final. The Sharks take a 3-2 series lead back to San Jose for Game 6. Joe Pavelski had two goals and an assist.  The Sharks can advance to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in their team history with a victory Wednesday night at home.

Tampa Bay has a three-games-to-two lead over Pittsburgh in the NHL's Eastern Conference finals. Game 6 is tonight in Tampa.

NBA

Toronto beat Cleveland 105-95.  Kyle Lowry had 35 points and DeMar DeRozan added 32 as the Toronto Raptors tied the Eastern Conference final at two games apiece.  Bismack Biyombo followed up his 26-rebound performance in Game 3 Saturday night with 14 boards in this one. Game 5 is Wednesday night in Cleveland.

Oklahoma City has a 2-1 lead in the NBA's Western Conference finals.  The Thunder play game 4 tonight at Golden State.

Green Fined for Kick

Good news for Warriors fans. Golden State forward Draymond Green will be on the court Tuesday night.  Green has been fined $25,000 but not suspended by the NBA for kicking Oklahoma City's Steven Adams in the groin Sunday night.

Girls’ Soccer

Marshall beat Coldwater 2-0 in the I-8 Semi-final.   Interstate Eight co-champions Marshall and Jackson Lumen Christi will meet on Thursday for the Gold Cup finals.

Harper Creek 2, Jackson Northwest 1.

Delton Kellogg 4, Fennville 0.

Softball

Harper Creek swept Otsego, 13-3 and 10-8.

Lakeview swept Battle Creek Central, 18-1 and 19-0.

Climax-Scotts took two from Burr Oak, 9-3 and 16-4.

Olivet swept Perry.

Bronson swept Galesburg-Augusta.

Colon beat Waldron twice.

No X-Games for Detroit

Detroit will not bid for the 2017 Summer X Games because Ford Field and Joe Louis Arena wouldn't be available as venues for the weeklong competition. David Beachnau of the Detroit Sports Commission tells the Detroit Free Press he's optimistic about a possible bid in the future.

Brady Appeal

Tom Brady will appeal his four-game "Deflategate" suspension by the NFL, seeking a second hearing before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.  Brady wants a hearing from the full 13-member court after three judges ruled 2-1 that commissioner Roger Goodell was within his power to issue the suspension.  Brady could ultimately try to take his case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

French Open

For the second straight day, rain has forced the postponement of matches at the French Open, but not before Stan Wawrinka escaped a scare.  The defending men's champion needed five sets to defeat the 59th-ranked Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic, 4-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

NFL Concussions

A senior House Democrat has found that National Football League officials improperly sought to influence a government study on the link between football and brain disease. The report by New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone says the league tried to strong-arm the National Institutes of Health into taking the project away from a researcher that the NFL feared was biased.  The NFL had agreed to donate $30 million to the NIH to fund brain research but backed out after the NIH refused to take a $16 million grant away from Boston University researcher Robert Stern, who is a leading expert on the link between football and brain diseases.