Sports Roundup: Tigers Continue to Struggle

Tigers  
The Tigers lost 2 of 3 to the Mariners at Comerica Park over the weekend, playing one of their worst games of the season on Sunday in an 8-1 loss. Chris Young pitched six shutout innings as the Mariners moved back ahead of the Tigers in the race for the second AL wild-card spot. Victor Martinez started at first and had two of the Tigers’ 5 hits and knocked in the only Tiger run.  Tigers rookie Robbie Ray struggled while replacing injured Anibal Sanchez. He allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings.  The Tigers made three errors. The Detroit Tigers purchased the contract of former All-Star pitcher Jim Johnson and optioned reliever Melvin Mercedes to Triple-A Toledo before the game.  Johnson was shelled in his first Tiger appearance, giving up 3 runs in just two-thirds of an inning. Seattle's Lloyd McClendon, managing his first series in Detroit after serving as Jim Leyland's hitting coach, was ejected for the second straight game. McClendon was tossed for arguing after Detroit's Alex Avila drew a seventh-inning walk.  The Tigers are off today as they head out on a road trip.  Max Scherzer goes for his 15^th win tomorrow night in Tampa.

Pure Michigan 400

Pole sitter Jeff Gordon finished first in the Michigan 400 Sprint Cup race at Michigan International speedway…his first Michigan win in 13 years. The win is his third of the season. Gordon finished in front of Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano. Tony Stewart sat out his second straight race following the death of Kevin Ward Jr. in a sprint car tragedy when Ward was struck by Stewart's car. Johnny Sauter won the NASCAR Truck Series race at MIS, holding off Matt Crafton by about a half-second. Sauter also took over the points lead on Saturday.

New Nascar Rule

Sprint Cup rookie Kyle Larson had to get out of his car quickly after crashing into the wall near the midway point of yesterday's race at Michigan International Speedway. NASCAR on Friday announced a rule barring drivers from approaching the track or moving cars after accidents. But drivers can exit as quickly as they need to if a car is on fire. Larson got out and stayed close to his car.

Indy Car

IndyCar points leader and pole sitter Will Power took the checkered flag at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.

Pro Golf

First round leader Camilo Villegas fought back to win the PGA's Wyndham Championship. He shot a final round 7-under-63 to finish 17-under-par, one shot in front of Bill Haas and Freddie Jacobson, with Heath Slocum one shot further back.

Inbee Park successfully defended her title in the LPGA Championship, beating Brittany Lincicome on the first hole of a playoff Sunday.

Calhoun County Amateur

Jared Multer won the Calhoun County Amateur Golf Championship Regular Division by 5 strokes over fellow EMU golfer Brett White.  Multer is a 2012 Lakeview grad.  54 year old Michael Mason of Mason won the senior division. Taylor Haudek was the top women’s division golfer.  George Zollner won the “Super Senior” 70+ division.

NABF World Series

Stratford Connecticut won the NABF World Series, beating the defending champion Pittsburgh/St. Johns Lefties 4-0.  The Storm had eliminated host team HBC/Behnke on Saturday with an 8-4 win.

Verlander Misses Start

Justin Verlander missed his first-ever start due to a health concern yesterday. His spot in the rotation was skipped due to right shoulder inflammation.  Verlander has never hit the disabled list in his career.  He will get back to baseball activities tomorrow.

College Football Rankings

The Michigan State football team is 8^th ranked in the A.P. college football poll.   Ohio State is 5^th and Michigan is unranked.

The Joe gets 3.25 mil to Fix Parking Garage

Joe Louis Arena is getting $3.25 million in repairs to its parking garage despite the fact that the Detroit Red Wings venue is slated to close. The city of Detroit will spend $2 million to fix structural damage to the Joe Louis Arena parking garage. The Red Wings will spend about $1.25 million to repair 600 parking spaces.

Lions
The Lions will face the Jaguars on Friday night.  Calvin Johnson should make his first appearance of the pre-season.    After Jacksonville, the Lions play the Bills in a preseason game before opening the regular season against the New York Giants September 8th.