Sports Roundup: Tigers go 2-7 on the road.

Tigers 

The Tigers were swept inPittsburgh, losing 4-2 last night. Rookie left-hander Robbie Ray started in place of the injured Anibal Sanchez, and went 5 innings.  He gave up 4 runs and struck out 5.  Reliever Phil Coke didn’t help, giving up an Ike Davis double to score the final run forPittsburgh.  Alex Avila had two hits, including a home run, for the Tigers. The Pirates made some key plays and the Tigers didn’t.  The Tigers went 2-7 on the road trip and head toDetroitfor the next two games.   Buck Farmer will make his first major league start tonight for the Tigers against the Pirates.  Farmer hasn’t even pitched at Triple A yet, and was recently with the West Michigan Whitecaps.  Broadcast time is 6:40 on WBCK.

Verlander OK

Justin Verlander has been diagnosed with inflammation in his right shoulder, but no major structural damage that would keep the former American League MVP out for more than one start.  An MRI exam Tuesday on Verlander's sore shoulder revealed inflammation and what head athletic trainer Kevin Rand called "normal wear and tear" from the pitches and innings built up over the years, but nothing major. It was essentially the best-case scenario after Verlander left Monday's 11-6 loss to the Pirates after one inning with soreness in his shoulder.

Killer Sentenced in EMU Death

A man who confessed to robbing and killingEasternMichiganUniversitywide receiver Demarius Reed has been sentenced to 18 to 30 years in prison. Kristopher Pratt apologized to the family of theChicagonative beforeWashtenawCountytrial Judge Donald Shelton issued the sentence. Pratt pleaded guilty to second-degree murder as part of a plea deal.

Pure Michigan 400

You can win tickets to Michigan International Speedway for the upcoming August 17th NASCAR Sprint Cup Race, The Pure Michigan 400.  We’ll have a drawing from among our trivia finalists this morning at 7:50, and award two tickets and pit passes to this Sunday’s race.   Tickets are on sale at M-I Speedway dot com.

Lions 

The Lions head to the west coast to play the Oakland Raiders this Friday night.  Lions’ defensive end Ziggy Ansah has been taken off the physically unable to perform list and has been cleared to return to practice.  Ansah had been sidelined following offseason shoulder surgery. Receiver TJ Jones is the onlyDetroit player left on the PUP list. Jones underwent surgery to repair a shoulder injury in June.

 Johnny Manziel's NFL debut against the Detroit Lions produced record television ratings for the NFL Network. The August 9th Cleveland-Detroit game was the most-watched preseason game in the Network's history.

Pistons-Monroe

Forward Greg Monroe is staying with the Detroit Pistons at least for one more season.

"USA Today" reportsMonroewill sign the Pistons nearly 5.5-million-dollar qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent in the 2015 offseason.

NABF Regional 

The NABF World Series gets underway tonight inBattle Creek.  HBC Behnke is the host team at the NABF World Series starting Wednesday inBattle Creek.  The first game features host team HBC/Behnke against the defending champs, Pittsburgh/St. Johns.  First pitch is 7:30 Wednesday at C.O. Brown stadium.