Sports Roundup: Verlander powers Tigers to 6-3 win!

Tigers

Victor Martinez and Miguel Cabrera hit two-out homers off Seattle starter Hisashi Iwakuma. The Tigers beat the Mariners 6-3 on Friday night.  Cabrera hit a two-run homer in the third off Iwakuma (3-2) to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.   In the 5^th inning, Seattle Manager and former Tigers’ hitting coach Lloyd McClendon intentionally walked Miguel Cabrera to pitch to Victor Martinez.  Victor Martinez blasted a 3-run homer on a 10 pitch at-bat.  Tiger’s outfielder Rajai Davis was back in the lineup after bruising a shoulder diving for a ball in Oakland on Wednesday. Detroit's Justin Verlander made just one mistake on the mound in 7 2-3 strong innings to improve to 6-4.  He allowed five hits, struck out seven and walked one.   Joba Chamberlain finished up in the ninth.  It’s game 2 in Seattle tonight.     Broadcast time is 9:45 on WBCK-FM.  Drew Smyly will pitch for the Tigers.  The Tigers lead the Central Division by 5 ½ games.

Bombers

The Kalamazoo Growlers beat the Battle Creek Bombers 13-3 in the first-ever home game for the new franchise. A sellout crowd of 4,910 came through the turnstiles, three years after the Kalamazoo Kings of the Independent Frontier League folded.  The Bombers host the Lakeshore Shinooks tonight at C.O. Brown Stadium.

NBA Playoffs

The Miami Heat have joined the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers as the only teams to reach the NBA Finals in four consecutive years.  The Heat did it by crushing the Indiana Pacers 117-92 in Game 6 in Miami.  LeBron James finished with 25 points on 8 of 12 shooting and had six assists before sitting out the fourth quarter.  San Antonio leads the best-of-seven series 3-2 and can close it out in Oklahoma City tonight.

NHL Playoffs

The NHL's Western Conference finals are headed back to Chicago for a Game 7 on Sunday.     The Blackhawks stretched the series to the limit by scoring two unanswered goals over the final 8:26 to beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-3. Patrick Kane provided the game-winner with 3:45 left.  Kane also scored a power-play goal in the second period.

Boys Golf

Olivet High boys’ golf team will be making the school’s first-ever appearance as a full squad at the state finals next weekend after the Eagles placed second at a Division 3 regional it hosted Friday at The Medalist Golf Club in Marshall.

At Mason, Marshall finished third to advance to next weekend’s D-2 championships in East Lansing.  Leading the Redhawks’ was Aaron McCoy with a 76

High School Baseball

St. Phillip’s season ended, as Kalamazoo Christian won it, 9-3.

Athens defeated Tekonsha 7-2 in the semifinals before falling to Concord 9-1.

Softball

Athens downed Tekonsha 18-3 in the semifinal and then lost 8-7 to Concord in the title game.

Harper Creek will open district play today at Jackson Northwest. Pennfield plays at Parma Western.

Girls’ Soccer

The Marshall Redhawks will advance to Saturday’s noon title game against Jackson Lumen Christi.

Detroit Grand Prix

Detroit becomes the motorsports city this weekend as the Chevrolet Detroit Bell Isle Grand Prix makes its return to the island park. Yesterday was Free Prix Day and visitors to Belle Isle were able to watch several events including IndyCar Series practice and qualifying, TUDOR SportsCar Championship practice and Pirelli World Challenge Series practice. Qualifications will continue today leading up to the Indy Dual in Detroit on Sunday afternoon.

Richard Westbrook took the pole Friday for today's Chevrolet Sports Car Classic, the fifth race of the inaugural TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season.

NASCAR

This Sunday the NASCAR Sprint Cup goes to the Monster Mile, Dover International Speedway, for the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks.

Malone to Coach on Pistons

Former assistant coach Brendan Malone is returning to the Detroit Pistons. The team said Malone and two more assistants, Bob Beyer and Charles Klask, are joining Stan Van Gundy's staff. Malone was an assistant on Van Gundy's staff at the Orlando Magic, from 2007-12. He also was a Pistons assistant coach in 1989-90 when Detroit won consecutive NBA championships under Chuck Daly.

Pro Golf

Paul Casey carded his second straight 6-under 66 on Friday and grabbed a 3-stroke lead after two rounds of the Memorial Tournament.

Golf Card

You can check out seven of the area's finest golf courses for half price!  The WBCK Golf Card gets you a $135 value in green's fees for just $59 bucks!  Pretty good deal for Dad, a birthday, or just a way to get out and enjoy yourself without breaking the bank!   Go to wbck fm dot com and pick one up today!  But hurry. There’s a limited number available.  Get ‘em while you can.