Sports: Tigers win 9-5 on Upton and J.D. Home Runs

The Tigers finally beat the Indians, a 9-5 win on Sunday after dropping the first two in Cleveland.  The Tigers won for only the second time in 15 meetings with the Tribe this season.  Daniel Norris started for Detroit, and got behind 2-0 in the second.  The Tigers went ahead 3-2 on a key hit by Erick Aybar.  Justin Upton homered in the 5th to make it 5-2.  The Tigers continued to chip away with runs in the 5th and 6th to go up 6-4.   J.D. Martinez completed the scoring with a 3-run homer in the 9th.  Miguel Cabrera got his 2,500th career hit in the game.

The Tigers are 7 games behind the Indians in the Central Division, and two games behind Toronto for the final Wild Card spot in the American League.   The Tigers are off today and head to Target Field in Minnesota for the first of three on Tuesday.   Matt Boyd starts for the Tigers.

Three Tigers Hit By Pitches

Indians’ starter Trevor Bauer hit three Tiger batters in Sunday’s game including a pitch that struck Ian Kinsler on the helmet.  Kinsler grabbed the side of his head after the pitch knocked off his helmet.   At first check,  Kinsler was ok, but it became apparent later that he may indeed have suffered a concussion as a result of being hit in the head with the pitch.  Kinsler was on the umpires for not warning Bauer, and was ejected after the bottom of the fifth.   Manager Brad Ausmus said Kinsler was tossed due to a misunderstanding.   The umpire thought he was making a gesture at him, when Kinsler was just communicating with team members regarding defensive alignment.   Cabrera and Victor Martinez also were hit.  Daniel Norris threw behind former Tiger Rajai Davis in the 3^rd to send a message to the Cleveland Bench.

Lions

The lost to the Tennessee Titans Sunday, 16-15 in their home opener.     The Lions made few big plays on offense on the day, getting one touchdown on a 24 yard pass from Matthew Stafford to Anquan Boldin.   The defense made a lot of big plays, several by Devin Taylor.  But the Lions’ defense couldn’t stop Titan’s Quarterback Marcus Mariota on a final drive as he  moved the Tennessee Titans down the field , converting a fourth down with a perfectly lofted 9-yard touchdown pass to Andre Johnson with 1:13 left.  The Lions had a chance to set up a winning field goal in the final minute for a second straight week, but Matthew Stafford threw an interception to Perrish Cox at midfield with 18 seconds left.   Lion’s defensive end Ziggy Ansah left in the first quarter against Tennessee with a left ankle injury. Detroit also lost running back Ameer Abdullah and tight end Eric Ebron in Sunday's game, in which the Lions wasted a 15-3 lead and lost 16-15 at Ford Field.   The Lions head to Green Bay this Sunday.

NFL

Sam Bradford had a Minnesota debut almost as dazzling as the new $1.1 billion building itself, completing 22 of 30 passes for 286 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers to lead the Vikings to a 17-14 victory over the Green Bay Packers Sunday night. The impressive win came just 15 days after he arrived in a trade from Philadelphia.

New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a right shoulder injury late in the first half of yesterday's 31-24 win over Miami, leaving the offense in the hands of third-stringer Jacoby Brissett for the remainder of the game. The Pats didn't reveal much about Garoppolo's injury after he completed 18 of 24 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns. Garoppolo is starting in place of Tom Brady, who has served half of his four-game suspension for his role in "Deflategate."

College Football

It was a good weekend for Michigan’s College Football teams, as WMU, CMU and EMU all had big wins.  Michigan and Michigan State also won in decisive fashion.

College Football AP Top 25

1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Louisville
4. Michigan
5. Clemson
6. Michigan State

NASCAR

Martin Truex Jr. took the lead after a late restart and pulled away to open NASCAR's Sprint Cup playoff with a victory at Chicagoland Speedway.  Joey Logano was second, followed by Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney. Brad Keselowski was 5^th.

IndyCar Racing

Simon Pagenaud won at Sonoma Raceway to give Roger Penske an IndyCar championship on the 50th anniversary of one of the most storied organization in motorsports. The Frenchman won his first career IndyCar title in his second season driving for Penske, doing it in dominating fashion to win the season finale.

Collmenter Wins with  Braves

Homer native Josh Collmenter picked up a win in his first start for the Atlanta Braves.  Collmenter worked 5 innings, striking out 8 and giving up two runs in a 7-3 win over the Nationals.