MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
Detroit Tigers 10, Cleveland Guardians 1
Chicago Cubs 8, Baltimore Orioles 0
White Sox were off
Tigers 10, Guardians 1 – Greene drives in 3 runs, Flaherty adds to trade value and Tigers beat Guardians 10-1
Riley Greene drove in three runs on three hits and Jack Flaherty pitched six strong innings, helping the Detroit Tigers beat the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians 10-1 to win their four-game series. Cleveland’s Bo Naylor homered in the third and Carson Kelly countered with his seventh of the season in the bottom of the inning, restoring Detroit’s three-run lead before the game turned into a rout. Greene’s two-run double in the fourth put the Tigers ahead 6-1, and Gio Urshela’s three-run double gave them a 10-1 lead in the sixth inning. Detroit is 6-1 in its last seven for its best stretch since winning six of its first seven games this season. Flaherty (6-5) allowed two hits, struck out four and walked two in his return from a back injury. the 28-year-old right-hander lowered his ERA to 3.13.
Cubs 8, Orioles 0 – Justin Steele baffles Orioles for 7 innings as Cubs complete sweep with 8-0 rout
Justin Steele pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, Seiya Suzuki had three extra-base hits and three RBIs, and the Chicago Cubs blanked the Baltimore Orioles 8-0 for a three-game sweep. Dansby Swanson homered for the Cubs, who outscored the AL East leaders 21-2 in becoming the first team to sweep the Orioles in Baltimore since Tampa Bay in August 2021. Chicago completed the sweep with a pair of shutouts, marking the first time the Orioles were blanked in successive games since June 23-24, 2021, during a season in which Baltimore finished 52-110.
Tonight
L.A. Dodgers (Paxton 7-2) at Detroit (Skubal 10-3), 6:40 p.m. News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM 6:15
Pittsburgh (TBD) at Chicago White Sox (Crochet 6-6), 8:10 p.m.
Chicago Cubs (Hendricks 1-7) at St. Louis (Gray 9-5), 8:15 p.m.
MLB – Cubs place outfielder Cody Bellinger on injured list with broken finger
The Chicago Cubs have placed outfielder Cody Bellinger on the 10-day injured list with a left middle finger fracture. Bellinger was hit by a pitch thrown by Cionel Pérez in the seventh inning of Wednesday night’s 4-0 victory over the Orioles. Bellinger initially stayed in the game but left shortly thereafter. There’s no telling how long the injury will keep him sidelined. Bellinger is batting .269 with nine homers and 37 RBIs. Chicago recalled outfielder Alexander Canario from Triple-A Iowa to fill the spot on the roster. Canario has appeared in 13 games with the Cubs
WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association
Last Night
New York Liberty 91, Chicago Sky 76
Liberty 91, Sky 76 – Ionescu, Jones lead New York to 91-76 win over Chicago; Reese extends double-double streak
Sabrina Ionescu scored 21 points and Jonquel Jones added 18 points and 13 rebounds to help the New York Liberty pull away to beat the Chicago Sky 91-76. Angel Reese extended her WNBA record double-double streak to 15 straight games finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds. New York (19-4) led 68-66 early in the fourth quarter before going on a 7-2 run to create some space. Reese’s 10th point got the Sky (9-13) within 78-72 with 3:51 left. But after a timeout, Ionescu hit a 3-pointer. Chennedy Carter scored 22 points to lead the Sky.
Tonight
Phoenix at Indiana, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
New York at Chicago, 1:00 p.m.
Sunday
Indiana at Minnesota, 4:00 p.m.
Serena Williams hosts ESPY’s awards show celebrating landmark year for women’s sports
Led by host Serena Williams, The ESPYS celebrated a landmark year for women’s sports, with Simone Biles, A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark, Dawn Staley and JuJu Watkins among the honorees on Thursday nigh at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The three-hour show on ABC was delayed when President Joe Biden’s nationally televised news conference started late. Host Serena Williams told jokes during her monologue and later sang. The show experienced a technical glitch in its closing minutes and as a result Williams’ goodnight and the credits were cut off during the live telecast in the East and Central time zones. ABC said the problems were corrected for tape-delayed viewing in the West.
Tennis – Paolini wins Wimbledon’s longest women’s semifinal and faces Krejcikova next
Jasmine Paolini has reached her second consecutive Grand Slam final with a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) victory over Donna Vekic at Wimbledon. She will face 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova in Saturday’s final. Krejcikova eliminated 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in Thursday’s second semifinal. Paolini is the No. 7 seed at the All England Club and her win at Centre Court follows her runner-up showing at Roland Garros last month. The 28-year-old Italian is the first woman to get to the title matches at the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season since Serena Williams did in 2016.
COPA – Uruguay players defend decision to enter crowd to protect families
Uruguay striker Luis Suárez defended his teammates’ decision to enter the stands following a 1-0 loss to Colombia in the Copa America semifinals, saying the action was necessary to defend families and supporters. After a physical and emotional game that included seven yellow cards and one red card, players exchanged words and shoves at midfield of Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday night. Uruguay players, including Darwin Núñez, noticed an altercation behind the team’s bench and about a dozen or so players then climbed into the stands as the melee continued.
Soccer – If Klopp is available, Curtin says no others need be interviewed by US Soccer
Philadelphia coach Jim Curtin thinks the search for Gregg Berhalter’s successor as U.S. coach doesn’t need to be complicated. Curtin says that if Jürgen Klopp is available, he’s the guy. Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Marcelo Bielsa also are among those being speculated about as candidates to lead the Americans into the 2026 World Cup, along with Curtin, Steve Cherundolo, Jesse Marsch, Hugo Pérez, Pellegrino Matarazzo, David Wagner, Massimiliano Allegri and Mauricio Pochettino.
NCAA – US appeals court says some athletes may qualify as employees under federal laws
A U.S. appeals court in Philadelphia has ruled that some college athletes may qualify as employees under federal wage-and-hour laws. The court says a test should be developed to differentiate students who play college sports for fun from those whose effort “crosses the legal line into work” that benefits the school. The NCAA had hoped to have the case dismissed. It now goes back to a trial judge for fact finding. The ruling follows a Supreme Court case that led the NCAA to allow athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness.
NFL – Bill Belichick joining ‘Inside the NFL’ for upcoming season
The CW Network announced Thursday that Bill Belichick will be one of the analysts on “Inside the NFL” this season. Belichick coached the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles during his 24 years at the helm. He will also appear this season on the Manningcast during “Monday Night Football.” Belichick joins Ryan Clark, Chad Johnson and Chris Long. Johnson and Long each played one season for Belichick in New England.
NFL – Longtime NFL assistant coach and defensive mastermind Monte Kiffin dies at age 84
Monte Kiffin, the longtime NFL and college assistant coach whose Tampa Bay defenses routinely ranked among the league’s best, died Thursday. He was 84. One of the architects of the ultra successful Tampa 2 defensive scheme, Kiffin spent 13 seasons as defensive coordinator of the Bucs under former coaches Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden from 1996 to 2008 and helped the franchise win the first of its two Super Bowl titles. The University of Mississippi football program announced on the social media platform X that Kiffin passed away surrounded by family and friends in Oxford, Mississippi, where Kiffin’s son, Lane, is coach of the Rebels.
MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Yesterday
Great Lakes 4, Fort Wayne 1 – Game 1
Fort Wayne 3, Great Lakes 2 – Game 2
Lansing 13, Lake County 4
Dayton 6, South Bend 1
Wisconsin 3, West Michigan 2
Tonight
Lansing Lugnuts at Lake County Captains, 7:00 p.m.
Fort Wayne Tin Caps at Great Lakes loons, 7:05 p.m.
South Bend Cubs at Dayton Dragons, 7:05 p.m.
West Michigan Whitecaps at Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, 7:40 p.m.
