MLB – Major League Baseball

Yesterday

Detroit Tigers 4, Texas Rangers 2

Minnesota Twins 7, Chicago White Sox 2

St. Louis Cardinals 3, Chicago Cubs 2 – F/10 Innings

Tigers 4, Rangers 2 – Manning, Tigers win 6th in row, hand Texas 8th straight loss

Matt Manning pitched six strong innings and the Detroit Tigers won their sixth straight game, beating the skidding Texas Rangers 4-2. Robbie Grossman, Zack Short and Akil Baddoo hit home runs as the Tigers matched their longest winning streak since an eight-game run in 2016. Detroit has allowed a total of seven runs during this success string. The Rangers have lost eight in a row. They’ve been outscored 47-5 in six games since the All-Star break and have played 69 straight innings without holding a lead.

Twins 7, White Sox 2 – Kepler, Polanco power Twins past AL Central-leading Chicago

Max Kepler homered in his second straight game, Jorge Polanco also went deep, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 7-2 on Wednesday night. The Twins beat the AL Central leaders for just the fourth time in 16 games. They bounced back after Chicago rallied late to win Tuesday’s game and came out on top after losing five of six. Michael Pineda (4-5) went five innings, allowing one run and four hits, in his first win since May 26.

Cardinals 3, Cubs 2 – F/10 – Molina lifts Cards to 3-2 win over Cubs in 10 innings

Yadier Molina doubled home the winning run against All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel in the 10th inning to give the St. Louis Cardinals a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Adam Wainwright pitched seven strong innings for the Cardinals. Harrison Bader and Dylan Carlson each hit an RBI double in the seventh to put St. Louis ahead 2-1. Bader also robbed Willson Contreras of an early two-run homer. Chicago tied it in the ninth on pinch-hitter Eric Sogard’s run-scoring double off Giovanny Gallegos.

Today

Texas Rangers at Detroit Tigers, 1:10 p.m.    94.9 WSJM/103.7 Cosy-FM 12:50

Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals, 7:15 p.m.

White Sox are off

MLB – White Sox rookie catcher Mercedes says he’s leaving baseball

Yermín Mercedes, the surprising rookie who helped carry the Chicago White Sox with his booming bat early in the season and got sent to the minors following a prolonged slump, says he is stepping away from baseball. Mercedes announced his decision on Instagram on Wednesday. He posted an image of the words “it’s over.”

NBA – NBA Finals up over last year, but post 4th-lowest average

Television ratings for the NBA Finals and playoffs posted sizable increases over last year. But that was the only good news for the NBA as far as viewer numbers. The six-game series between the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns averaged 9.91 million viewers, a 32% increase over last year’s series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, which also went six games. However, the average makes it the fourth-lowest since 1997. Milwaukee’s 105-98 victory over Phoenix on Tuesday night attracted the most viewers in the series, averaging 12.52 million.

NBA – Title rewards Antetokounmpo's decision to commit to Bucks

This could have been the offseason in which Giannis Antetokounmpo entered the free-agent market and potentially joined forces with another superstar player to try winning multiple titles together.  Antetokounmpo will spend the summer celebrating a title instead. Leading the Milwaukee Bucks to their first championship in half century rewarded Antetokounmpo for his December decision to sign a supermax extension with them. Antetokounmpo averaged 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds and 5 assists to help the Bucks beat the Phoenix Suns 4-2 in the NBA Finals.

NHL – Seattle Kraken sets first roster, will open season at Vegas

The Seattle Kraken have set their initial roster.