Cubs rally from 4-0 deficit, but still fall at Houston 6-4 – WSJM Morning Sports

wsjm-2020-podcasts

MLB – Major League Baseball
Last Night
Houston Astros 6, Chicago Cubs 4
Tigers and White Sox were off

Astros 6, Cubs 4 – Bregman’s homer lifts Astros over Cubs 6-4; Bellinger hurt
Alex Bregman hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh inning to power the Houston Astros to a 6-4 win over the Chi cago Cubs. Houston led 4-0 after the first inning, but Christopher Morel slugged a three-run homer as the Cubs tied it by scoring four in the fourth. It was still knotted at 4-4 when Mauricio Dubón singled with two outs in the seventh. Bregman then launched his homer off Michael Fulmer to left to put the Astros on top. Chicago’s Cody Bellinger was injured when he robbed Kyle Tucker of extra bases with an acrobatic catch to end the inning.

Tonight
Pittsburgh (Ortiz 0-1) at Detroit (Lorenzen 1-2), 6:40 p.m.       News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM 6:15
Chicago Cubs (Steele 6-0) at Houston (Javier 3-1), 8:10 p.m.
Cleveland (Bieber 3-1) at Chicago White Sox (Lynn 1-5), 8:10 p.m.

MLB – Cubs’ Cody Bellinger injures left knee after crashing into wall vs. Astros
Chicago Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger left Monday night’s game against the Houston Astros with a left knee injury after making an acrobatic catch in the seventh inning. Bellinger robbed Kyle Tucker of extra bases when he leaped and crashed into the padded wall just in front of the Houston bullpen in right-center. The 2019 National League MVP appeared to turn his left ankle when he landed after making the grab and crumpled to the ground. Manager David Ross said after the game he believed Bellinger avoided a serious injury. He said team doctors didn’t find any ligament damage.

MLB – Oakland A’s reach agreement for potential stadium site on Las Vegas Strip
The Oakland Athletics have reached an agreement with Bally’s and Gaming & Leisure Properties to build a potential stadium on the Tropicana hotel site along the Las Vegas Strip. Bally’s on Monday unveiled plans for a 30,000-seat stadium on the 35-acre site. The project is expected to cost about $1.5 billion. The A’s are asking for nearly $400 million in public support from the Nevada Legislature, which could vote on a proposal this week.

MLB’s new pitch clock may be leading to more blown saves
The pitch clock has sped up baseball as hoped, and it might be leading to more exciting endings, too. A quarter of the way through Major League Baseball’s first season with the pitch timer, relief pitchers seem to be bearing the most stress from it, with save conversions dropping to 61.4% from 67.8% at a similar point last season. The save percentage is near the bottom range of the past decade, which averaged 65.1%, MLB said Monday. The high was 70% in 2015 and the low 61% in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Pitchers say the stress of the late innings has become more difficult to process with the pitch clock.

NHL – National Hockey League – 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Round 2 (Best of 7)
Last Night
Dallas Stars 2, Seattle Kraken 1                                           (DAL wins 4-3)

Stars 2, Kraken 1 – Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston score as Stars beat Kraken 2-1 in Game 7 to advance to West final
Roope Hintz and Wyatt Johnston scored goals and the Dallas Stars advanced to the Western Conference final with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Kraken in Game 7. Dallas moves on to play first-year coach Pete DeBoer’s former team, the Vegas Golden Knights. Game 1 of the West final is Friday night in Las Vegas. DeBoer improved to 7-0 in Game 7s. The 19-year-old Johnston made it 2-0 with 7:12 left, when he gathered a puck that ricocheted off the back board to the left of the Seattle net and scored. Jake Oettinger had 22 saves, and the only Seattle score came with 17.6 seconds left.

NBA – National Basketball Association Playoffs – Conference Finals (Best of 7)
Tonight
Western Conference Finals
Los Angeles Lakers at Denver Nuggets, 8:30 p.m.                      (Game 1)

NBA – Wembanyama about to learn his NBA destination, with the draft lottery on Tuesday
Draft Lottery day has arrived, and the NBA is about to learn which team will win the chance to select Victor Wembanyama next month. The lottery will be held Tuesday night in Chicago, where 14 teams will have a chance to win the No. 1 pick for the June 22 draft. Detroit, Houston and San Antonio all have the best chance of winning, at 14% apiece. Wembanyama is a 7-foot-3, 19-year-old phenom from France who is wrapping up his third professional season there and has been the consensus top pick for months.  The Draft Lottery will be shown at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN

NBA – Ja Morant in limbo again as he awaits review of latest gun video on social media
Ja Morant still had his endorsement deals Monday. His latest gun video on social media is costing him plenty in public relations currency, but he hasn’t lost any money because of it. That could change any day. Once again, Morant is in limbo. He’s awaiting the outcome of yet another NBA investigation into what could end up becoming a cataclysmic off-court decision. The clock is ticking with Game 1 of the NBA Finals is scheduled for June 1. Commissioner Adam Silver traditionally holds a news conference before the Finals. Morant’s status will be a big topic as league officials gather information about the latest off-court issue involving Morant and possible firearms.

NFL – Bears sign 1st-round selection Darnell Wright, 2 more draft picks
The Chicago Bears have signed first-round draft pick Darnell Wright to his rookie contract. The Bears chose the Tennessee offensive tackle with the No. 10 overall pick in the NFL draft late last month to give quarterback Justin Fields more protection. Wright played a big role in Tennessee going 11-2 and finishing sixth in the final AP Top 25 poll. Chicago also signed South Carolina defensive tackle Zacch Pickens and Cincinnati wide receiver Tyler Scott to their rookie deals. Chicago has seven of its 10 draft picks under contract.

NFL – QB Matt Ryan joins CBS as analyst, says he’s not retiring as player
Matt Ryan has joined CBS as an analyst, though he’s not giving up on landing with another team as a quarterback. The four-time Pro Bowler and the 2016 NFL MVP joins CBS to serve as a studio and game analyst across multiple platforms for the upcoming season. He also wrote on his Twitter account that "this is not a retirement post.” The 37-year-old Ryan is coming off a disappointing season with the Indianapolis Colts, who acquired him in a trade last year after he spent 14 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. Now, he’s ready to give broadcasting a try.

NFL – Peacock will exclusively carry NFL playoff game in a first for streaming service
The NFL is taking another big step into streaming by putting one of its playoff games exclusively on a digital platform for the first time. The league and NBCUniversal announced that the Saturday night game on Wild Card weekend will be on Peacock. It will be preceded by a late afternoon playoff game on NBC and Peacock that will kick off at 4:30 p.m. EST. The Peacock game will also be broadcast on NBC stations in the markets of the two teams. Subscription rates for Peacock start at $4.99 per month.

MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
No games last night

Today
West Michigan Whitecaps at Great Lakes Loons, 11:05 a.m.
Lake County Captains at Lansing Lugnuts, 6:00 p.m.
South Bend Cubs at Beloit Sky Carp, 7:05 p.m.

MHSAA – High School Sports
Yesterday
Baseball
Kalamazoo Central 5, Watervliet 4 – 11 Inn. – Game 1
Watervliet 11, Kalamazoo Central 5 – Game 2
Berrien Springs 10, Constantine 2 – Game 1
Berrien Springs 5, Constantine 3 – Game 2
Allegan 15, Fennville 0 – Game 1
Allegan 14, Fennville 1 – Game 2
Delton-Kellogg 5, Saugatuck 1 – Game 1
Saugatuck 19, Delton-Kellogg 18 – Game 2
Lawton 12, Schoolcraft 7 – Game 1
Schoolcraft 13, Lawton 3 – Game 2
Bloomingdale 3, Bangor 2 – Game 1
Bangor 16, Bloomingdale 6 – Game 2
Hartford 10, Cassopolis 5 – Game 1
Hartford 7, Cassopolis 5 – Game 2
Lawrence 14, White Pigeon 6 – Game 1
Lawrence 2, White Pigeon 0 – Game 2
Loy Norrix 17, Lansing Everett 2 – Game 1
Loy Norrix 17, Lansing Everett 1 – Game 2
Portage Northern 17, Three Rivers 1 – Game 1
Portage Northern 12, Three Rivers 0 – Game 2

Softball
Lakeshore 4, Niles 1 – Game 1
Lakeshore 11, Niles 3 – Game 2
Michigan Lutheran 25, Benton Harbor 0 – Game 1
Michigan Lutheran 28, Benton Harbor 7 – Game 2
Constantine 7, Berrien Springs 4 – Game 1
Berrien Springs 9, Constantine 1 – Game 2
Kalamazoo Central 8, Watervliet 5 – Game 1
Kalamazoo Central 4, Watervliet 1 – Game 2
Fennville 27, Allegan 15 – Game 1
Allegan 9, Fennville 8 – Game 2
Delton-Kellogg 9, Saugatuck 7 – Game 1
Delton-Kellogg 10, Saugatuck 4 – Game 2
Schoolcraft 18, Lawton 0 – Game 1
Schoolcraft 20, Lawton 1
Decatur 8, Gobles 0 – Game 1
Decatur 12, Gobles 2 – Game 2
Bangor 9, Bloomingdale 0 – Game 1
Bangor 6, Bloomingdale 5 – Game 2
White Pigeon 8, Lawrence 7 – Game 1
Lawrence 8, White Pigeon 5 – Game 2
Mattawan 17, Battle Creek Central 0 – Game 1
Mattawan 16, Battle Creek Central 0 – Game 2
Portage Northern 8, Three Rivers 0 – Game 1
Portage Northern 16, Three Rivers 6 – Game 2

Girls Soccer
SMAC Tournament
Mattawan 4, Lakeshore 0
Portage Central 1, Gull Lake 0
St. Joseph 3, Portage Northern 2 – OT
Battle Creek Lakeview 2, Loy Norrix 0
Kal. Central 9, Battle Creek Central 1

Wolverine
Vicksburg 7, Edwardsburg 1
Otsego 1, Paw Paw 0
Plainwell 8, Niles 0
Three Rivers 9, Sturgis 1

BCS
Michigan Lutheran 5, New Buffalo 0
Non-Conference

Dowagiac 5, Constantine 2

SAC
Schoolcraft 2, Bridgman 0
Fennville 2, Delton-Kellogg 2 – TIE
Allegan 2, Holland Black River 0
Kalamazoo Christian 8, Watervliet 0
Saugatuck 8, Lawton 0

Southwest 10
Hartford 6, Bloomingdale 4
Marcellus 1, Bangor 0

Today
Baseball
Lakeshore at Portage Central, 4:30 p.m.
Michigan Lutheran at New Buffalo, 4:15 p.m.
Brandywine at Watervliet, 4:30 p.m.
Kalamazoo Christian at Buchanan, 4:30 p.m.
Bridgman at Coloma, 4:30 p.m.
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix at South Haven, 4:00 p.m.
River Valley at Eau Claire, 4:15 p.m.
Plainwell at Niles, 4:00 p.m.
Paw Paw at Otsego, 4:00 p.m.
Three Rivers at Sturgis, 4:00 p.m.
Edwardsburg at Vicksburg, 4:00 p.m.
Mattawan at Ada Forest Hills Eastern, 4:15 p.m.
Gobles at Holland Black River, 4:30 p.m.
Kalamazoo Hackett at Parchment, 4:00 p.m.
Centreville at Colon, 4:30 p.m.
Comstock at Marcellus, 4:30 p.m.

Softball
St. Joseph at Dowagiac, 4:00 p.m.
Our Lady of the Lake at Howardsville Chr. 4:15 p.m.
South Haven at Mattawan, 4:00 p.m.
Kalamazoo Christian at Buchanan, 4:30 p.m.
Bridgman at Coloma, 4:30 p.m.
River Valley at Eau Claire, 4:15 p.m.
Plainwell at Niles, 4:00 p.m.
Paw Paw at Otsego, 4:00 p.m.
Three Rivers at Sturgis, 4:00 p.m.
Edwardsburg at Vicksburg, 4:00 p.m.
Battle Creek Central at Portage Central, 4:00 p.m.
Kalamazoo Hackett at Parchment, 4:00 p.m.
Centreville at Colon, 4:30 p.m.
Comstock at Marcellus, 4:30 p.m.

Girls Soccer
Michigan Lutheran at Berrien Springs, 5:30 p.m.
Coloma at Watervliet, 5:30 p.m.
Bangor at Hartford, 3:30 p.m.
Fennville at Lawton, 6:00 p.m.
Kalamazoo Hackett at Parchment, 6:00 p.m.