Monday Sports – Tigers win the battle of the best with series win over Cubs

cubs-tigers-baseball

MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
Detroit Tigers 4, Chicago Cubs 0
Kansas City Royals 7, Chicago White Sox 5

Tigers 4, Cubs 0 – Flaherty fans 9 in 6 scoreless innings as Tigers beat Cubs 4-0 in matchup of AL-NL leaders
Jack Flaherty struck out nine over six scoreless innings as the Detroit Tigers defeated the Chicago Cubs 4-0 and took two of three games in a matchup of two of the MLB’s top teams. The AL Central-leading Tigers improved to 43-24, while the NL Central-best Cubs fell to 40-25. Flaherty (5-6) allowed two hits and three walks. After a rough start, the 29-year-old right-hander is 3-1 with a 1.46 ERA and 29 strikeouts in his last four starts. Cubs rookie starter Cade Horton (3-1) took his first career loss, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks in six innings. Detroit took a 2-0 lead on Spencer Torkelson’s two-run double in the first and Flaherty retired the first nine batters he faced. The Tigers doubled the lead in the fifth on a two-run double by Riley Greene.  The game drew a crowd of 40,343, the third sellout of the weekend after the Tigers had only sold out two games all season. The weekend total of 121,509 is the second-highest series attendance for a three-game series since August 2014.

Royals 7, White Sox 5 – Jonathan India hits a tiebreaking double as the Royals beat the White Sox 7-5
Jonathan India hit a tiebreaking double in Kansas City’s two-run seventh inning, and the Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 7-5 to avoid a series sweep. Salvador Perez and Bobby Witt Jr. each hit a two-run homer for Kansas City, which had lost three of four. Jac Caglianone went 4 for 4 in his sixth major league game. The Royals also got a big lift from Michael Lorenzen, who pitched six effective innings for his first win since April 29. Miguel Vargas hit a two-run homer for the White Sox, who had won three in a row.

Tonight
Chicago Cubs (Boyd 5-3) at Philadelphia (Wheeler 6-2), 6:45 p.m.
Tigers and White Sox are off

NBA – National Basketball Association – 2025 NBA Finals (best of 7)
Last Night
Oklahoma City Thunder 123, Indiana Pacers 107                                 Series tied 1-1

Thunder 123, Pacers 107 – Thunder open another big lead, topping Pacers 123-107 to even NBA Finals
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points, Alex Caruso added 20 off the bench and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers 123-107 on Sunday night to tie the NBA Finals at one game apiece. Jalen Williams scored 19, Aaron Wiggins had 18 and Chet Holmgren scored 15 for the Thunder. It was the franchise’s first finals game win since the opener of the 2012 series against Miami. Tyrese Haliburton scored 17 for Indiana, which erased a 15-point fourth quarter deficit in Game 1 but never made a push on Sunday.

NBA – Pacers fail to sweep Games 1 and 2 in a series for the first time in these playoffs
For the Indiana Pacers, a chance at being perfect in Games 1 and 2 of these playoffs went awry. They’ll have to settle for a mere split of the opening two games in the NBA Finals instead. The Pacers’ bid to become the fifth team in NBA history to go 8-0 to open the four playoff rounds — sweeping Games 1 and 2 in all four series — was stopped on Sunday night by the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder took control early and won Game 2 of the NBA Finals 123-107, tying the championship matchup at a game apiece.

NHL – National Hockey League – 2025 Stanley Cup Finals (best of 7)
Tonight
Edmonton Oilers at Florida Panthers, 8:00 p.m.                                 Series tied 1-1

NHL – Panthers-Oilers Stanley Cup Final is as tight as can be. Game 3 could tilt the series
The second consecutive Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers has been about as even as a series can get through two games, with each winning one in overtime. The Panthers have led for more time, the Oilers have gotten more shots on net and a bounce or two here or there could have changed the complexion of where these teams are at. That’s still the case going into Game 3 on Monday night with the chance that small adjustments could tilt the series one way or the other.

NASCAR – Hamlin wins at Michigan for his 3rd NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season
Denny Hamlin outlasted the competition at Michigan, winning his third NASCAR Cup Series race this season and the 57th of his career. Hamlin went low to pass William Byron on the 197th of 200 laps and pulled away from the pack in the No. 11 Toyota. The 44-year-old was prepared to leave to join his fiancée, Jordan Fish, who is due to give birth to their third child, a boy. Hamlin said he would skip next week’s race in Mexico City if necessary to witness the birth. Chris Buescher finished second, followed by Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson.

WNBA – Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot to miss remainder of season with torn ACL
Chicago Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot will miss the remainder of the season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Vandersloot left Chicago’s 79-52 loss to Indiana on Saturday night in the first quarter and did not return. The Sky announced Sunday that Vandersloot had an MRI that revealed the torn ACL and will undergo surgery to repair the injury. The 5-foot-8 point guard was averaging 10.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists.

Golf – Ryan Fox wins Canadian Open with ‘best shot I’ve ever hit’ in playoff
Ryan Fox is a PGA Tour winner for the second time in five weeks. He hit what he calls the best shot he’s ever hit to beat Sam Burns on the fourth playoff hole in the Canadian Open. Fox hit 3-wood to 7 feet and only needed two putts for the victory. He shot a 66 by making a birdie putt just inside 18 feet on the 18th hole in regulation. Burns shot 62. He missed a 5-foot birdie putt for the win on the first extra hole. He three-putted from about 55 feet so make it easy on Fox in the end.

Golf – US Open gets a soggy start, with Jordan Spieth among early arrivals
U.S. Open week is off to a soggy start at Oakmont. Players are starting to arrive equipped with umbrellas and expectations of a typical tough test. Jordan Spieth was among the early arrivals. He played the front nine Saturday and got in 11 holes Sunday. The rough is every bit as deep and thick as advertised. Spieth says it’s one of the few U.S. Open courses that doesn’t need a lot of work to be ready for a major. He says mistakes are bound to happen. The key to Oakmont is not to compound the mistakes.

Tennis – Alcaraz produces another major comeback to win French Open against Sinner
Bad starts in Grand Slam finals are nothing new for Carlos Alcaraz and each time it’s happened he has won the tournament anyway. But not in such dramatic style as Sunday’s French Open final. The Spaniard rallied from two sets down and saved three match points to beat Jannik Sinner 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2) for his fifth major title in as many finals. It was his second straight French Open title with a comeback, after trailing 2-1 in sets to Alexander Zverev in last year’s final and a third major title from behind following his five-set win against Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Wimbledon final. It was also the longest final in French Open history at 5 hours, 29 minutes.

NCAA – Athletes express concern over NCAA settlement’s impact on non-revenue sports
The $2.8 billion NCAA settlement is being touted as a path to stability for college sports, clearing the way for schools to pay their athletes within certain parameters. Football and basketball players are expected to be the highest-paid athletes on campus. Most projections estimate 75% of revenue sharing will go toward football. It begs the question: What happens to the non-revenue-generating sports?

UFL – United Football League – Conference Championships
Yesterday
Michigan Panthers 44, Birmingham Stallions 29
D.C. Defenders 36, St. Louis Battlehawks 18
UFL Championship, Saturday 8:00 p.m. at St. Louis

MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Yesterday
Lansing Lugnuts 12, Dayton Dragons 6
Lake County Captains 6, West Michigan Whitecaps 4
South Bend Cubs 11, Great Lakes Loons 2

MHSAA – Michigan High School Athletic Association
Saturday
Baseball (Regional Final/Quarterfinal)
Division 1 at Cornerstone University – GR
Bay City Western 4, Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills 4
Hudsonville 3, Mattawan 1
Quarterfinal – Bay City Western 3, Hudsonville 1

Division 2 at Lakeshore
Ada Forest Hills Eastern 5, Hudsonville Unity Christian 4
Three Rivers 9, Gull Lake 2
Quarterfinal – Ada Forest Hills Eastern 10, Three rivers 0

Division 3 at Kalamazoo College
Watervliet 3, Muskegon West Michigan Christian 0
Olivet 3, Bridgman 1
Quarterfinal – Olivet 2, Watervliet 1

Division 4 at Spring Arbor University
Decatur 9, Michigan Lutheran 1
Petersburg Summerfield 14, Vermontville Maple Valley 2
Quarterfinal – Petersburg Summerfield 5, Decatur 0

Softball (Regional Semifinals/Finals)
Division 1 at Ypsilanti Lincoln
Saline 6, Dexter 0
Temperance Bedford 13, Kalamazoo Central 3
Regional Final – Saline 9, Temperance Bedford 3

Division 2 at Lakeshore
Paw Paw 6, Edwardsburg 3
Wayland 7, South Haven 0
Regional Final – Wayland 6, Paw Paw 2

Division 3 at Schoolcraft
Coloma 2, Kalamazoo Christian 1 – F/8
Buchanan 4, Bangor 1
Regional Final – Buchanan 4, Coloma 3

Division 4 at Vermontville Maple Valley
Mendon 13, Gobles 2
Portland St. Patrick 10, Decatur 4
Regional Final – Mendon 18, Portland St. Patrick 3

Boys Club Rugby (State Championship)
Division 2 at Holland
Grand Rapids Catholic 27, St. Joseph 12