Thursday Sports – Tigers blanked and swept in Atlanta

MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
Atlanta Braves 7, Detroit Tigers 0
Houston Astros 4, Chicago White Sox 1
Chicago Cubs 6, San Francisco Giants 5

Braves 7, Tigers 0 – Sean Murphy hits two 2-run homers and the Braves earn a 3-game sweep of the Tigers with a 7-0 victory
Sean Murphy hit two two-run homers, Reynaldo López pitched five scoreless innings and the Atlanta Braves completed a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a 7-0 victory. López lowered his MLB-leading ERA to 1.57. He allowed seven hits, walked one and struck out six. The Braves are 5-1 over a six-game homestand and have won six of their last seven games. They only allowed two combined runs in the series. Tarik Skubal allowed five runs, four earned, in four innings and allowed two of Atlanta’s three homers. Gio Urshela, Wenceel Perez and Andy Ibáñez each had two hits for the Tigers, who lost 10 of 13.

Astros 4, White Sox 1 – Hunter Brown throws 6 impressive innings, César Salazar scores in 2 in Astros’ 4-1 win
Hunter Brown pitched six one-run innings for his third straight victory, backup catcher César Salazar had two RBI singles and the Houston Astros topped the Chicago White Sox 4-1. Jake Meyers lined a pair of doubles to end an 0-for-17 slump and scored two runs to help Houston end a two-game slide. Andrew Benintendi had a solo shot in the fourth for Chicago, ending Brown’s scoreless innings streak at 16. Brown scattered seven hits, struck out six and walked none in his sixth start consecutive quality.

Cubs 6, Giants 5 – Ian Happ, Dansby Swanson hit back-to-back home runs as Cubs hold off Giants 6-5
Ian Happ hit a 442-foot home run, Dansby Swanson hit back-to-back long balls and the Chicago Cubs held on to beat the San Francisco Giants 6-5. Jorge Soler made the eighth inning interesting with a 444-foot grand slam over the bleachers in left field against Tyson Miller that brought the Giants within a score, but Colten Brewer issued back-to-back walks to Wilmer Flores and Brett Wisely. the ninth and finished for his first stop. Kyle Hendricks pitched perfectly in the sixth inning, allowing one run on two hits in his longest outing of the season and lowering his ERA from 8.20 to 7.46.

Today
Houston (Arrighetti 3-6) at Chicago White Sox (Flexen 2-6), 2:10 p.m.
Cubs and Tigers are off today

NBA – Pistons fire coach Monty Williams after 1 season with worst record in NBA
The Detroit Pistons fired coach Monty Williams after a single season that ended with the worst record in the NBA (14-68). Last season was the first of a six-year, $78.5 million contract for Williams — one that, at the time, was the richest ever given to an NBA coach. At one point, the Pistons were on a 28-game losing streak. This is the longest season ever in a single season in NBA history and tied for the longest ever when taking into account multiple seasons. The shot continues an extremely strange run for Williams. In 2021, as coach of the Suns, he went to the NBA Finals, where Phoenix led 2-0 before losing in six games to Milwaukee. In 2022, he was voted NBA Coach of the Year in a swing vote. In 2023, the Suns fired him and now, in 2024, the Pistons have done the same.

NBA – Siakam and Pacers agree on a four-year, $189 million contract that could be signed in July
Pascal Siakam intends to sign a four-year contract worth $189.5 million to remain with the Indiana Pacers when the NBA’s offseason moratorium lifts in early July, according to a person with knowledge of discussions between the parties. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because neither the player nor the club can announce the deal under league rules. Citing unnamed sources, ESPN first reported that Siakam had decided to stay with the Pacers. Free agency doesn’t begin until June 30, but this deal doesn’t violate any league rules. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, teams could begin talking to their own free agents one day after the conclusion of the NBA Finals.

WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association
Last night
Indiana Fever 88, Washington Mystics 81

Fever 88, Mystics 81 – Mitchell, Boston score 22, Clark has a double-double, Fever dominates Mystics 88-81
Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston scored 22 points each, Caitlin Clark had her second career double-double and the Indiana Fever won their third straight game with an 88-81 victory over the Washington Mystics. Clark had 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, plus six assists and four steals for the Fever. Ariel Atkins had 27 points to lead the Mystics. Trailing by nine points early in the fourth quarter, Washington opened with a 9-2 run, finding itself within 70-68 on a three-point play by Emily Engstler with seven minutes remaining. Erica Wheeler quickly responded with a jumper, Clark hit a steal that led to Wheeler feeding Mitchell for a layup, then Clark hit a 3 on an assist from Wheeler to make it 77-68 with 5: 05 to play.

Today
Dallas Wings at Chicago Sky, 12:00 p.m.

WNBA – LA Sparks rookie Cameron Brink tears ACL in left knee
Los Angeles rookie Cameron Brink tore the ACL in his left knee in the first quarter of the Sparks’ 79-70 loss to Connecticut. Brink played just four minutes and fouled out before getting injured Tuesday night. Once on the sideline, Brink limped toward the locker room, but was forced to stop because of pain. Two Sparks staff members lifted Brink off her feet and carried her to the locker room.

Golf – PGA Commissioner Says Parties Making Progress on LIV Golf Deal
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan says the difficulty in finalizing a deal with LIV Golf’s Saudi backers is no reason for concern. Monahan says it’s still a great opportunity for the tour. It’s been more than a year since the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced a deal aimed at bringing peace to a sport torn apart by the departures of dozens of players from LIV Golf. The initial deadline was exceeded without agreement. Monahan gave few details but said recent meetings have been very productive.

Golf – Tiger Woods’ son Charlie qualifies for first USGA event
Tiger Woods’ son is headed to his first USGA championship. Charlie Woods has qualified for the US Junior Amateur. Woods, 15, led all qualifying at Eagle Trace in South Florida with a 7-under 71. That sends him to Oakland Hills the week of July 22-28 to face 263 players over 36 holes in stroke play. The top 64 then reach match play. Tiger Woods was 14 when he first qualified for the US Junior Amateur. He reached the semi-finals. Tiger Woods won the first of three consecutive U.S. Junior Championships the following year.

Olympics – American swimming stars Dressel and Manuel settle for relay places at American swimming trials
Returning from a long absence, American swimming stars Caeleb Dressel and Simone Manuel had to settle for relay places at the Olympic Games on Wednesday evening. Dressel, winner of five gold medals at the Tokyo Games, will not have the chance to defend his 100-meter freestyle title in Paris after a third-place finish at the U.S. trials behind Chris Guiliano and Jack Alexy. Manuel finished fourth in the women’s 100 freestyle, with potential star Kate Douglass taking the win and Torri Huske second. In perhaps the safest bet of the trials, Katie Ledecky earned her third victory at Lucas Oil Stadium with another dominant performance in the 1,500 freestyle.

NCAABB – Texas A&M beats Florida 6-0 to advance to CWS final for first time
Justin Lamkin gave Texas A&M a second straight sensational start, Caden Sorrell scored to open the game and the Aggies beat Florida 6-0 to reach their first College World Series final. The Aggies will face No. 1 national seed Tennessee in the best-of-three championship series starting Saturday. This will be an all-SEC final for the second year in a row and the third time in four. Hours after Florida had 14 hits and scored its third-most runs this season in a 15-4 win over Kentucky, the Gators managed just four hits and were shut out for the first time in 145 games.

MWL – Midwest Baseball League
Last night
Dayton 9, Western Michigan 6
Quad Cities 4, Great Lakes 2
Lakee County 6, South Bend 3
Beloit 2, Lansing 0

This evening
Dayton Dragons vs. Western Michigan Whitecaps, 6:35 p.m.
Quad Cities River Bandits to Great Lakes Loons, 7:05 p.m.
Lake County Captains at South Bend Cubs, 7:05 p.m.
Lansing Lugnuts at Beloit Sky Carp, 7:35 p.m.