Morning Sports for Sunday, May 4th

Morning Sports for Sunday, May 4th:

MLB: Tigers Pound Royals Again
Drew Smyly tossed seven shutout innings Saturday night, as the Tigers blasted the Royals 9-2. Smyly gave up just two hits, and struck out six. Nick Castellanos drove in three runs – one with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, and two with a double in the sixth. That was all the scoring in the game until Detroit blew it open with six runs in the top of the ninth. KC responded with a couple of runs off Phil Coke in the bottom of the ninth. The win increased Detroit’s lead over the Royals in the American League Central Division to four games. The Tigers wrap up that series at Kansas City this afternoon. Justin Verlander will face Jason Vargas. Hear the first pitch at 2:10 on AM 1400, WCCY.

Gallardo Falters Against Reds
Yovani Gallardo gave up four runs over six innings, and the Brewers fell to the Reds 6-2 on Saturday. The loss was the first of the year for the Brewers’ ace. Milwaukee collected only three hits in the game. Two were solo homers by Aramis Ramirez and Mark Reynolds. The Brewers conclude their series at Cincinnati this afternoon. Kyle Lohse will start against Alfredo Simon.

The Brewers have placed outfielder Ryan Braun on the 15-day disabled list because of his ribcage muscle strain. The assignment will be backdated to April 27th… the day after he played his most recent game. If the muscle heals, Braun could return for Milwaukee’s game against Pittsburgh on May 13th. Logan Schafer was activated off the DL to replace him.

Finlandia Baseball Swept at Northland
The Finlandia baseball team finished its season with a pair of losses at Northland College Saturday. The Lions were shut out 7-0 in the first game. Joe Richard had three of Finlandia’s seven hits. Richard collected another hit and an rbi in the second game, which the Lions lost 7-3. Finlandia closes its season with a record of three wins and 27 losses.

MTU Track Teams Set Marks at GLIAC Championship
The Michigan Tech track and field teams wrapped up their seasons at the GLIAC championship tournament in Ohio over the weekend. The men’s team finished ninth… the women’s team placed 15th. Five new school records were set during the competition. Jani Lane broke the record in the 1500. He finished second overall. Kyle Peterman broke his own discus record. Deedra Irwin set a new mark in the 800. Ashley Veale established a new standard in the 400 hurdles. Veale, Irwin, Lauren Raiford and Jamie Dompier broke the old record in the 4×400 relay. For a complete wrap-up of the tournament results, click here.

To make sure your team’s scores are included in morning sports, send them to mornings@up.net.