Monday Sports – Rory wins back to back Masters; Tigers, Cubs, and Sox victorious

Golf – Rory McIlroy goes back-to-back at the Masters to join Nicklaus, Faldo and Tiger
Rory McIlroy has joined more elite company at the Masters. He pulled away with a pair of birdies around Amen Corner and, as usual, saved a little drama for the end before taking his place in Augusta National history as only the fourth back-to-back champion. McIlroy seized control for good with a bold shot over Rae’s Creek to 7 feet for birdie on the par-3 12th. Then he blistered a 350-yard drive on the par-5 13th that set up another birdie. There were a few dicey moments, but he shot a 1-under 71 to for a one-shot victory to join Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as repeat winners.

MLB – Major League Baseball
Yesterday
Detroit Tigers 8, Miami Marlins 2
Chicago White Sox 6, Kansas City Royals 5
Chicago Cubs 7, Pittsburgh Pirates 6

Tigers 8, Marlins 2 – Skubal outduels Alcántara, Tigers hit 3 homers in 8-2 win for 3-game sweep of Marlins
Tarik Skubal outpitched Sandy Alcántara in a matchup of Cy Young Award winners, Dillon Dingler, Kevin McGonigle and Kerry Carpenter homered and the Detroit Tigers earned a three-game sweep with an 8-2 win over the Miami Marlins. Detroit has bounced back from a stretch of losing nine of 11 with its three-game winning streak. Skubal retired the first nine batters he faced and the two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner had a no-hit bid broken up by Austin Slater’s bloop single with two outs in the sixth. Skubal allowed a run and a season-low two hits with seven strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. Alcántara allowed seven runs and 10 hits after allowing a total of two earned runs and 10 hits over his first three starts of the year.

White Sox 6, Royals 5 – Tanner Murray hits first MLB homer and White Sox edge Royals 6-5
Tanner Murray hit his first major league home run, Colson Montgomery also connected and the Chicago White Sox outlasted the Kansas City Royals 6-5 after the first pitch was pushed back 3 hours because of rain. Dustin Harris led off the seventh inning with a pinch-hit double and scored the tiebreaking run for the White Sox on a wild pitch by John Schreiber. Chicago equaled a club record by using nine pitchers in a nine-inning game. The last four White Sox relievers — Bryan Hudson, Jordan Leasure, Lucas Sims and Seranthony Domínguez — combined for six strikeouts in 4 1/3 hitless innings. Domínguez got three outs for his third save. Murray’s two-run homer in the second snapped a Chicago scoreless streak that lasted 21 2/3 innings.

Cubs 7, Pirates 6 – Busch ends 0-for-30 slide with tying single, Cubs overcome 5-run deficit to beat Pirates 7-6
Michael Busch ended an 0-for-30 slide with a tying, two-run single in the eighth inning and Carson Kelly had a winning single in the ninth as the Chicago Cubs overcame a five-run deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-6. Brandon Lowe hit a grand slam and a solo homer off Jameson Taillon, and Oneil Cruz homered leading off the game for Pittsburgh, which led 5-0 before third-inning solo homers by Dansby Swanson and Moisés Ballesteros against Bubba Chandler.

Tonight
Chicago Cubs (Assad 1-0) at Philadelphia (Sánchez 1-1), 6:40 p.m.
White Sox and Tigers are off

NHL – National Hockey League
Tonight
Detroit Red Wings at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7:00 p.m.
Buffalo Sabres at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m.

WNBA – Sky land rising star Rickea Jackson from LA Sparks in a trade for Ariel Atkins
The Chicago Sky have acquired Rickea Jackson from the Los Angeles Sparks for Ariel Atkins. Jackson was the No. 4 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft and averaged 14.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists last season. The Sky had given Atkins the franchise tag earlier this week. Chicago originally acquired her last February and she averaged 13.1 points in 34 games last season.

NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Detroit Pistons 133, Indiana Pacers 121
Dallas Mavericks 149, Chicago Bulls 128

Pistons 133, Pacers 121 – Paul Reed and Tobias Harris finish with a flourish as Pistons beat Pacers 133-121
Paul Reed finished with 26 points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocks and Tobias Harris scored 24 points as the Eastern Conference’s top seeded Detroit Pistons beat the Indiana Pacers 133-121. Reed was 11 of 11 from the field and made all four of his free throws. Harris was 9 of 12 from the field and 4 of 4 on 3s. Cade Cunningham finished with seven points, eight rebounds and 14 assists as the Pistons reached the 60-win mark for the third time in franchise history. Obi Toppin and Quenton Jackson each scored 21 points to lead the Pacers. Indiana finished with 19 wins — the lowest total in the franchise’s NBA history.

Mavs 149, Bulls 128 – Nembhard’s 23 assists break coach Jason Kidd’s rookie Mavs record in blowout of Bulls
Ryan Nembhard broke Dallas coach Jason Kidd’s club rookie record with 23 assists after No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg’s debut season ended with an ankle injury, and the Mavericks beat the Chicago Bulls 149-128 in a season finale. John Poulakidas scored 28 to lead the Mavericks in a meeting of also-rans that more closely resembled a summer league game. Moussa Cisse had 17 points and 20 rebounds. The latter tied tied Roy Tarpley’s rookie club record from 1986-87. Flagg scored 10 points in 10 minutes before exiting with a sprained left ankle in the second quarter. Rob Dillingham scored 25 points for the Bulls.

MWL – Midwest League Baseball
Last Night
Fort Wayne Tin Caps 5, Lansing Lugnuts 3
West Michigan Whitecaps 4, Great Lakes Loons 3
South Bend Cubs 5, Peoria Chiefs 4

MHSAA – Michigan High School Athletic Association
Tonight
Girls Soccer
St. Joseph at Kalamazoo Central, 6:30 p.m.
Portage Northern at Lakeshore, 5:00 p.m.
Michigan Luthern at Covert, 5:30 p.m.
Eau Claire at New Buffalo, 6:00 p.m.
Lawton at South Haven, 6:30 p.m.
Coloma at Berrien Springs, 6:30 p.m.
Gull Lake at Mattawan, 6:30 p.m.
Kal. Loy Norrix at Battle Creek Lakeview, 6:30 p.m.
Battle Creek Central at Portage Central, 6:00 p.m.
Sturgis at Coldwater, 6:30 p.m.
Three Rivers at Dowagiac, 5:00 p.m.
Constantine at Bridgman, 5:00 p.m.
Parchment at Comstock, 6:30 p.m.
Niles at Saugatuck, 4:00 p.m.]
Vicksburg at Schoolcraft, 5:00 p.m.
Hartford at Bloomingdale, 6:30 p.m.

Girls Tennis
St. Joseph at Battle Creek Lakeview, 4:00 p.m.
Lakeshore at Battle Creek Central, 4:00 p.m.
Mattawan at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix, 4:00 p.m.
Paw Paw at Niles, 4:00 p.m.
Sturgis at Edwardsburg, 4:00 p.m.

Baseball
Mishawaka Penn (IN) at Lakeshore, 5:00 p.m.
Gobles at Saugatuck, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Bloomingdale at Bangor, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Hartford at Cassopolis, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
White Pigeon at Centreville, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Comstock at Decatur, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Lawrence at Marcellus, 4:00 p.m. (DH)

Softball
St. Joseph at Niles, 4:30 p.m.
Allegan at Kalamazoo Hackett, 4:30 p.m.
Bloomingdale at Bangor, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Hartford at Cassopolis, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
White Pigeon at Centreville, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Comstock at Decatur, 4:00 p.m. (DH)
Lawrence at Marcellus, 4:00 p.m. (DH)

Boys Golf
SMAC West at Lakeshore, 4:00 p.m. (Lake Michigan Hills)